• OPEN DISCUSSION - For the first 30 minutes of the Thursday night forums we will have informal open discussion. This will allow for late arrivals, food & drink ordering, and new attendees to become acclimated.
• ANNOUNCEMENTS - Any events, news, or other items that you feel are of interest to the group can be announced at the start of Free Inquiry Forum.

TOPICS for Thursday (3/10/05) & Monday (3/14/05):

1. Last week the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in 19 states. The 5-4 decision throws out the death sentences of about 70 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes. The court said the executions were unconstitutionally cruel. Do you agree? Are you surprised by the narrow margin by which this decision was reached?
2. It has been suggested that "egocasting" -- the use of technologies to personalize our media experiences -- may lead to a perilous future where we refuse to engage with the world around us. Furthermore, some warn that "egocasting" can cause increased cultural polarization, strain in personal relationships, and hinder the education of children. Others praise these technologies for allowing us to filter out the unimportant clutter that is so prevalent in the various forms of multimedia. Examples of "egocasting" technologies include blogs, DVRs (TiVo), and MP3 Players (iPod). Is "egocasting" changing our fundamental approach to how we relate to each other? Do you feel these "egocasting" technologies are more harmful or beneficial?
3. Does spiritual healing or energy healing work? Can any reliable evidence be obtained to prove any of these healings are due to a supernatural source? Some studies suggest that successful spiritual healing is only a powerful placebo. If so, is it irrelevant whether the effects are "real" or due to the placebo as long as the patient is better as a result? Can and should doctors use the placebo effect to benefit the patient? Should doctors that are providing a treatment to a patient, express confident expectation that it will work, thus possibly creating a reinforcing placebo effect?
4. OPEN DISCUSSION.

Quote of the week: "If you're providing a treatment to a patient, it's important that your realistically provide them with the expectation that it would work, so you enhance the effect. If you gave them a drug or any kind of treatment with the attitude, either explicit or implicit, that this might not be effective, it would be much less likely to be effective." [Dr. Kenneth Casey, professor at the University of Michigan - Source]

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