Gathering and Discerning Information in the 21st Century
Celebrating over 16 years on the web.
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“Each of us believes himself to live directly within the world that surrounds him, to sense its objects and events precisely, and to live in real and current time. I assert these are perceptual illusions. Sensation is an abstraction, not a replication of the real world.” Vernon Mountcastle

Quote from YouTube Video: Kavli Prize Laureate Lecture – The Restless Brain

The Professional Speaking Guide

Training Organizations & Speaker Information:

Toastmasters International
 http://www.toastmasters.org

Local Chapters in every major city around the world. Visit website to find a club near you. Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors elected by the membership. The first Toastmasters club was established on October 22, 1924, in Santa Ana, California, by Dr. Ralph C. Smedley, who conceived and developed the idea of helping others to speak more effectively.

 

Walters Speaking Services.
 http://www.walters-intl.com/ PO Box 398, Glendora, CA, USA, 91740-0398 Phone 626-335-8069, Fax 626-335-6127,E-mail Dottie@Walters-Intl.com and Lilly@Walters-Intl.com Leading resources for speakers and those wishing to hire speakers, and those with a valuable product or service for speakers. Speaking Industry Report 2002. A Report on Professional Speakers, Speakers Bureaus and Meeting Planners. Where We Were, Where We Are, Where We Are Going. New markets, topics and how the speaking industry is reinventing itself. The full report is over 120 pages, and maybe purchased – see more following.$49.95 + $5.00 S&H available in printed format or PDF/e-book

(no shipping charges for e-book)

 

American Seminar Leaders Association
 http://www.asla.com/

ASLA is an organization of seminar and workshop leaders who seek to enhance their professional skills and market their services and products more effectively.

 

The Christopher Leadership

Courses in Effective Speaking – http://home.ican.net/~paradigm/christophers/index.html

Christopher Leadership Courses have been offered in Canada since the first course was run in 1953 at Windsor, Ontario. The Lumen Institute, which is the governing body for all Christopher Leadership Courses, is responsible for the professional training and certification of all instructing teams. The Minister of Employment and Immigration Canada has certified the Christopher Leadership Courses as an educational institution.

In the United States, the Christopher Leadership Course is offered by the Gabriel Richard Institute, a non-profit organization established in 1949. http://www.christophers.org/

 

Sandra Schrift
 http://www.sandraschrift.com, career coach to emerging and veteran professional speakers and executives who want to present like a pro. She operates the Speakers University @ http://www.speakersuniversity.com

Science-fact-theory-hypothesis

Definitions key to discussions:

  • Fact: A fact is a statement that is true and can be proved with evidence.
  • Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested by the scientific method. A hypothesis has not been tested.
  • Theory: Scientific theories are distinguished from hypotheses, which are empirically testable conjectures, and from scientific laws, which are descriptive accounts of how nature behaves under certain conditions. Theories have been rigorously tested and widely accepted by the scientific community who agree the theory best explains the observations or phenomenon we experience.
  • Scientific Method: The scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.
  • Empirical Evidence: Empirical evidence is the knowledge received by means of the senses, particularly by observation and experimentation.
  • Reality: Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.
  • Delusion: A delusion is a belief that is held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.
  • Insanity: Insanity, craziness, or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns.