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This year the keynote speaker is Richard Dawkins, author of The Greatest Show on Earth, The Blind Watchmaker, The Ancestor’s Tale, as well as the book that branded him as one of the four-horsemen of “The New Atheists” movement, The God Delusion.  Dawkins did a Q&A sessions last night moderated by magician Jamie Ian Swiss.  I expect he’ll have much more to say, but he has a kind of nerd Rock Star reception around here. It’s impressive to see.

Even more of a Rock Star, and ushered about by security everywhere he goes, is Mythbusters host Adam Savage.  I’m very much looking forward to hearing what Mr. Savage has to say while he’s here.  Just before I left to fly out here I was watching a “best-of” episode of Mythbusters with my son.  And I told him, “I’m going to see that red-haired man when I go to Las Vegas.”  My son laughed because he thought I was joking.

“Is that why you’re going?” he asked.

Adam Savage channels Jamie Hyneman

It’s not the only reason, but it’s a good one.  Savage is an engaging speaker and has many entertaining things to say about making television that promotes science.  His quixotic quests to reproduce certain Hollywood film artifacts are legendary.

The schedule is pretty full during the day and there are lots of opportunities to mingle and network.  You can check out the full guest list here but even that doesn’t cover the many notable attendees such as life-extension specialist Aubrey de Grey and of course, myself! (I jest…  A bit.)

It is no small thing for me to be out here.  I’m not alone of course, many of the Atlanta Skeptics are out here with me – which is a comfort.  My co-hosts to MonsterTalk Ben Radford and Dr. Karen Stollznow are here too, the first time we’ve all been together since starting our podcast. I really appreciate the opportunity to take part in this and want to say a special thanks to JREF president, D.J. Grothe and my wife Kathleen for helping this to become a reality.

Ammonite - artist's rendition

I think there are probably a lot of educators here.  Definitely a lot of clever, clever folks.  I got to talk paleontology with some scientists last night.  We talked fossils and discussed trilobites and ammonites.  Did you know that much is known about how these extinct animals moved through the waters of the ancient earth because of hydrology experiments done in water-tanks?  Did you know that before they went extinct they were dying out and there is a controversy about whether they died out before – or during – the Cretacious-Tertiary Extinction Event?  I didn’t.  There’s a lot to learn out here in the desert.

Wish you were here.

I’ll post updates as time allows.

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!

]]> http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/2010/05/22/atlanta-skepticamp-2010-wrap-u/feed/ 0 http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/2010/04/05/register-now-atlanta-skepticamp-2010-critical-thinking-for-everyone/ http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/2010/04/05/register-now-atlanta-skepticamp-2010-critical-thinking-for-everyone/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:27:24 +0000 Taylor http://www.atlantaskeptics.com/?p=444 Atlanta’s 2nd Skepticamp is coming up May 15th-16th! Registration for the event is now open! Register for Skepticamp.

We’re calling this year’s conference “Atlanta Skepticamp 2010: Critical Thinking For Everyone.” Find out more.

Atlanta Skepticamp 2010: Critical Thinking for Everyone

WHEN

Saturday, May15th, 12pm-6pm
Sunday, May 16th, 12pm-6pm

***Skeptibrunch, snacks and beverage will be provided for participants both days

WHERE

Lakeside Commons
990 Hammond Drive NE #400
Atlanta, GA 30328

With the help of our friend Derek of Skepticality, we have use of a great, roomy conference space both days!

***We’ll announce details as far as where to park, and directions to the building and the conference space as we get closer to the date

SPEAKER REGISTRATION/VOLUNTEER SIGN UP

STAY TUNED: We’ll have a Registration Page up on the website VERY soon.

SHIRTS

A big, BIG thanks to David Rodriguez, Jr, who found us on twitter and offered to design an Atlanta Sketicamp logo. For the very fair price of FREE, I might add! He has sent us several great designs to choose from, and all I can say is that our Skepticamp shirts are going to look A-MA-ZING this year!

SkeptiBOOTcamp!

I thought it’d be great for people to be able to work on their presentations for Skepticamp together. I also thought it’d be great to remember how to give a presentation. I combined these two thoughts and came up with an idea twice as great: dun dun dun SkeptiBOOTcamp!

Our first workshop is coming up on April 11th! Find out more at SkeptiBOOTcamp!

I’m so excited Skepticamp season is finally here!

Be sure to check back, we’ll be posting updates as they happen!

Yes, I’m talking about the second ever Skeptics in the Park.

More after the break:

The first SiTPark went fairly well despite rainy and cold weather. The way the food was handled was not as good as it could have been either. I can’t really control the first thing (yet), but I’m hoping to be more organized on that second front this time around. Here’s what’s been floating about in my head so far:

When: Right now I’m looking toward mid-to-late April. It will not be on the same day as Skeptics in the Pub.

Where: The first one was in Grant Park, which wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t ideal either. I’ve decided that instead of always going to the same park every time, like we do with the pub, each SiTPark will be at a different park around the city because not everyone lives in the same area.

The park I’m looking at this go round is outside of the perimeter (not very far) on the north side. It’s a park I found while working in the Norcross/Duluth areas and would go to sometimes on my lunch break. The park I have in mind is Jones Bridge Park in Norcross. It has two pavilions as well as a playground. The main pavilion is not next to the playground. I’ll have to check on the other one. I’m not sure how much renting a pavilion is yet if we want to do that. Another option is to use one of the free standing grills that are placed in the park. It’s not a big park, so there aren’t that many, and there wouldn’t be enough existing seating for everyone, but we could bring lawnchairs or whatnot. I don’t know what the alcohol policy is, but I wouldn’t count on it being acceptable.

That is where things stand at the moment. This, of course, is very preliminary for now, and any comments/ideas are welcome.

At the meeting we’ll work on confirming an event date and location, brainstorm additional fund raising and event promotion avenues and hear some some ideas from our amazing and brilliant volunteers! We’ll also be there for those curious about participating in Atlanta Skepticamp to answer questions, assist with topic selections and offer help however we can!

I personally can’t wait to get another Skepticamp off the ground, and I’m excited to see new and familiar faces alike at the meeting on Sunday!

See you there!

We’re crazy excited about this. Brian is one of my favorite podcasters and the last time he did a live podcast in Atlanta, it turned into one of the best parties I’ve been to in years.

I hope that if you’re in or near Atlanta, you’ll join us. Brian will be interviewing Atlanta’s own Blake Smith (co-host of the Monster Talk podcast), and Lindsay Starke (writer and conspiracy expert). We are also expecting some exciting visitors who are coming into town for the event. Nothing is confirmed yet but there may be sightings of loud astronomers and flora-dwelling crustaceans… you never know

Plus, PRIZES. And not shitty Kevin Trudeau books like we had last year (although I think I still have a couple that may show up…) I’m talking really cool prizes, donated by the Atlanta Skeptics, Surly Amy, Tree Lobsters and others.

I hope you’ll make it. We’re charging a small fee for the event ($5) – it is, after all, a fundraiser but for the cost of a cup of coffee, you can be a part of what will inevitably be, the most talked about Skeptic event in Atlanta this year (at least until Dragon*Con).

I hope to see you there!

Details:

What: March Skeptics in the Pub featuring the Live Amateur Scientist podcast. RSVP at Meetup. NOTE: This will be an adult show. Bring kids at your own risk.

When: March 13, 2010, 7 p.m.

Where: Manuels Tavern, 602 N. Highland Ave, Atlanta, GA 30307