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"What Do I Do Next?" Skeptical Activism Panel

Loxton

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Last week the Skeptics Society rolled out a major new project on the topic of skeptical activism, entitled "What Do I Do Next?" This free 68-page PDF is an in-depth panel-discussion format document in which 13 leading skeptics consider 105 different ways you can personally promote skeptical activism and advance science literacy. This list of 105 ideas for skeptical activism is meant as a beginning, a meeting place, a keystone for conversation. We hope you will bring your own ideas and creativity to the table — and that you find this topic as inspiring as we have.

Panelists include Daniel Loxton, Jeff Wagg, Ben Radford, Eugenie Scott, Swoopy, Brian Dunning, D.J. Grothe, Karen Stollznow, Jay Novella, Tim Farley, Kylie Sturgess, Randy Olson, and Pat Linse.

I see the skeptical movement poised on the verge of a new phase of widespread activism encouraged and enabled by social media. If this echoes your thoughts (or hopes), please check out "What Do I Do Next?", and pass the project to others who may be interested through your blog and forums you frequent. You can also post the document directly to your Facebook profile with this link.

Learn more:

READ an introduction to the project in eSkeptic.

LISTEN to me unveil the project in conversation with Swoopy on the Skepticality podcast (20MB MP3)

READ the full "What Do I Do Next?" 68-page PDF.

SURVEY a point-form Quick Reference Guide version of the 105 items, with bullet points distilled from the panel discussion (at Skeptic.com)

BROWSE the new "Skeptical Activism" page at Skeptic.com
 
Having read through the whole thing - in detail - I can honestly say it's well worth downloading and having a flick through. Daniel's put a hell of a lot of work into it, and produced a magnificent piece. Anybody who has ever asked 'but what can I do?' should have this document.

Athon
 
I'm proud of this whopper, but I should definitely note that I was as much a facilitator for it as anything else. It was inspired by an article by Andrew Mayne, and the final version has 13 contributors — all of whom fully deserve their share the credit. Finally, there were many proofers, reviewers, and editorial gurus who took a look under the hood (including Athon). The project would not be the same without any of them.
 
Would it be OK to reprint any or all of those for a critical thinking class?
 
Yes, it certainly would be OK to print these for use in a critical thinking class — in fact, I encourage that sort of application.

The full PDF version includes permission to print and distribute for noncommercial educational purposes (last page). Likewise, the footer of the Quick Reference Guide states, "Copyright © 1992–2009 Skeptic and its contributors. Permission is granted to print, distribute, and post with proper citation and acknowledgment."
 
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Phil Plait's review:

Phil Plait very kindly reviews "What Do I Do Next?" in the Bad Astronomy blog, over at Discovermagazine.com

He writes, in part,

If you’ve got the itch, the need, the desire, the passion to get up and do something about all the nonsense facing the world, what can you do? … "What Do I Do Next?" (PDF), it’s chock full of advice to get you off your sofa and into the action. It has tons of great information for you, with details on how you can accomplish your goals.
Click to expand...
 
That all sounds very interesting. Is there a non-PDF way of seeing a summary? My voice/magnification software is not very keen on PDF. Not to worry if there is not.
I have just sent a link to this page to the BHA as I expect they might be interested. Hope that's okay.
 
WDIDN Quick Reference Guide

SusanB-M1 said:
That all sounds very interesting. Is there a non-PDF way of seeing a summary? My voice/magnification software is not very keen on PDF.
Click to expand...

Indeed there is! The point-form Quick Reference Guide distills the gigantic "What Do I Do PDF down to just the 105 ideas for skeptical activism (each with a couple of key bullet points drawn from the full discussion). This is useful for anyone who wishes to survey the list before digging into the full version.

The Quick Reference Guide is available here at Skeptic.com as a regular html page.

If you like what you see, you can share it on your Facebook profile by clicking here.
 
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Daniel Loxton discusses WDIDN on Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast

Episode 194 of the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe features an interview with Daniel Loxton about "What Do I Do Next?"

The interview also touches on the importance of keeping skepticism apolitical, and of deferring to the prevailing consensus opinion among experts on mainstream science topics (such as climate change).

Listen to the interview, here.
 
athon said:
Having read through the whole thing - in detail - I can honestly say it's well worth downloading and having a flick through. Daniel's put a hell of a lot of work into it, and produced a magnificent piece. Anybody who has ever asked 'but what can I do?' should have this document.

Athon
Click to expand...

Downloaded and on the top of my "to read" list. Thanks Loxton!
 
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