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TAM 9 Dates

LilaMae said:
Sweet! I know at least TWO Skepchicks...one of whom is a fellow co-organizer of our skeptics group. I'm so in.
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What if they don't like you?

LilaMae said:
While we're at it, how about a screening process to keep out some of the, oh shall we say, creepy/unnervingly-intense/stalker douche-bags?
Walking on eggshells around these weirdos is kind of a party buzzkill.
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Hey! If you'll recall, you're the one who talked to me first. So there. :)
 
DocM said:
Well, consider the whiners' point of view. This year was my first TAM. I knew exactly two people there (one being my wife), but had a lot of fun. One of my personal highlights was the Skepchick party. If that had been an "invitation only" event for the in-group (celebrities, speakers, and personal friends of the organizers) I surely wouldn't have been there.

One of the things I really enjoyed about TAM was that many of the speakers were really accessible. Having events everybody wants to go to, but only a few are invited to, and these few include the people everybody would like to meet, you take more from the other attendees than just a great party.

I can totally understand that the Skepchicks too want to relax and have fun at TAM. Maybe other people want to organize a big party. Maybe no party has to be organized at all. But if you start excluding people from a party everybody knows about, you will make TAM less attractive.
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Perhaps the key is to make sure not everyone knows about it. :)

The JREF leaves this night open on purpose. It's for everyone to go out and do whatever. If there were 300 people at the Skepchick party, then there were 1000 elsewhere doing who knows what. Maybe there were other parties? If so, I didn't know about them. And that's alright.
 
Davidlpf said:
I guess if I ever make it to TAM U won't be going to the skepchick party along with scrut and Buzz0.
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Scrut has a long way to go before he's a creepy/unnervingly-intense/stalker douche-bag. And only rebecca would suffer from it.
 
For those talking about capping TAM 9, I hardly think that's the right approach. If you're wanting small, intimate gatherings, that's what your local or regional groups are for. The growth of TAM should be encouraged. That means that the skeptical movement is growing and that's what we WANT. My personal goal, be it through my blog or through my non-profit, is to increase the number of people that think critically. That should be ALL of our goals.
If you want one on one time with Randi or your other favorite skeptics, TAM has not been the place to do that for a few years now, from what I understand. On the other hand, if you want to meet new people and learn more about pertinent topics, then TAM Vegas is the place to be.
The growth of skepticism is something to be celebrated, not mourned.
 
FledgelingSkeptic said:
For those talking about capping TAM 9, I hardly think that's the right approach. If you're wanting small, intimate gatherings, that's what your local or regional groups are for. The growth of TAM should be encouraged. That means that the skeptical movement is growing and that's what we WANT. My personal goal, be it through my blog or through my non-profit, is to increase the number of people that think critically. That should be ALL of our goals.
If you want one on one time with Randi or your other favorite skeptics, TAM has not been the place to do that for a few years now, from what I understand. On the other hand, if you want to meet new people and learn more about pertinent topics, then TAM Vegas is the place to be.

The growth of skepticism is something to be celebrated, not mourned.
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Wow, that's a hyperbole and a half.

You say you are dedicated to promoting critical thinking, yet you just threw out one whopper of a straw man.

I don't mean to pick on you but I think you're misinterpreting what we're talking about. I think I can say for certain our main interest is in keeping the skeptical movement alive and growing.
 
I think the only capping going on is at TAM London and TAM Australia. And it's location driven (last year the TAM London venue only had 600 seats).
TAM in Vegas has never refused people from attending (and I don't think they ever will, or should). It's why the event moved to the Stardust when it got too big for the Tuscany.
 
exarch said:
I think the only capping going on is at TAM London and TAM Australia. And it's location driven (last year the TAM London venue only had 600 seats).
TAM in Vegas has never refused people from attending (and I don't think they ever will, or should). It's why the event moved to the Stardust when it got too big for the Tuscany.
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And while we're on the subject, while there may be a nominal limit on how many we can fit in the room, we never actually seem to fill the room. At the South Point this year, I never saw any point where all the chairs were taken. There are lots of people who attend TAM, but skip one or more sessions.

We need some math guys to do the numbers on how many more tickets we can sell, based on the turn over of people skipping various sessions.
 
Horatius said:
And while we're on the subject, while there may be a nominal limit on how many we can fit in the room, we never actually seem to fill the room. At the South Point this year, I never saw any point where all the chairs were taken. There are lots of people who attend TAM, but skip one or more sessions.
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Not just that, but there's people who only come for one day (Saturday most likely), volunteers running around and/or outside tending to merchandise tables, and yes, of course the people who are having trouble getting out of bed for the first morning session, or are having a conversation outside in the hall that - for them - trumps whoever's speaking at that time.

I suppose the question is: how many empty seats did you see during the busiest moment of TAM (which I presume is during the Saturday sessions just before or after lunch).
 
Horatius said:
And while we're on the subject, while there may be a nominal limit on how many we can fit in the room, we never actually seem to fill the room. At the South Point this year, I never saw any point where all the chairs were taken. There are lots of people who attend TAM, but skip one or more sessions.

We need some math guys to do the numbers on how many more tickets we can sell, based on the turn over of people skipping various sessions.
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There was a little plaque on the wall saying the maximum room occupancy was 1414, if I remember correctly. However, that may have been for a particular room configuration, and I did hear someone suggest the limit was closer to 1500, so there's still a bit of breathing space without having to get creative (though at the rate TAM has been growing, I'd expect that slack to be taken up next year). There's also the possibility of using the equestrian centre at the South Point, which apparently holds more, though I don't know if it would be suitable for TAM.
 
From the JREF Twitter feed:

@JeffWagg @chrisfhiggins Hope to announce the dates this coming week.
 
LilaMae said:
Wow, that's a hyperbole and a half.

You say you are dedicated to promoting critical thinking, yet you just threw out one whopper of a straw man.

I don't mean to pick on you but I think you're misinterpreting what we're talking about. I think I can say for certain our main interest is in keeping the skeptical movement alive and growing.
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I must be misinterpreting what I'm reading then. It happens. My apologies for any misunderstanding. Some of the posts I read were discussing limiting entrance to TAM9 because TAM itself is getting so large and it's losing its sense of intimacy. Was that an incorrect assessment?

Also, since I don't always get the logic right on my arguments, would someone be so kind as to point out and define where my original argument failed and how? Preferably in detail. I want to learn so i don't screw up again.
 
zooterkin said:
There was a little plaque on the wall saying the maximum room occupancy was 1414, if I remember correctly. However, that may have been for a particular room configuration, and I did hear someone suggest the limit was closer to 1500, so there's still a bit of breathing space without having to get creative (though at the rate TAM has been growing, I'd expect that slack to be taken up next year). There's also the possibility of using the equestrian centre at the South Point, which apparently holds more, though I don't know if it would be suitable for TAM.
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...and it would have the added benefit of being possible to see Randi ride up to the podium on a giant white charger! ;)
 
Chris H said:
From the JREF Twitter feed:

@JeffWagg @chrisfhiggins Hope to announce the dates this coming week.
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Any reports, or is it safe to assume that the week came and went without dates being announced?
 
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