By
Page, on November 2, 2010, at 7:03 am
Save the date for NECSS 2011
Next year’s Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism will take place on April 9-10, 2011 in New York City. This will be our third annual conference, and it promises to be bigger and better in every way — with a larger venue, more [...]
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Lisa Bauer, on September 7, 2010, at 7:03 am
I don’t consider myself a dick.
Sure, I’m an active skeptic and as typical in this population I don’t shy away from contentious and/or conflictual discussion. I’m ready to note a logical fallacy or some flawed reasoning wherever it pops up. But I do consider myself caring, compassionate even, on the right occasion thoughtful. I don’t get involved in so-called “flame wars”. I try to phrase my positions, when they are combative in nature, to be accommodating and open. I like discussion and I love debate, but I love more than all else, people. Even at times the rather ignorant ones. … continue reading this entry.
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Michael Rosch, on September 4, 2010, at 7:03 am
One of the prevailing themes to have come out of The Amazing Meeting 8 seems to have been, “Don’t be a dick,” which also happened to be the specific name of Phil Plait’s talk. Now I didn’t attend TAM8, so I’ve only recently gotten to hear the talk now that it’s made its way online. The issue that Plait was addressing was that of the tone skeptics use when challenging a particular belief, and it’s been a common topic of discussion among skeptics for some time now. In his talk, Plait draws a distinction between what he calls “warriors” and “diplomats” within the skeptical community.
In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn’t a war. You might try to say it is, but it’s not a war. We aren’t trying to kill an enemy. We’re trying to persuade other humans with logic and reason. And at times like that, we don’t need warriors, what we need are diplomats. … continue reading this entry.
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Page, on August 31, 2010, at 7:03 am
Because when you are dealing with the universe, ignorance is deadly!
Sunday night was the premier of the first episode of Bad Universe, Phil Plait’s foray into television. This show is a sort of MythBusters style science show involving demonstrations (ostensibly using combustible materials) to prove or disprove claims and hypotheses.Unlike MythBusters, or the useless MythBusters spin-off called Time-Warp that had even less science and more blowing stuff up, Plait’s show is supposed to be much more science and scientist heavy. Huzzah! … continue reading this entry.