Bedford Skeptics In The Pub (a.k.a. Bedford SITP) has been going for almost a year now. We've examined many pressing issues such as climate change, the state of the education system, the legalisation of prostitution and global corruption amongst other things. Now to the casual observer, given those subject matters, a night in the boozer with Bedford SITP might well seem a pretty doomed laden affair where pints are downed as a means of escape from the terrible awfulness of it all.In fact, it is quite the opposite. Those attending Bedford SITP are actually keen to learn new things, hear others point of views and examine the evidence placed before them. These hardly seem the character traits of people who have given up hoping for a better future and don't think that there's any chance of achieving it.
So it would seem that this month's guest, Mark Stevenson and Bedford SITP are natural bedfellows, in the figurative sense, that is. Mark has seen the future and whilst it might not be 'so bright he's gotta wear shades' (to misquote the Timbuk 3 hit from 1986), he contends that it certainly isn't as awful as we have often been led to imagine. He reached this conclusion after setting out on what he called a 'World Tour of the Future' examining how technological advances were changing the world around us right now, even though we might not be fully aware of it. The surprising thing for Mark was the level of optimism that he found on his journey (especially in Spain and New Zealand, it would seem.) One of the outcomes of his exploration of the future was the book 'An Optimist's Tour Of The Future'.
However, Mark explained that the term 'optimism' is often associated with wishful thinking and soft headed idiocy. Especially, in a nation such as the UK where, at times, it would seem that we are hard-wired for cynicism. Mark was keen to explain that the 'optimism' that he advocates is the 'optimism of ambition'. That is, that we should set our sights high and not give in to easy and comforting cynicism. In fact, to Mark, cynicism is like smoking, "It might look good but but it harms you and those around you."Mark showed us some truly amazing examples of technological advances which will change humanity, such as the plummeting price of human genome sequencing costs which will enable the development of highly effective diagnostic tools and treatments based on an individual's own genetic make-up.
There was also a discussion of 3D printers and the possible knock on effects to all our lives from being able to print out everything from toys for the kids to your own personalised drugs and even body parts. As one of the pub-based audience commented, if this means being able to print a new liver it might not be a bad thing.Mark also sees the growth of renewable energy as unstoppable despite the fossil fuel industries vested interests best attempts to thwart it. With the availability of cheap, plentiful and sustainable energy comes a paradigm shift in global politics.
Speaking to audience members during and after the event, what came across from Mark, aside from all the technological advances he described, was the desire to instill hope for the future. But not just a nice, warm feeling but a stance of active optimist, that is, a belief in possibilities leading to real world actions. Mark suggested that we "Be defined not by what we own but but what we create." Mark is one of the founders of The League Of Pragmatic Optimists (LOPO) which is attempting to do just that.Mark is currently working on a new book on Democracy and we hope that he'll return to Bedford SITP to talk to us about the issues it raises. Indeed, we've already had several people asking for such an evening.
NEXT MONTH: Thursday 19th September - 7 for 7:30pm - The White Horse - Robert Llewellyn (a.k.a 'Kryten' from 'Red Dwarf') will be attempting to convince us that electric vehicles are the future of transport. We're hoping for another big turnout so if you want a good seat I would suggest you get to The White Horse a bit earlier than usual. Why not treat yourself to dinner before the show starts? Full details HERE.
