More Cancellations......

Some people are worrying (or hoping?) if he is still enjoying the same life as before. Of course, as the problem is getting attention of more people, many of his activities have been canceled or affected significantly. Some update since the last report.


・Oct. 31, 2009, Lecture at Istanbul Book Fair, TUYAP Istanbul: canceled　Updated Program, compare to Prior Announcement
・Nov. 9, 2009,  Special Lecture at Department of Architecture, Kyushu University: canceled　Schedule (in Japanese, PDF)
・Nov. 27, 2009, Plenary talk at International Design Forum: canceled　Updated Program, compare to Prior Announcement
・Toshiba Elevator Corp. "Future Elevator Contest": Dr. Anilir was listed as a judge, but removed from the web page on Nov. 16, 2009 without any explanation. 
・"Serkan College":  apparently kicked out from the original Tokyo venue in "Midtown Tokyo".  On the web, they announce that "The location will be notified to each participant in private". "Liaison Center" used to be a co-organizer, but has dropped out. We learned that many participants are now aware of the problem and demanding an explanation from the organizer.

Canceled!

Dr. Serkan Anilir was invited to speak at "TEDx Taipei" in Taiwan, on October 17th. His name was on the program until a few days before the event. As always, he was introduced as an "Astronaut Candidate". However, mysteriously, his trace cannot be found anywhere in the final program.

He was also invited to speak at a Symposium in Sendai, Japan, organized by Miyagi University on November 5th, together with a famous architect Mr. Kitagawara. Again, he was introduced as an "Astronaut Candidate", and he was supposed to speak about "environment of earth, viewed from the space." However, we just learned that apparently his name is now removed from the program - by strikeouts! It seems that there was more mercy in Taiwan.

The reason of the cancellation is not known :-) We can just tell you that, apparently quite a few people alerted the organizers of something.......

SERKAN College

A reader from Turkey asked about "SERKAN College" - what is it?

http://serkancollege.jp/ (content is in Japanese)

In short, it is not really a college or university. It has no official status as an educational institution and does not grant any degree. However, of course, people attending the "SERKAN College" are well aware of that and there should be no misunderstanding among the participants about this point.

"SERKAN College" is in fact an opportunity to attend a series of lectures (6 lectures of 2 hours each), given approximately once every two months, by Dr. Anilir. Someone has made the arrangement and taken the task of organization. You have to pay 10,000 Japanese Yen (about US$ 110 as of writing this) to attend each lecture, so 60,000 Yen in total to attend the entire series. They do not have their own building but are renting some lecture rooms. "SERKAN College" has been offered in three cities: Tokyo, Osaka, and Shizuoka. In Tokyo, they write that the capacity is 80 people and it was filled quickly.

So it is not a college in usual sense at all. However, it is remarkable that quite a few people are willing to pay 10,000 Yen each time (and spend their precious time) to attend Dr. Anilir's lectures. And their purpose is not to obtain any degree or qualification; they are motivated by genuine interest in his lectures. This certainly underwrites his talking skill. On the other hand, as always, he is introduced as "cosmologist" "astronaut candidate" and so on, at "SERKAN College". And he is supposed to talk, for example, about cosmology as a "cosmologist". Most attendants apparently believe in those "experiences" and "qualifications" of Dr. Anilir. What a shock for them, if they learn many of the claims might not be true?