On May 15th and 16th, we held our 2nd Skepticamp here in Atlanta. This year’s event included presentations from 18 attendees, a poster presentation session, a round table discussion on “Skepticism for Everyone through Social Media”, sword fights, a pony made of cake and 60+ attendees each day!
Atlanta Skepticamp 2010
For me, the presentations that stood out came from LaVerne Knight-West and Dr. Ginger Campbell (host of Brain Science Podcast and Books and Ideas). Each shared their personal journeys and experiences with the skeptical community, and warm, fuzzy feelings ensued.
Dr. Ginger Campbell at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010
Certainly the most unique presenter at Skepticamp was martial arts expert, John Clements. In addition to the fact that he brought SWORDS, he himself was highly entertaining. One of the more quotable Skepticamp moments: During a demonstration with SWORDS, John matter-of-factly states, “People with weapons KILL people without weapons, that’s why we have so many of them.” I was afforded the opportunity to challenge him in duel. I could have killed him, but the 2nd rule of Skepticamp is “Be Awesome. And Don’t Kill Anyone.”
Presenter John Clements is no match for Taylor Proctor's sword fighting skills.
I was personally excited to see the presentations from Brian, Laura, Veronica, Sean and Bob, who participated in our SkeptiBOOTcamp workshops over the weeks leading up to Skepticamp. The whole thing was a bit of an experiment, and I hope to develop the idea further before next year’s Skepticamp. I do encourage other organizers to consider doing something like this before Skepticamps. I think each participant’s presentation benefited in some way from the support and assistance gained through the different workshops.
Presenter Laura Ross at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010
Another notable aspect of Atlanta’s Skepticamp was our theme, “Critical Thinking For Everyone.” I felt the message successfully resounded throughout the weekend. Each presenter shared their own unique perspective on skepticism, and the panel on “Skepticism for Everyone through Social Media,” yielded a lot of discussion and sharing from the audience. I felt an overall sense of humility from participants throughout the weekend, a sentiment that can seem sometimes lacking in the skeptical community. I want to give extra thanks to Swoopy from Skepticality, for helping me out with my idea for a theme and really running with it.
Maria Walters and Tim Farley during panel discussion at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010
I definitely learned a lot more from organizing this year’s Skepticamp than I did during the planning of Atlanta’s first camp last year. The discussions and events of last weekend’s event, raised interesting questions in my mind to consider as I think about how we can move forward for next year’s Skepticamp. Namely, What is primary goal of having community events like Skepticamp? Is it to promote skepticism and critical thinking, or is it to nurture the skeptic?
There was marked shift in the nature of presentations from last year to this year. Last year, a majority of presentations were informative overviews of topics like logical fallacies, neuroscience, evolution, detox myths, etc. This year, more presentations addressed a skeptic’s humble lesson learned. Presenter Russ discussed how our fears, often fueled further by media sensationalism, can lead to the presumption of a crisis and unnecessary hysteria; Christian gave us an account his pleasant and relaxing visit to an acupuncturist, (despite leaving with an unhealed knee injury); Brian shared an anecdotal example of how even the most rational of skeptical critical thinkers are not immune to irrational thought. I’m excited and very interested to see the direction in which presentations might go for next year.
Thanks to all who volunteered, gave a talk, and attended Atlanta Skepticamp 2010!
I personally want to give extra-special thank yous to:
Maria Walters – for taking charge of planning when I was stressed and over-committed.
Mark Ditsler of Abrupt Media – for all things A/V club; equipment, recording, streaming, time-keeping. His contribution was priceless, as always
Derek Colanduno- for offering up our venue (even if it was quite toasty) 
David Rodriguez – for designing our Skepticamp logo and shirts.
Derek (again) and Swoopy of Skepticality – for being our badass MCs.
Brian Thompson of Amateur Scientist Podcast- for coming all the way to Atlanta to record a live podcast at our Skepticamp Fundraiser in March.
Kylie Sturgess, George Hrab, A Kovacs and Surly Amy – for their recorded messages to Atlanta Skepticampers.
Shayna Glick – for making my Skepticamp dreams come true! All I wanted for Skepticamp was a pony!
SkeptiPony, official mascot of Atlanta Skepticamp 2010
Thanks to all our sponsors!
JREF
Skeptic Magazine
Fund For Thought
Skeptical Inquirer
Skepticality
Amateur Scientist Podcast
Thinking Man Tavern
Skepchick
Surly Ramics
Tree Lobsters
Abrupt Media
Bluefox Graphic
Skepticamp, created in Denver, perfected in Atlanta!
