TAM 2012 Las Vegas

I wonder... what do people do at TAMs? Do they really talk about Bigfoot and UFOs? That seems rather boring to me. Yet people describe it as being a very fun event.

TubbaBlubba said:
I'll show up if someone funds my travel there and back.

It's just $2000 or so.
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You'll also need to go to the American embassy (or something equivalent) to get permission to get into the country.
 
Humes fork said:
I wonder... what do people do at TAMs? Do they really talk about Bigfoot and UFOs? That seems rather boring to me. Yet people describe it as being a very fun event.



You'll also need to go to the American embassy (or something equivalent) to get permission to get into the country.
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Done that already, since I was there this year. It's a trivial process. You just fill out a form. And ensure that you did not take part in The Holocaust.

Also, we hang out. Discuss. Drink booze (well, some). Shake hands with famous skeptics. Watch conferences.
 
Humes fork said:
I wonder... what do people do at TAMs? Do they really talk about Bigfoot and UFOs? That seems rather boring to me. Yet people describe it as being a very fun event.
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We get speakers, most often good ones, about a variety of topics on science, skeptical, and perhaps even humanistic topics.... by day.

....by night, it's a lot of socializing and activities (often unofficial ones) and stuff.

If it was all just a lot about Bigfoot and UFOs, I agree that would be boring. But, that's only a small part of what TAM is. I think YouTube has a bunch of videos of a bunch of the talks and panels and stuff.

Examples of two items, from the broad range of "science" to "humanism", are these:

The "Our Future in Space" panel, from TAM9:


Phil Plait's "Don't Be a Dick" speech (actual title "The Goal of Skepticism"), from TAM8:
 
TubbaBlubba said:
Done that already, since I was there this year. It's a trivial process. You just fill out a form. And ensure that you did not take part in The Holocaust.

Also, we hang out. Discuss. Drink booze (well, some). Shake hands with famous skeptics. Watch conferences.
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Oh, had no idea. Did you go there alone?

Wowbagger said:
We get speakers, most often good ones, about a variety of topics on science, skeptical, and perhaps even humanistic topics.... by day.

....by night, it's a lot of socializing and activities (often unofficial ones) and stuff.

If it was all just a lot about Bigfoot and UFOs, I agree that would be boring. But, that's only a small part of what TAM is. I think YouTube has a bunch of videos of a bunch of the talks and panels and stuff.

Examples of two items, from the broad range of "science" to "humanism", are these:
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I see. These videos seem interesting.

Curious, how old are the people at such an event?
 
Humes fork said:
Curious, how old are the people at such an event?
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Age range is very broad. It is mostly young adults, 30ish or younger. However, there is no shortage of 40+ or 60+ attendees, either.

And, yes, there are a few groups of teens tossed in, as well.

This is, basically, the largest international skeptic's conference, so you can expect a broad range of peoples, who would be interested in skepticism, from all sorts of places around the world.
 
SkepticScott said:
Don't tell 'Scrut, but he's never actually attended a TAM. Each year we hire over 1,500 unemployed actors to put on a fake TAM just for Scrut. The rest of us hold the real TAM at a Secret Location. It's better that way.
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Now that you have gone ahead and given it all away they will now have to set up two fake TAMS. One that Scrut knows is fake and one that he does not know is fake.

Unless it is set up so that the one knows is fake is the real TAM and the one that he thinks is real is a fake TAM......
 
Doubt said:
Now that you have gone ahead and given it all away they will now have to set up two fake TAMS. One that Scrut knows is fake and one that he does not know is fake.

Unless it is set up so that the one knows is fake is the real TAM and the one that he thinks is real is a fake TAM......
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It's TAM on top of TAM on top of TAM... I think it's TAMs all the way down...
 
Doubt said:
Now that you have gone ahead and given it all away they will now have to set up two fake TAMS. One that Scrut knows is fake and one that he does not know is fake.

Unless it is set up so that the one knows is fake is the real TAM and the one that he thinks is real is a fake TAM......
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Stick him back into the Virutal Reality simulator. You'll only need one fake TAM in there. And, this time, make sure it has sufficient power supplied to it.
 
SkepticScott said:
Don't tell 'Scrut, but he's never actually attended a TAM. Each year we hire over 1,500 unemployed actors to put on a fake TAM just for Scrut. The rest of us hold the real TAM at a Secret Location. It's better that way.
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Should I be worried that I've been seeing Scrut at the TAMs I've been attending?
 
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