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SkeptiCamp NYC 2011

Wowbagger

The Infinitely Prolonged
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SkeptiCamp arrives at the Big Apple, for a third time! Come, share that apple of knowledge with us!

Registration for SkeptiCamp NYC 2011 is now open! This year, we are providing lunch!

http://www.skepticampnyc.org/

It is taking place December 3rd, 2011
From 10:00 AM to about 6:00 PM or so. (subject to adjustments)
At Shetler Studios: 244 W 54th St., New York, NY

It's like a science conference, except that the content is provided by the attendees themselves! Anyone who can be in the New York City area, at the given date and time is invited to join us and... perhaps even present something for discussion!

General SkeptiCamp Web Site
More information about SkeptiCamp, in general, can be found here:
http://www.skepticamp.org/wiki/Main_Page

Look for updates on this thread, as we figure out more about it!

Hope some of you can join us!
 
I think we'll make attendees buy their own T-shirts from a web site.

Anyone have any opinions on which site is the best for custom SkeptiCamp T-Shirts?

Zazzle, CafePress, or SpreadShirt?
Any others?

I know SkeptiCamp Australia used Zazzle, for example.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
I'm not coming if I have to buy my own t-shirt.
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Phlebas said:
Seriously. The only reason I became a skeptic is for the swag.
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Sorry, folks. Making people buy their own T-shirts is a hot, new trend in SkeptiCamps, whether you like it or not. A good portion of attendees don't care about the T-shirts, and those who do are usually willing to pay a reasonable price for them.

We are, however, providing lunch! So, it's not like we're trying to be evil, or greedy, or anything.
 
Wowbagger said:
That's awesome!

But, I guess it also means your not as trendy as we are in NYC.

(And by "not as trendy", I mean: Your city is not as expensive to hold events in as ours is.)
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Maybe you could sponsor the event and pay for everyone's t-shirt. Come on, you've got the money.
 
Wowbagger said:
That's awesome!

But, I guess it also means your not as trendy as we are in NYC.

(And by "not as trendy", I mean: Your city is not as expensive to hold events in as ours is.)
Click to expand...

It could just mean we get a lot of sponsors willing to pony up the dough. You don't HAVE to do it in the back room at the Russian Tea Room.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
Maybe you could sponsor the event and pay for everyone's t-shirt. Come on, you've got the money.
Click to expand...

I am sponsoring and paying for a bunch of other stuff, for this event. Our research indicates a general, lukewarm "meh" towards T-shirts, so we figured it could be one freebie we can cut.

Phlebas said:
It could just mean we get a lot of sponsors willing to pony up the dough. You don't HAVE to do it in the back room at the Russian Tea Room.
Click to expand...
We could appeal to more sponsors: I am fairly sure JREF could help us out, if we asked, for example.

But, we seem to have everything covered by more local folks and groups. Except T-shirts, but that was a low priority. It's not like T-shirts won't exist: Those who want them can order them, at a reasonable price.
 
It's this Saturday! And, we still have some room left, if anyone else wants to join us!

Topics proposed, so far, include:

  • A demonstration of audio illusions and how we hear
  • Logical Fallacy Bingo
  • A Skeptic's Guide to the Art Scene
  • What is Love?
  • Skepticism and Politics (with Michael De Dora)
  • Medical Ethics and Medical Quackery
  • Skeptical Activism in NYC
  • The Ethics of Rhetoric In Skepticism
  • How to get ethnic communities more involved with atheism and humanism

Of course, actual session topics are subject to change. And, opinions of SkeptiCamp presenters do not necessarily reflect those of its organizers.
 
Wowbagger said:
A Skeptic's Guide to the Art Scene
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I won't be there, but I'm curious as to what this could possibly be about.

Wowbagger said:
Skepticism and Politics (with Michael De Dora)
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I've talked with several folks lately about how it would be nice to have talks about skepticism in politics and economics. Very narrowly focused, for obvious reasons.

We need to move past debunking dowsing and ghosts.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
I won't be there, but I'm curious as to what this could possibly be about.
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Session host Tony Saunders describes it thusly:

An interactive workshop where the bewildering trends and challenges of the current art scene (and of modernism in general) are examined, questioned, and discussed. A toolkit and primer for the skeptical viewer.​

Don't know any more about, myself, yet.

The Central Scrutinizer said:
I've talked with several folks lately about how it would be nice to have talks about skepticism in politics and economics. Very narrowly focused, for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...

Michael De Dora, being the president of CFI New York, has a bit of experience in this area.

The Central Scrutinizer said:
We need to move past debunking dowsing and ghosts.
Click to expand...
This might be one of those rare occasions where I actually agree with you on something.

Don't get used the the feeling, though. This was a fluke.
 
Wowbagger said:
Session host Tony Saunders describes it thusly:

An interactive workshop where the bewildering trends and challenges of the current art scene (and of modernism in general) are examined, questioned, and discussed. A toolkit and primer for the skeptical viewer.​

Don't know any more about, myself, yet.
Click to expand...

Being a "skeptical" viewer of art makes no sense. Will this session be recorded?
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
Being a "skeptical" viewer of art makes no sense. Will this session be recorded?
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It will most likely be recorded, unless the session host doesn't want it to be, for some reason.

If it is recorded, I don't know when it will be available. We still have a backlog of previous SkeptiCamp videos to put up. And, if it is an interactive workshop, it might lose some flavor in recorded form, depending on its nature.

But, either way, I can tell you what it was like, on Sunday.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
Being a "skeptical" viewer of art makes no sense.
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Also, for what it's worth: Massimo Pigliucci once hosted a very interesting dinner discussion about Objective Criticism of the Arts. Asking how objective critics are or even could be. It was rather interesting. I wonder if this session will be somewhat similar in nature.
 
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