Welcome

Next Lecture

Wednesday, 8 Oct 2025 7:30 pm

Professor Kit Yates will explore themes from his book How to Expect the Unexpected, examining the challenges of prediction in an uncertain world. He will discuss how human intuition struggles with forecasting due to cognitive biases, particularly our tendency to assume linearity in situations where exponential growth or feedback loops are at play. This misperception can lead to critical errors, such

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Speaker: Prof. Kit Yates, Professor of Mathematical Biology and Public Engagement

University of Bath

When three scientifically-minded Cirencester friends thought of forming a small group to enjoy talks on a range of scientific subjects, little could they have foreseen that twenty-one years later it would be flourishing with over 200 members. Its name belies the wide area from which members come, stretching from Stroud in the West, northwards to Cheltenham and Malmesbury in the South.

Each year the society holds a series of ten lectures on a varied selection of topics intended to appeal to a wide variety of interests and levels of scientific background. Members include not only scientists, doctors and engineers but also many who have a general interest in science and technology.

Our friendly meetings are held at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of each month, usually at the Royal Agricultural University. The CSTS is moving cautiously back to 'in-person' lectures at the RAU, but will also continue on-line streaming of its talks. Our Zoom ID is 912 0723 6181, and an invitation e-mail is sent to members regularly. If you are not a member but wish to attend a Zoom lecture, please contact us at . A contribution of £3 is requested from non-members, which is waived for students. All are welcome to join either audience.

Students are admitted free.

Exhibitions have been arranged in the past and visits are made regularly to places of scientific and technological interest, including wildlife reserves and museums. We also offer small educational grants to local schools and colleges for suitable projects, so far this year disbursing approximately £1,500 to three schools in the region.

Next Visit

Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts.

Wednesday, 15 Oct 2025

The visit to Rothamsted Research is now closed to applications!

We are excited to offer CSTS members an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to the world's oldest agricultural research institute on October 15th. This expert guided tour gives us privileged access to their cutting-edge research facilities.

You will see their historic sample archives, find out about their work on GM crops and

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