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Post-TAM9 Thoughts

bumlet5

Indescribable
bumlet5
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
Messages
5,366
Well, another TAM gone, another year to wait.

At least I managed to avoid Scrut most of the time.

How did everyone enjoy it? Comments? Thoughts?
 
Best TAM ever!

OK, I've only been to two ;), but I agree with Randi's closing comments that it's going to be a hell of a challenge to outdo themselves next year. Last year's was excellent, and in my view this year's topped it.

Still, looking forwards to seeing how they do in 2012. :)
 
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I enjoyed it, it's a little out of my way for my budget, but I learned stuff, met a few forumites, caught Penn & Teller's show, got vaccinated, and got a good dose of rah-rah for skepticism as a movement.
 
TAM 9 was my first, so I have no basis of comparison, but it was fantastic for me. Highlights were

Bill Nye - what energy!

Steven Novella's panel on placebos - scientists getting down to the nitty-gritty of a tricky issue but still in layman's terms

Pamela Gay shushing Neil Tyson when he's interrupting

Penn & Teller - their show at the Rio

Penn - Doughnuts, bacon, and a B-minus rock band (sorry!)

Elizabeth Loftus - what courage to initiate her research against repressed memories - she caught some hell for that.

Carol Tavris - reference to the book on how Catholicism has changed its eternal (!) mission throughout the years

Randi - for tricking Jamy Swiss into thinking that Randi misheard Swiss wanting to assure Randi that the million dollars were still safe after some tests of psychics at NBC - hilarious! Randi is one sharp 83-year-old.

Richard Weissman - a hilarious half-hour talk

I could go on
 
Oh, I forgot! (I guess I am going on)

George Hrab's hilarious off-the-cuff question to the Spanish-accented member of the audience after he asked a panel a question: "Can you say, 'Prepare to die?'" The Spanish-accented guy had no idea at the time what the reference was, but said it anyway, and the audience cracked up, my wife loves that movie (the line is the repeated line from "The Princess Bride") and she was laughing so hard she cried. I was right there with her.

We talked to George later at the Del Mar bar and he said he was shaking with nervousness because he knew he had a killer line to give (the question to the guy with the Spanish accent) but had to wait for the guy to ask his question of the panel and was getting horribly impatient. Yeah, when you can see the cushy ball coming to the plate, and it seems like it's taking forever, you can't wait to hit it out of the park.
 
Absolutely incredible. I can't say whether it's the best TAM ever (as it's my first) but it was totally worth the price of admission. Carol Tavris is now one of my favorite people in the entire world. The panel on our future in outer space was simply amazing. Seeing Krauss, Tyson, Nye, Pamela all walk out I knew it was going to rock, and it did.

Elizabeth Loftus - always admired her for her work, hearing her talk in person about it was great.

Best part about it? Just being able to meet everyone, famous skeptics and us not-so-famous ones too.

I will definitely be going next year!
 
SkepticalDrew said:
The panel on our future in outer space was simply amazing. Seeing Krauss, Tyson, Nye, Pamela all walk out I knew it was going to rock, and it did.
Click to expand...

That panel was the best one I've seen, at TAM or any other conference, and the only panel I've ever seen receive a standing ovation.
 
It was my first TAM, and WOW! It was awesome (to use the much implemented superlative). Meeting my Skeptical heroes was very cool. I also made some super new Skeptic friends - especially the crazy Norwegians. I thought Rebecca's Gameshow was super fun, and the talks were very worthwhile. I loved Sadie Crabtree's talk but with regards to the dichotomy between her approach and that of PZ Meyer's, I really felt that the message for the future of skepticism is to take each case as it comes and employ a strategy that feels best for that scenario - sometimes it is important to be nice and go slowly with claimants, othertimes, especially if being nice is not working then the PZ approach seems applicable.

I was pleased to see that nothing disrupted the event in light of Elevatorgate - I even had a little daydream where I dreamt Rebecca and Richard made a joint statement to work together to find common ground, then they hugged and left the stage - I guess its early days.

I was impressed at all the talent we have in our community - really good talks, and I felt a good diversity of voices and approaches.

In spite of feeling super wrecked after TAM, and on my way back to South Africa via London tonight (TAM, then changing time zones - yay, this should be fun!) I feel fired up to be more active in my home country. We still have the odd witch burning for **** sake!

I am planning on preparing for a larger contingent of South African Tam'ers next year - there were 4 of us this year.

See you all on the interwebs.
 
This was my second TAM (8 being my first) so I knew what to expect. I loved the panels, especially when they did not agree. I love being in a group that has more than one opinion and is allowed to express it. I'm very glad that I volunteered with the JREF forums. It was a great way to get to know people and plan extra activities. I hope to continue to post here and get to know everyone better so that next year I know even more people. And it's just nice to be around people who think like me! ((kisses))
 
Fluxosaurus said:
It was my first TAM, and WOW! It was awesome (to use the much implemented superlative). Meeting my Skeptical heroes was very cool. I also made some super new Skeptic friends - especially the crazy Norwegians. I thought Rebecca's Gameshow was super fun, and the talks were very worthwhile. I loved Sadie Crabtree's talk but with regards to the dichotomy between her approach and that of PZ Meyer's, I really felt that the message for the future of skepticism is to take each case as it comes and employ a strategy that feels best for that scenario - sometimes it is important to be nice and go slowly with claimants, othertimes, especially if being nice is not working then the PZ approach seems applicable.

I was pleased to see that nothing disrupted the event in light of Elevatorgate - I even had a little daydream where I dreamt Rebecca and Richard made a joint statement to work together to find common ground, then they hugged and left the stage - I guess its early days.

I was impressed at all the talent we have in our community - really good talks, and I felt a good diversity of voices and approaches.

In spite of feeling super wrecked after TAM, and on my way back to South Africa via London tonight (TAM, then changing time zones - yay, this should be fun!) I feel fired up to be more active in my home country. We still have the odd witch burning for **** sake!

I am planning on preparing for a larger contingent of South African Tam'ers next year - there were 4 of us this year.

See you all on the interwebs.
Click to expand...

You weren't part of the nice South African family I met in the Del Mar on Wednesday night were you?
 
A most excellent TAM. They are all a bit blurred together for me, but I enjoy every one. Tyson and Nye were real highlights this year.

~~ Paul
 
This was my first TAM and I thought it was really awesome. Listening to the panel about space exploration was incredible.

I enjoyed meeting forum members but honestly, all 1650-odd people in the room were great to talk to. It was really great, and if we are able to afford it again we would come to another TAM. It was a wonderful experience.
 
South Africans

SkepticalDrew said:
You weren't part of the nice South African family I met in the Del Mar on Wednesday night were you?
Click to expand...

Nope, but I am glad you met some of the SA crew - we only met each other there at TAM, so it was new introductions all around. He and his kids live in another part of South Africa but we plan to work together to advance the skeptical cause there.:cool:
 
Homoskeptical said:
Where can I find the photo of the bearded group photo?
Click to expand...

Here's one I took:
thum_139514e25e14e60ea8.jpg


Also, this one is interesting because there was a ghost in the room that was invisible to the naked eye, but it showed up on this image. It's a long, diagonal ghost. Several people felt a cold wind blow through their beards:
thum_139514e25e1c2427ae.jpg
 
Worst. TAM. Ever.

I went back and forth trying to decide if I should add a disclaimer making it clear that this is a joke. In the end I decided to not include a disclaimer, thereby keeping everyone guessing.
 
It was my first TAM, and I had the time of my life!

As everyone has said, the highlights were the talks by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye, and the panel they were on together. I thought Richard Dawkins' talk was a little dull, but he's a brilliant speaker nonetheless. I found it hilarious to hear him sincerely and apologetically utter the words, "I'm afraid I don't know who Chuck Norris is."

I'm a bit of an introvert, so I didn't socialize as much as I would have liked, and I stuck to the official event schedule for the most part, but I still managed to meet a fair amount of really cool people. Thanks to everyone for being so welcoming! I also managed to chat with many of my skeptical heroes, especially a long-ish conversation with David Gorski during the reception.

Having experienced this TAM first hand, I can't imagine not coming back next year. Hope to see and meet more of you folks at TAM 10!
 
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