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TAM 9 Wishlist

I’d like to see the main sessions reduced to afternoons only and have options in the mornings ranging from basic skeptical issues to more controversial or esoteric topics. I know that the Thursday workshops’ do some of this but I found the Science Based Medicine workshops annoyingly basic in their content and some of the speakers were tedious for me but appriciated by others. At times I felt like I was at a convention rather than a conference.
 
My wish for several TAMs now: No more men in kilts. Yes, we realize you're a non-conformist. A rebel. You are an independent thinker. We get it. So you can stop now. You look like an idiot.
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
My wish for several TAMs now: No more men in kilts. Yes, we realize you're a non-conformist. A rebel. You are an independent thinker. We get it. So you can stop now. You look like an idiot.
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I beg to differ. A kilt (or a great T-shirt, stuffed flying pigasus, gorgeous surly-ramic, etc) gives me a reason to talk to a stranger. Opening a conversation isn't always easy but the attendees are worth it. A little ice-breaker is appreciated.

More wish list stuff: In another thread, someone mentioned that forum member David Wong is an associate editor at Cracked, an online humor magazine that often deals with skeptical subjects. A talk on humor as an intro to critical thinking would be a terrific follow-up to this year's "Don't be a dick." theme.
 
bookitty said:
A talk on humor as an intro to critical thinking would be a terrific follow-up to this year's "Don't be a dick." theme.
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I was thinking about something like that earlier today - something along the lines of effective use of satire, parody, etc in argument.
 
Also, to get back to the wish list for speakers & entertainers, has anyone ever tried to get Stephen Fry -- or for that matter Hugh Laurie for TAM? And what about Jonathan Coulton? Seems to me JoCo would be a great fit.
 
bookitty said:
I beg to differ. A kilt (or a great T-shirt, stuffed flying pigasus, gorgeous surly-ramic, etc) gives me a reason to talk to a stranger. Opening a conversation isn't always easy but the attendees are worth it. A little ice-breaker is appreciated.
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Maybe you could walk up to guys and thank them for not wearing a kilt. There's your ice breaker.

ETA: I guess I'm the opposite - paint yourself silver? Sorry, not interested. Someone else walked around with a stuffed animal on their shoulder. Same thing.
 
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The Central Scrutinizer said:
Maybe you could walk up to guys and thank them for not wearing a kilt. There's your ice breaker.

ETA: I guess I'm the opposite - paint yourself silver? Sorry, not interested. Someone else walked around with a stuffed animal on their shoulder. Same thing.
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:D That might be taken the wrong way but the ensuing "What's wrong with my legs?!" conversation might be worth it. I take it you didn't talk to the kid with stuffed animal. He was very blase' about it, in an almost Monty Python sort of way. Quite amusing.

To my knowledge, we did not meet up at TAM. I regret that. Next time, there will be more focus on those without props.
 
bookitty said:
More wish list stuff: In another thread, someone mentioned that forum member David Wong is an associate editor at Cracked, an online humor magazine that often deals with skeptical subjects. A talk on humor as an intro to critical thinking would be a terrific follow-up to this year's "Don't be a dick." theme.
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SkeptiKhatt said:
Also, to get back to the wish list for speakers & entertainers, has anyone ever tried to get Stephen Fry -- or for that matter Hugh Laurie for TAM? And what about Jonathan Coulton? Seems to me JoCo would be a great fit.
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Now there's a good idea for a theme: Humour as a tool for promoting skeptical positions. We could invite the Mr. Deity crew and that British comedy team that did the homeopathic A&E sketch as well. Any other suggestions?
 
Horatius said:
Now there's a good idea for a theme: Humour as a tool for promoting skeptical positions. We could invite the Mr. Deity crew and that British comedy team that did the homeopathic A&E sketch as well. Any other suggestions?
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Captain Disillusion, more Paul Provenza, Tim Minchin...

Hmmm...seems you could have an entire day dedicated to comedians. Maybe a show instead?
 
mr. ottle said:
Can't say for sure, but she was dressed as a nurse at the last Dragon*Con, so there's a good chance. But that would mean she's been giving the same unintentionally hilarious talk for years now...
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Yeah, it was dreadful.

/sexist

But she was nice to look at!

/
 
If they go with TAM 9 from Outer Space, my speaker vote is for Neil Degrasse Tyson again or Michio Kaku.

Beyond that, I'd like to hear Eugenie Scott, Stephen Fry, and possibly Joss Whedon (not sure how well he fits in the skeptic bit, but I'd love to see him speak there anyway).
 
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