Casual Meetups London

🌌Coffee Chats: Life, The Universe & Meaning of It All 🤔☕

When you look up at the stars, what is the first thought or instinct that goes through your mind? Do you ever ponder: Why are we here? Did a cosmic creator set our world in motion or did we and the universe come about randomly without any purpose? What are the odds of not just you existing right now but the entire universe itself? Time is precious. Here we cherish non-boring chats and interactions that are fully engaging, soulfully enriching, inspiring, and leave you a bit wiser than when you arrived. In that spirit today’s fully hosted laid back social coffee chat will offer a perfect haven for naturally inquisitive and curious **independent thinkers** drawn to the mysteries of life, the universe and the unknown to share ideas on exciting thought provoking topics no one else has the courage to talk about. An adrenaline caffeine infused fun afternoon of thought-provoking causal chats exploring interconnected topics spanning **philosophy** (epistemology aspects)**,** **neuroscience**, **cosmology** and **theology** over a mug of sweet coffee or Chardonnay if that's what you need to express your true views! Whether you've studied philosophy, cosmology or theology or simply feel a deep sense of wonder about existence, you are welcome. You don't need an in-depth background - just an open mind, a willingness to explore life's big questions and potentially share some stories Chaired by a former Reuters journalist & published empirical researcher (I recognise statistical causality and significance don't make something true) - exploring topics in pursuant of the "truth" since a teenager. There'll be no strict structure - a relaxed friendly space to openly chat, exchange ideas without judgement, but I'll preside to promote inclusivity and zone in on specifics to avoid people digressing onto unrelated tangents to ensure particpants derive maximum utlity and engagement from attending **==== Sample of conversational threads ===** might include: 1. Many say that because God is an invisible force, he cannot be seen, and so no physical evidence can prove his existence. Yet, while we cannot directly see quarks, black holes, or dark matter, we know they exist in reality via inference through quantum mathematics, particle accelerators, and gravitational lensing and waves. None of that can be said about a creator which is based just on blind faith. So, is anyone who declares there is proof of God delusional, or simply mistaken about what constitutes empirical evidence? 2. Despite the fossil records, the detection of cosmic microwave background radiation from over 13.8 billion years ago and radiometric isotope dating with half-lives exceeding the biblical timeline, many **religions refuse to answer questions on** dinosaurs, evolution, space and the age of the universe. When the first physical evidence of exoplanets was confirmed, the Vatican - realising that other life in the galaxy was highly likely - issued media statements proclaiming if we found aliens that would not contradict the existence of god. Was this because the foundation of their belief system was threatened? 3. So imagine a wonderful, powerful, almighty God created the entire universe. Then why does this God not help kids in pediatric oncology wards? A deity that promises you a heaven tomorrow in echange for suffering today, but only if you believe? What kind of caring snake oil salesman god promotes transactional marketing? Yes, many great philosophers such as Hume and Kant have tackled the contradiction, and surely the only explanation is that the universe operates on indifferent physical and biological laws rather than divine governance? 4. The probability that we exist today through evolution is 99.999%. This is backed by genetics (our DNA/RNA traces back to a single common ancestor and we are \~ 98.8% identical to apes), fossil records spanning millions of years, and evolution observed in living things real-time both at organism level and species. But what about the the universe we live in itself? Is it purely random?" 5. Based on the precision of cosmological natural laws that govern our universe (gravity, dark energy, ratio of gravity to electromagnetism etc) the odds are estimated at less than 1 in 10^{120}, i.e practically zero - suggesting our world could of been fine tuned. So yes - atoms, stars, planets and eventually us emerged from one particular set of physical rules. But what if an infinite number of universes exist with different laws? It then becomes a 100% certainty that at least one would have the right conditions for life, and we simply happen to live in that one? Does the discovery of quantum superposition or 'disappearing neutrons' (9 second neutron lifetime discrepancy) imply these **parallel universes** actually exist? 6. Clinical prayer trials including **Cochrane** meta-analyses reviews testing the impact of third-party prayer on patient recovery, mortality rates or re-hospitalization show zero statistical evidence of divine intervention effects in randomized controlled trials. So aside from a placebo effect which we can easily get from a sweet, praying for anything is complete waste of time! Does this mean he doesn't care about you in this life let alone afterlife? 7. Was God just a man-made, artificial ideological construct invented to build empires and control people, similar to a tyrannical states? Both Christianity and Islam are guilty of terrible acts, as evidenced by centuries of Islamic imperial domination prior to the Crusades, where hundreds of thousands of Christians and members of other faiths were killed all in the name an ideology. 8. If **Elon Musk** is right and we live in a simulation created by an alien civilization or a computer software, who created our creators? At what point does the chain of causes have to stop at an uncaused base reality? 9. Similarly if God created the universe then as my philosophy professor once rightly postulated: "If God created Adam, who created God Lucas?" Does that inconvenient flaw **debunk every religion** out there? Is there any difference between a fairytale and religion? What makes God true and witchcraft practised by Harry Potter at **Hogwarts** false? Proponents will argue before god there was nothing. So how you get something from nothing? If god came out of **nothing** then why can't the universe? What existed before the **big bang**? 10. Does the fact that 15% of people who have had NDEs reporting that they went to hell prove God exists? Could pleasant experiences of happiness be purely endorphin-driven? If a morphine antagonist is given instead, could that evoke a demonic experience? 11. If a wise supreme intellectual entity of genius created the universe, then why has it been so easy for us mortal humans to crack the code of life? We can create species in a lab, including humans. Surely a God would have made it impossible to decode our own biological source code by creating life using physical laws that defy human comprehension? And what if we humans, through AGI, build a synthetic intelligence that surpasses our own collective cognitive abilities? Surely this upends religious narratives, suggesting creation is not a top-down divine miracle, but an evolutionary ladder? 12. We know there are trillions of galaxies and planets in our universe. James Webb has found early black holes just 1 million years after our universe was born that make no sense. Dark matter and massive empty space for life only to exist on one planet - really? 13. The mobile or laptop you are using right now to read this is mostly **empty space**. The solid bits [the nucleus and electrons] take up less than 0.00000000001% of an atom's volume - held open by invisible energy force fields [electromagnetism]. Yet, without this "empty" space, nothing would exist because all the complex molecules that we we are made of like carbon and DNA could not form. Does this perfect engineering point to intentional design, or just natural physical emergence? 14. If a higher intelligence or God did create our universe, what could the purpose and motive be? Love, connection, artistic expression, or simply exploring what complex systems can do? 15. Evidence of reincarnation and cellular memory in organ transplants is recorded in clinical settings, yet these ideas are rejected by major religions because they are incompatible with scriptural tenets regarding afterlife. Is this because religions are just rigid ideological inventions governed by fictious texts written by human prophets communicated to by a God that created billions of species yet miraculously happen to speak the same language as them? We know many animals exhibit consciousness - did god talk them to? Why would a cosmic universe creator not reflect universal cosmic truths rather than reflect specific cultural, linguistic, and biological biases of ancient humans? If we assume for a sec that these choosen ones did communicate with god - how do we know that they didn't just have too much dopamine [D2] firing in their brain - i.e they were simply suffering from psychosis? 16. Has a profound personal experience, a mystical moment, or a sense of awe in nature ever made you feel connected to something higher? How do our personal experiences shape what we believe compared to logic or science? 17. If God created a universe with purpose of life then why did he not protect it throughtout the Earth's evolution where it could of vanished without any trace? Does data on actual five mass extinction events prove we are just lucky anomalies, not the plan? **So, does God exist?** I take real-world data on the above across medical trial, fine-tuning cosmological constants (for the universe to exist/expansion speed of), molecular biology & cellular genetics [likelihood of observing complex, self-organizing DNA and RNA under natural evolution versus divine creation], natural evil, divine silence, and quantum cosmology) to empirically estimate **the god GOD EQUATION.** The model estimates the **probability of a God at a maximum of 2.47%!** (built using Bayesian Probabilistic Inference guided by Occam's Razor - I can share more on my methodolgy and parameters used if interested) ***Is this ulimate "truth"?*** Both in my journalism days and in my consulting work applying advanced empirical research techniques to answer difficult questions - it becomes clear the truth is often elusive. No matter how much we triangulate evidence - we can only provide part answers. As George Box once said "All models are wrong, but some are useful" What we think we know and reality diverge leading to that great **paradox of knowledge.** And as the boundary between knowns and unknown converge, we end up with cognitive dissonance and more questions. In that spirit - every credible philosopher & scientist acknowledges - we'll never get to the complete truth but could **a** balanced approach guided by Immanuel Kant's pragmatism and Aristotle's deductive reasoning at least be a starting rationale framework? **=== RENDEZVOUS POINT ===** We will meet in the outside back garden of this lovely posh Islington pub. 10 mins walk from Highbury & Islington station. Ask for me by name or I will post in commrents exactly what table we are at. I'll be wearing a **Starwars identifier** and will share mobile hotline just before event start and table number/location. Lucas - The Unenlightened Desperately Seeking Answers

Casual Tennis in Burgess Park 🎾

Join our WhatsApp group and sign up at [www.thesocialsport.com](www.thesocialsport.com)! Our weekly casual tennis session in Burgess Park. We play every Sunday afternoon (times may vary slightly week on week). **What is Social Sport?** Social Sport was set up to face two main challenges in cities like London: 1. Limited opportunities for those moving here to meet new people and socialise in a genuine, healthy way. 2. Lack of casual sports clubs for young professionals. We started with our New Sport Every Week session, voted for by people in our community. Since then, we have played over 21 different sports. Our weekly casual sessions allow us to create communities around certain sports. **Please note this session is popular and has a set number of places. If you do not secure your place before attending and the event is full, you may not be able to play.**

@ Aubaine [French cuisine]

Casual Badminton near Waterloo/Southwark/London Bridge 🏸

**Join our WhatsApp group and sign up at [www.thesocialsport.com](www.thesocialsport.com)!** Our weekly casual badminton session at Borough Academy, Southwark. We play every Tuesday from 6 to 7 pm. **What is Social Sport?** Social Sport was set up to face two main challenges in cities like London: 1. Limited opportunities for those moving here to meet new people and socialise in a genuine, healthy way. 2. Lack of casual sports clubs for young professionals. We started with our New Sport Every Week session, voted for by people in our community. Since then, we have played over 21 different sports. Our weekly casual sessions allow us to create communities around certain sports. **Please note this session is popular and has a set number of places. If you do not secure your place before attending and the event is full, you may not be able to play.**

@ Latine

Casual weekly pickleball in London

**Sign up before the event starts at [https://thesocialsport.com/our_sports/pickleball/southwark-and-city](https://thesocialsport.com/our_sports/pickleball/southwark-and-city).** Our weekly casual indoor pickleball session at Borough Academy from 6 to 7 pm. All equipment provided. The event is £8.50 **Who are Social Sport?** Social Sport was set up to face two main challenges in cities like Cambridge: 1. Limited opportunities for those moving here to meet new people and socialise genuinely. 2. Lack of casual sports clubs for young professionals. We started with our New Sport Every Week session, voted for by people in our community. Since then, we have played over 18 different sports, and play 7 weekly, all of which were set up based on feedback from those who join our events! **Please note this session is popular and has a set number of places. If you do not secure your place prior to attending and the event is full you will not be able to play.**

Great Conversations with Friends at the Pub

We love a good chat. Come and join us at Table 45

Sunday pub lunch.

Join me inside The Swan pub in Hammersmith for lunch.

Pizza afternoon.

Join me at W4RM for some delicious pizza (other food is available) in this unassuming place dubbed "the best pizza in Chiswick". 63 Turnham Green Terrace, Chiswick, W4 1RP - on the corner by the green about 200 yards from Turnham Green tube station. [https://stayw4rm.com/](https://stayw4rm.com/) We can go after somewhere nice to have a cuppa/drink as Chiswick has so many great places.

@ Rum Kitchen [Caribbean cuisine]

🔭NASA Confirms Life on Mars: View With Wine, Music & Telescopes ☾P Date☽🪐

If you're looking for sensational headlines - this group is defo not for you! But seriously - do you look up and marvel with insatiable curiosity at both the beauty and the wonder of the **universe?** How it began, our place in it, how life evolved and where else in the cosmos other non-microbial life might live (99% of stars have exoplanets orbiting - some similar to Earth )? And nah I didn't make it up - unless you live in hibernation or have zero idea about our greatest endeavours - you'll know **NASA really did find the best evidence to date of ancient life on Mars.** This follows scientific verification of the biological signatures of microbe life discovered on Venus a few years ago So we'll defo take a look at the red planet as well the majestic rings of **Saturn** and it's potential life harbouring moon, the international space station, Tau Ceti star with **2 Earth like planets** orbiting in the habitable zone, remnants of **supernova** witnessed by our early ancestors plus a range of other fascinating celestial wonderments (comets, star systems, **galaxies**) over drinks and engaging chats and banter this Sept fully hosted by me - a passionate amateur astronomer and former global Reuters journalist covering cutting edge big picture science related stories. In between observing - we'll have **drinks and engaging chats** on all astronomy related topics for those inclined (Astrobiology, SETI/Femi Paradox, cosmology, space exploration, exoplanetology, astrophysics etc) as well as non space chatter and banter too. No doubt I'll hear the usual jokes we've all heard hundreds of times before! If those don't make you laugh, then my impersonation of Los Angeles ET will! 👽 **====Free Astronomy Club =====** Over the years we have enjoyed numerous social evenings of stargazing and thought provoking chatter with people of all ages and varying levels of astronomy knowledge - so complete beginners that are genuinely curious about the universe are very welcome. If you are just looking to meet generic randoms that you have nothing in common with / share passio**ns** then there are other groups that easily cater for that. The world renowed **BBC Television Sky at Night** also attended our events pre covid and interviewed some of us for it's show that aired on BBC1 in Feb 2019. BBC **Radio London** (94.9 FM / digital) were there Aug 2023 to cover our meteor shower event broadcasting live to millions of Londoners for 3 hours You don't need a telescope as you will be able to view through scopes belonging to me and other club members (as long as you behave responsibly and don't temper with expensive equipment). If you have your own telescope/binoculars feel free to bring along and I can help you setting it up if you're a newbie. **====ITINERARY=====** We will meet outside Camden Station. After a short wait for anyone delayed, I will escort everyone to our observation point in the park about 15-20 minutes walk away and brief you in terms of what to expect, observing etiquette, tips, equipment handling and take any questions you have - weather general or astronomy/cosmology related. **After Drinks:** on work nights - unless I have a important 9AM deadline for a client presentation or something - most of us usually head our way back to Camden for another drink till about 1am - yes even on a skool night. I will annouce the pub to all on the walk back. **===What Can You Expect To See (this time of year)? ====** * Orion Nebula * Jupiter and 4 moons * Meteors * Andromedia Galaxy * Saturn, rings & moon * Star clusters such as the Pleiades & Owl Cluster etc * International Space station fly by * Venus & Mercury * Binary & tripple star systems (think planet *Tatooine in* Starwars!), * Neptune * Uranuus * Mars * Our moon * A look towards the galactic centre where that supermassive £22b black hole sits (Sagittarius A) More here from Jodrell Bank Observatory/Astrophysics Centre: [http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/](http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/) Guide to viewing the cosmos for beginners: [https://phys.org/news/2018-05-universe-distant-starstips-cosmology-backyard.html#jCp](https://phys.org/news/2018-05-universe-distant-starstips-cosmology-backyard.html#jCp) **===Weather Dependent=====** The event is subject to clear skies forecasts on the night so if on the actual afternoon of the event the weather forecasts looks unsuitable beyond doubt then I will postpone so please check the event status on the day of the event . If this event is still listed here at 5PM on the day, it will be going ahead at the designated day and time! Happy Stargazing Lucas Skywalker (Amateur Musical Astronomer)

Lets Go Bowling!!! - 2 Games of Bowling and 2 Drinks!!

Another Bowling Night! Our most popular event! We are going to Hollywood Bowl at the popular O2 for a 2 Games of bowling as a group with a 2 free Drink In two hours we will aim to get a couple of games in with 7 people per lane. **Free Drink included** Free Drinks from the bar which include: Bottles of beer/ cider, Selection of draft beers, wines, cocktails, non- alocholic beer and cider, soft drinks in bottles and on tap, glass bottled mineral water. I have reserved 5 lanes for 7 players in each lane. So 35 people maximum! **Location** Hollywood Bowl Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX, United Kingdom **Schedule** 6:55pm - Arrive at Hollywood Bowl (Meet at main reception) 7:10pm - 9:30pm - 2 Games of Bowling and 2 Drinks 9:30pm + After Social at the Bar **Cost** This Meetup includes 2 Games of Bowling and two Drinks. Total Cost is £28 Can pay by Paypal: Https://paypal.me/MeetupSaltyYoga or Bank Transfer: Message me for my details You can pay on Stripe here: Let me know when payment is made. Total of **35 X Spots** Available so RSVP and make the Payment Quick (I will let you know when all the spots are full in the title so feel free to make payment) Chris3