Quick Recap of TAM-7
July 24th, 2009
|
| Share |
It is obviously really really late to be recapping the events of The Amazing Meeting 7, but as I had been under the weather for a while, now seems like as good a time as any to mention the goings on.
For those who do not know, The Amazing Meeting is an annual event sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation which brings together a lot of skeptics and critical thinkers. There are lectures, workshops, drinking, mingling, drinking, meeting new people, drinking, exchanging ideas, drinking and finally drinking. The whole thing is a hoot and it’s been getting bigger each year. As always I had a blast and it was at times a bit of sensory overload.
(This was staged, Penn did not actually hit me)
For those who don’t know what a “skeptic” is, it’s a little hard to explain. No, we do not just sit around talking about how we think all UFO’s can be explained as a hoax or honest mistake. (We do that too, it’s just not the only thing we do.) The JREF and the skeptical community embody a wide variety of beliefs and philosophies, but in general the group consists of critical thinkers who don’t like things like homeopathy and do like things like science.
If you have any interest in science in the public media, skepticism, debunking, myths and myth busting, the harm caused by misinformation on things like vaccines and conspiracy theories or if you’re just a little bit geeky in general, it might be worth considering attending one of these get-togethers.
A few highlights:
RS Lancaster, who had suffered a stroke last year was in attendance. I was personally very surprised and extremely happy to see that his condition has improved dramatically. Mr. Lancaster is still wheelchair bound and has limited use of the left side of his body. However, he has regained the ability to speak fluently and he appears to have very good alertness and mental facilities. I’m so glad to see RSL doing better and enjoying the occasion.
A preliminary test was conducted for the Million Dollar Challenge. The test was witnessed by hundreds of attendees. The subject of the test did not pass, but it was still a memorable and very suspenseful event. Personally, I was pretty confident that I knew what the outcome would be, but I still held my breath.
Of course, there were plenty of great speakers and presenters. I want to offer a special thanks to Joe Nickell, whose presentation was above average even for the event. Mr. Nickell is a senior researcher for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. You may recognize him from the numerous television shows or magazine articles he has been involved with. Mr. Nickell prefers not to be called a “debunker” because he sets out to investigate reports and follow the facts. The fact that all his investigations have resulted in the most mundane explanations for things like the Roswell event or lake monsters is just a coincidence.
Mr. Nickell was also a very interesting person to chat with after his presentation. Of course, the same could be said for any of the guests and numerous other attendees.
Mr. Randi himself has been experiencing some health issues in recent months. He is 80 years old and as such even a minor incident can be draining. However, he is continuing to improve after having had some complications. I will leave it at that, but I’ll also say that there is every reason to be optimistic that he will continue to be a thorn in the side of many scammers for years to come.
And finally a big thanks to everyone, but especially: George Rhab, Penn and Teller, Hal Bidlack, Jeff Wagg, Alison Smith, Adam Savage, Joe Nickell, Banacheck, Linda, Michael Shermer, James Randi and numerous others who I am sure I have forgotten…
I will be posting more on the amazing events of TAM as well as the various individuals whom I had the pleasure of meeting and exchanging thoughts with. However, this weekend I’m going to be at the beach.
This entry was posted on Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 6:22 pm and is filed under Amazing Meeting, Announcements, Bad Science, Good Science, Misc, Paranormal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
View blog reactions
July 24th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Sounds interesting. Penn and teller were really there? That’s cool. I still don’t really understand what a skeptic is. Are you skeptical about everything? You must realize some things are just worth taking because otherwise how can you really get by? doubt everything and all? Are Penn and teller considered skeptics?
Quote Comment
July 24th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Ah, I’ve seen that guy before. Good skeptical investigator. I take it you had a good birthday? Seems like it would be a good way to celebrate to have your birthday fall on a day during a conference like that.
I think Penn and Teller have done a good job in popularizing skepticism. Their show bull**** is excellent. I guess I could nitpick about how it might not always give the full science facts, but it is what it is and the fact that they made a successful show out of it is pretty great.
Quote Comment
July 24th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
I remember James Randi on the tonight show showing the medical frauds and various self-proclaimed psychics for being the liars they are. It is an important thing to do in the media, especially when so many are on the other side of things. Randi was always good for doing it in a way that got attention and I’m glad to see Penn and Teller and others like them working at it and putting their own spin on it. It’s important that this message gets out to the people and making it entertaining or whatever, that can be what it takes.
I don’t think this battle is going to ever come to a clean end. Someone has to be ready to take on the missinformers who will try to stop things like vaccinations or who will swindle the money of grieving relatives who lose someone. The fact that there are so many people enthusiastic about it is a very hopeful sign.
By the way, in my book, Buzz is still filed under “young” and I’m glad he is and that there is a good generational distribution. It means you have a very healthy movement when you have the old pillars interacting with the younger newcomers. It means it will not have to worry about dying out, and in many organizations that is a real problem.
Quote Comment
July 24th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Sounds like you had fun.
Quote Comment
July 25th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Great to hear RSL is OK!
Quote Comment
July 25th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Tom said:
I am not as active in this community as this blog’s author, but it is a very worthwhile cause and it’s not being skeptical about “Everything.”
I think you could describe it as activism which promotes critical examination of various superstitions and beliefs that are not supported by empirical evidence or that are baseless. This runs from paranormal beliefs into homeopathy and anti-vaccine rhetoric and so on. Also, of course, the whole “bad science” and scientific information that is flawed and presented anyway. That’s things like quackery and inflated claims of harm from things.
I think most self-described skeptics would point out that these ideas cause harm and allow scam artists to get away with taking advantage of people. Therefore, if you can refute such ideas and promote more science literacy, you end up with a society that is better able to resist inaccurate information and where scams don’t fly as well.
That would be my take on it. I’ve seen people like James Randi doing this for some time. To an extent popular groups like the Mythbusters contribute as well. I would say it is an important side to things because if the general public is not informed even in the most basic sense on these things then it will end up finding its way into politics and at that point we can end up with very bad policy that is driven by myths and irrational fears.
Quote Comment
July 25th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
very cool.
Been a member of CSICOP memember for years.
Quote Comment
July 29th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I am jealous. It sounds like it was a lot of fun. I’m a big fan of Penn and Teller especially.
Quote Comment