TAM7+: Thoughts, feedback, suggestions...

I enjoyed the talk re the Popoff takedown, but the speaker himself (whose name I can't recall), wasn't the most dynamic person I've ever heard.

I looked at the P&T, and Adam Savage, more as entertainment interludes. Adam is fun, but Mythbusters is not exactly rigorous science. Its claim to fame is, in my opinion, that it introduces people to the concept of skepticism and experimentation. He's not someone you would invite to speak on skepticism in and of itself. Even though he was talking about creating a accurate model of a movie prop, the undercurrent was how to research, measure, experiment, test, verify.

To say that people go, to say that I go, to TAM because of Randi or JREF, is way off. My first experience with JREF was when I saw an ad for the cruise to the Bermuda Triangle two years ago, in one of the skeptic magazines. I was only marginally aware of who Randi was. I didn't go to meet him, I went to meet people who are more like me. I've been to three TAMs and two cruises. At TAM6, there were seven people attending that came because I 'recruited' them. A few of them didn't know they were skeptics, because they are never around people who think like they do. They also didn't really know who Randi was, except through learning about TAM.
 
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Geek Goddess said:
At TAM6, there were seven people attending that came because I 'recruited' them. A few of them didn't know they were skeptics, because they are never around people who think like they do. They also didn't really know who Randi was, except through learning about TAM.
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so you recruited 7 skeptics for tam6.. and not once... not once.. did you introduce me to any of them so i could flirt with them.....

:cry1
 
Toby, while they are very nice people, they are the types that keep to themselves and didn't participate in anything.

Except my son, whom I think you met.
 
CFLarsen said:
No, they are unfortunately not always there. It is often impossible for someone living in JesusLand to stand up and state their skepticism. It is not all that easy to go against your own family and friends, if they have wacky beliefs of some sort.
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Even though I had a relatively easy time going against the grain, it was still unplesant and difficult (and continues to be at times), and I would imagine those in JesusLand (nice, btw!) have it worse by miles and miles on every conceivable level. However, being unaware of the options doesn't mean the options don't exist. I appreciate very much the often insurmountable pressure to go with the flow and bury one's real thoughts and beliefs in order to fit in, but I also appreciate the courage and strength of will required of those who choose to stand apart and say, "This is who I am." It's a lonely road to travel, but if enough of us choose to walk it we can walk together. (Good grief, that sounded like a Hallmark card...I need a shower.)

I realize that this is but one person's opinion, but for me it has always been a matter of "stand up and fight" rather than the alternative. You're correct in pointing out that this is much more difficult for some than others because of their social circumstances. Perhaps I've not had my idealism fully beaten out of me and still believe that those of us "uncloseted" skeptics can make a small difference to the JesusLanders, and that nothing is impossible if one cares enough to work at it. (And for the record, I'm too young to be an old ex-hippie, so hell if I know where this came from!) :)

And thank you for the reasoned disagreement. I was beginning to worry that I'd marched headlong into a burgeoning flame war in here without my asbestos underpants. ;)

ETA: Oh, and I enjoyed Alec Jason (the forensic crime-scene analyst) but I am an unrepentant forensics geek, so take that for whatever it's worth. The Popoff bit of his talk wasn't as interesting to me as the general discussion of techniques - and didn't his time get crunched to accommodate the longer keynote? Not a complaint, just a clarification...that may have had an effect on his delivery style.
 
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