Science fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction fans getting together to have fun! Isaac Asimov, Harry Potter, Dr. Who, Pern, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Battlestar Galactica, Valdemar, Star Wars... the list of our interests and enthusiasms goes on and on. Come join us at our monthly social at Dave and Busters to meet fans from all over Chicago and suburbs who have equally wide-ranging interests. Order off the menu, pay before you leave and have fun! Our focus is relaxed socializing. We …

community for the discussion of the convergence of design science and software development / engineering, resulting from non-linear and dynamic complexity of the software ecosystem. Construct practice frameworks, etc. Open to software researchers, architects, engineers, designers, scientists, developers, programmers, analysts, and users

STEM Rocks is an educational consulting company with a focus on STEM curricula for students of all ages. Our goal is to facilitate innovative learning and exciting educational opportunities in the areas of STEM - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Chicago's original & largest Science Fiction & Fantasy Meetup! Our monthly meetup is on the first Tuesday of each month. It's a great place to meet folks and talk about random fandom with long time members and newbies in a relaxed setting with no timetable. The rest of the month join us for movies, dinners, and geeky gatherings of all types! We are an eclectic group into all aspects of Science Fiction and Fantasy including books, movies, TV, gaming and conventions. You are welcome if you've just …

This is a group for anyone interested in beginning, or expanding, their art knowledge and skills, and explore new ideas. All skills levels are welcome. We are starting this group because now there's a great Art Shop to serve as a meeting place, and we're adding Art of Science Monthly Meetups, to find the place where Art and Science overlap. Looking forward to exploring the vast world of art and art related events with everybody interested in expanding their worlds.

Do you like conventions about Science Fiction? Fantasy? Gaming? Anime? Horror? Odd stuff in general? The Chicago Conventions group is designed to get people together at conventions and at certain other related events to meet and have fun. Check out the Calendar! Note posts will be created on the calendar about all of the conventions (that I know of) in the Chicago area. If you know of other conventions not listed, send a message to the organizer Leane with whatever details you have and it will g …

A group of brain and science geeks dedicated to Brain Research and practical applications in life, work and play. We are students, kids, biz and other professionals, just plain folks.  Be prepared to bring stuff and share.  We like shy people -- they know more!  Be prepared to learn a lot, there will be a test soon! (just kidding) Free and open sharing and principled (non-personal) arguments encouraged.  Nothing supernatural, religious or political -- unless it is related to brain research. Join …

This is a group for anyone interested in arts, business, lectures, music, science, technology, outdoors, family events, education, book clubs and any event that can be organized with a secular approach. If you are an Agnostic, Atheist, Non-Religious, Freethinker, Rationalist, Secular, Skeptic, Cynic, Secular Humanist, Naturalist, Deist, 'Nothing,' or any number of non-religious descriptives, you belong here. Visit us at our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NOgodsLAND/3844180982 …

Kabbalah Chicago is a non profit educational institute teaching the hidden science of Kabbalah for the purpose of repairing the world. This Meetup group is for anyone who struggles with the true meaning of life. Bnei Baruch Study Center Chicago: 3340 Dundee Rd Suite 2C5 Northbrook, IL 60062 (773) 800-9120 Email: chicago@kabbalah.info Driving Directions: Google Map WWW.KABBALAHCHICAGO.ORG

Under Construction (but join!) (Note that this page as well as some outgoing links are NSFW.) This group is for people who have an intuition of something better, and who are pursuing it in every direction simultaneously. You have a sense of rightness and wrongness that cuts to the bone, and it doesn't line up with traditional religion or the zeitgeist. You're an information sponge, but you hold it all provisionally and pragmatically. You know that all truths are partial perspectives, i.e. wrong …

Freethought Families of Chicago represent a local group of parents and families in the Chicagoland area with secular worldviews, humanist mindsets, and value science-based education. Those who wish to join us can look forward to regular family-friendly (and freethought-friendly) events and meetups around the area. Freethought Families of Chicago is affiliated with and run by the Chicago Freethought Project.

Do you have a degree in computer science or mathematics, but feel like you've just scratched the surface of the emerging field of Machine Learning (aka Applied Statistics, or Artificial Intelligence)? We regularly study the math, the theory, and the code. Come learn with us and teach us what you know. This meetup intends to bring together statisticians and computer scientists for a monthly informal meeting to discuss what we understand so far, what to learn next, and the state-of-the-art to t …

This is group is for interested people to discuss concepts of Ancient India. Discussions and seminars are welcome on Astrology (Jyotish), Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), Ganita (Vedic Mathematics), Samhita (Astronomy), Sanskrit, Mantra Shastra (The Vedic science of sound therapy), Vastu Shastra (The Vedic science of architecture) and any other relevant subject. From ancient times sages of India selflessly showered knowledge to us on numerous aspects of human life - from precise methods of timing ev …

Discourse cheers us to companionable reflection. Such reflection neither parades polemical opinions nor does it tolerate complaisant agreement. The sail of thinking keeps trimmed hard to the wind of the matter. -- from "On the Experience of Thinking," Heidegger "Philosophy is not a theory but an activity." -- from "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus," Wittgenstein Join us soon for friendship, cooperative discourse and mental exercise, all organized around an interest in our own engagements …

This group organizes networking and social events for attendees at the BIO International Convention. We first launched the group for the 2009 BIO International Convention in Atlanta, and this year we are planning even more events for the 2013 Convention in Chicago, Illinois. If you have ideas about what this group should be doing in Chicago and beyond, please don't hesitate to contact us. This year's Convention will host 15,000 to 17,000 biotech professionals in Chicago at McCormick Place, April …

Chicago needs a hardware meetup, so we are making it happen! Join us and bring anyone interested in startups and building businesses based on the manufacture of physical products: from company boards to organic soap. Chicago has a wealth of production-based companies and capabilities, hackers, makers, makerspaces and our goal is to promote a stronger hardware startup community around it by bringing these people and pieces together with experts in production, academics, engineers, and successful …

This group is a place to meet others interested in rationality and cognitive bias. Come learn with us... and socialize, too! Since Kahneman and Tversky pioneered the science of human decision-making in the 1970's, researchers have developed a good understanding of how humans reason relative to the ideal. However, much of this research on cognitive bias has yet to trickle down into popular culture. The goal of Rational Future meetups is to promote the public understanding of rationality and human …

This group is for people interested in getting together to read, analyze, and discuss current scientific literature about environmental health, with a particular focus on the intersection between environmental health and maternal and child health, but not exclusively. Issues such as climate change, built environment, and occupational health are all interesting and important topics we may cover. For each meeting we will all pre-read the same article from the scientific literature. One person each …

- Bringing together data scientists, computational scientists, and folks interested in data analytics, scientific computing, and visualization. - Promoting data computing as a way to enhance computational outcomes and add value to the bottom line. - Fostering a collaborative culture between government labs, industry, the non-profit sector, and academia in the Chicagoland area.

This is the meeting site for the Chicago area R user group. R is an open source language and environment for statistical computing and graphics.

Join us for public lectures in Chicago on the Gnostic Teachings, a practical, spiritual and scientific methodology for transforming suffering and acquiring personal knowledge of the divine. Gnosis is the universal wisdom at the heart of all great religions and mystical traditions, and has manifested through innumerable teachers and spiritual guides. The principal literature of discussion is the canon of Samael Aun Weor, a modern author and expositor on esoteric topics such as Gnosticism, Kabbala …

Calling all who are seeking the spiritual truth! Based on the principle of "Don’t try to see how far the darkness stretches, just light your inner lamp", Samarpan Meditation today is being followed by hundreds of thousands of people beyond the boundaries of age, language, country, religion, race, color, belief, or lifestyle - all over the world. This meditation technique is totally free-of-charges, not just during introductory sessions but it is free always, for the simple reason that it is base …

Do you speak English? Do you speak Spanish? Do you speak both languages? It doesn't matter. Come and join us! We are your portal to the best educational events in Chicago. Arts, Book Authors, Chess, Learning Activities, Movies, Science and Technology We will keep you posted with new events every week. ======================= ¿Hablas Inglés? ¿Hablas Español? ¿Hablas los dos idiomas? No importa. ¡Ven y forma parte de nuestro grupo! Somos el portal de los mejores eventos educacionales en Chicago. A …

Romanian IT Professionals - Chicago This group is open to any Romanians from the Chicagoland area who are involved in the IT industry. All skill levels are welcome. We regularly get together at various locations in the city and we always have an amazing time.

"Stranger, here you do well to tarry; Here our highest good is pleasure" Join a gathering of Friends to discuss applied Epicurean philosophy; the research, science and philosophy of happiness; simple living, frugality, self-sufficiency; ataraxia, living the pleasant life and the analysed life, even perhaps gardening and other Epicurean interests as presented in the webpage for the International Society of Friends of Epicurus: societyofepicurus.com/ For more on Epicureanism, you may visit newepic …

This Meetup is for students and professionals living in the greater Chicago area, who are interested in discussing and exploring the field of information architecture and user experience. The goal of this Meetup is to do more than simply identify current theories and approaches, but to create new theories and approaches that will help guide the field of information architecture and user experience. In our Meetups, we will discuss: card sorting techniques, classification, human-computer interact …

The objective of the Big Picture Book Club is focus on and discuss books addressing the big questions of human history, science and technology, social and political issues, the future, and how we, as individuals, can flourish and even make a difference in the Big Picture. You can check out an initial list of books we're interested in here. No one can read every book for every meeting. In each meeting notice, there are at least a few online "book content cheats," including links materials about t …

The ancient wisdom of Kabbalah offers practical solutions to our challenges today. Kabbalah gives us not only an understanding of our reality, but also the methods for attaining our goals. We all have the ability to find our purpose and receive fulfillment beyond our wildest dreams and imaginings. In fact, the literal translation of kabbalah is to receive. A central teaching of Kabbalah is that you are destined to live a joyous, abundant life, full of meaning and free from chaos. Learn your true …