What we’re about
Join the Pondering Primates, a discussion group and book club.
We now meet weekly on Skype, 7 :00 PM central time on Sunday.
Meetings are for 1.5 hours. Everyone is welcome to attend. We typically have between 6 - 10 attend each meetup.
We love stimulating conversation and well-researched opinions. You're told in polite conversation, to avoid religion and politics. As Pondering Primates, we dive right in; we encourage debate and discussion on the topics of the day: is socialism bad, what will the year 2050 look like, are we responsible for those less fortunate, and why does anyone care what the Kardashians' think?
Think of us as your oasis for informed discussion and rational thought where you can discuss your views and learn from fellow members. We believe that whatever we advocate should be backed up by evidence. If this seems like your kind of people, join us. We're opinionated but friendly.
The group is open to everyone. Your ideas and input are welcome. Stop by and check us out.
Examples of discussion topics might include:
1. What are libertarians? What do they believe?
2. Is socialism bad?
3. Nature versus Nurture? What do you think is most important?
4. How do we fix the education system in America?
5. When are experts wrong?
6. Brexit. What caused it? Will it be good for Great Britain?
7. Is there free will?
8. What is the best way to decrease crime?
9. Are psychotropic medications good or bad for society?
10. How do we fix the American healthcare system?
11. Is Islam a religion of peace?
12. Why are there so many faiths and religions?
Two most recent books:
1. Justice Is Coming by Cenk Uygur
2. The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
Some of our favorite books:
1. Thinking Fast, thinking Slow Daniel Kahneman
2. The Better Angels of our Nature Steven Pinker
3. The Wisdom of Psychopaths Kevin Dutton
4. Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman autobiography Dr. Richard Feynman
5. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Yuval Harari
6. Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress Steven Pinker
7. Outliers Malcolm Gladwell
8. Foundation Isaac Asimov
9. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari
10. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed Jared Diamond
11. Why Evolution Is True by Jerry Coyne
12. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History Elizabeth Kolbert
13. Think Like A Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
14. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
15. Animal Farm George Orwell
16. Why Darwin Matters Michael Shermer
17. Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
