#TAM2013 In Memoriam presentation

For the last four years, I’ve researched obituaries of people relevant to skepticism, and compiled them into a memorial presentation at The Amazing Meeting in July. I think it is important that we take note of the passages in our community, just as other communities do. I was inspired by the annual memorial presentation at the Academy Awards, which serves the same purpose for the motion picture industry.

The presentation for TAM 2013 consisted of 60 people who died between July 2012 and July 2013. It is just about exactly 5 minutes long, and at TAM it ran during the morning coffee breaks in the main room. If you missed it at TAM (or want a second look) you can watch the presentation here. Scroll down below the video for a list of the people included and links to further information about each.

The Ninjutsu of the Internet-Savvy Skeptic at #SkepTech

Last week I gave a presentation at Skep-Tech in Minneapolis. It was a first-year conference put on by the student groups from three different universities in the area. They chose to focus it on technology and skepticism – which is right up my alley. So of course I was excited to speak.

I chose to focus on how skeptics need to cultivate specialized skills and learn new tools in our battle against irrationality on the world wide web. I decided to use the concept of a ninja as my metaphor. The video has already been posted and you can watch below.

After the jump you can see the slides that I presented and a list of links to tools and websites that I mentioned in the talk.

#TAM2012 Video: You Are the Future of Skepticism on the Internet

The James Randi Educational Foundation has now posted the official video of my Amazing Meeting 2012 talk online, here it is:

There are several resources here on this blog to go with this talk, you may want to open them in another window while you watch:

• The script to the talk. (You can now see where I went off script!)
• The reaction on Twitter as I was giving the talk.
• A set of links and resources for those who wish to take action!

Thanks again to James Randi and the JREF for giving me this opportunity. And thanks Geo for a fantastic intro!

#TAM2012 Plenary: You Are the Future of Skepticism on the Internet

Update (August 24): The video of this talk is now available.

This is the script I used for my TAM2012 speech on Sunday, July 15, 2012. When I speak I do not read word-for-word, so I guarantee you this is different from what I actually said, sometimes substantially. (For one thing I was running close on time so I skipped one example near the end, but I’ve left it in here)

But this is very close to what I said and accurately represents the points I was making.

There were 42 slides, most of which were graphics of some kind and a few of which were section titles or the like. I will reproduce the key graphics that were referenced in the text, the rest of the slides will be replaced by block quotes or hyperlinks to keep things flowing. I’ve also added hyperlinks to a few things I reference so if you are curious you can find out what I am talking about.

The people in the room and those who came up after were very positive, and I hope you enjoy my thoughts as much as they did.

#TAM2012 In Memoriam slides

The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012 sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation is ongoing in Las Vegas as I type this. As I did for TAM8 and TAM9, I prepared a list of skeptics, scientists and other personalities relating to skepticism who died in the year since the last TAM.

This presentation remembering them ran each morning in the main room on Friday July 13 and Saturday July 14. Here it is:

Thanks in particular to Tim Binga, Sharon Hill, Natalie Jaran, Jim Lippard, Daniel Loxton, Steven Novella, Lei Pinter, Martin Robbins and Rick Ross for their help in collecting this information and the photos you see.

In Memoriam slides from TAM9

For the The Amazing Meeting 9 (TAM9) being held by the James Randi Educational Foundation in Las Vegas this weekend, I prepared two presentations to run during the breaks, between the main speakers. These slides commemorated the folks related to the skeptic movement whom we have lost in 2010 and 2011. (Between TAM8 and TAM9).

The thought was to have something akin to the “In Memoriam” reel run on The Oscars and other similar awards shows. We first did this last year at TAM8, after I suggested it to the organizers and volunteered to put it together.

Unfortunately the A/V guy let me down and never ran one set, and the other one ran during lunch on Saturday when few people were in the room. Also, of course, many other skeptics were unable to attend the event. So here they are. There are two separate presentations, one for skeptics and scientists and one for proponents of pseudoscience and the paranormal. You can view them after the break…

Please Don’t Start Another Blog or Podcast!

Update June 29: Now with video.

My presentation at SkeptiCamp Atlanta 2011 this past weekend was titled “Please Don’t Start Another Blog or Podcast!” I chose that title deliberately to to be a little controversial, of course. It verges on ridiculous for someone who both blogs and podcasts to tell others not to do either.

My real point is to highlight the many other online activities skeptics can engage in that are important and make a difference. Regular readers of this blog (all three of you) will find some familiar topics in this. See below for links to the slides, an audio version and other supplemental information.

The video includes some introductory material from SkeptiCamp, the main presentation starts at 6:26. If you prefer to listen on the go, you can hear the audio for this presentation on the Skepticality podcast #158 “Return to Lake Skepticamp.” The audio of the presentation itself starts at about 20 minutes in to the episode. You will hear in both the video and audio that I originally miscounted my subtopics, I say seven and the audience corrects me. This has been corrected in the slides seen after the break.

Continue reading after the break for my slides and a list of links that to more information (mostly prior posts on this blog) that expand on each of the topics I cover in the presentation.

TAM6 Video: Building Internet Tools for Skeptics

This blog started in 2008 based on a talk that I gave at The Amaz!ng Meeting #6 in Las Vegas. The James Randi Educational Foundation has now posted the official video of my talk online, here it is:

An expanded “blogified” version of this presentation, with clickable screen shots is also available. You might want to open that in another window while you watch this.

This talk was part of the Paper Presentations given on Sunday at each TAM. Anyone can submit a proposal for one. Seeing some ordinary skeptics give presentations at TAM5 as part of this is what sparked my interest in getting involved in skepticism. If you have an idea for a presentation like this, submit a proposal for one to JREF. The deadline is May 15.

The Amazing Meeting 9 is less than 90 days away: July 14-17, 2011 in Las Vegas.

In Memoriam slides from TAM8

If you attended The Amazing Meeting 8 (TAM8) held by the James Randi Educational Foundation in Las Vegas this past July, you may have noticed two presentations that ran during the breaks, between the main speakers. These slides commemorated the folks related to the skeptic movement whom we have lost in 2009 and 2010.

The thought was to have something akin to the “In Memoriam” reel run on The Oscars and other similar awards shows. I had suggested this to Jeff Wagg a few months ago, and when he told me he thought it was a good idea, I started collecting names for the list. I put the slides together and gave them to Jeff, who ran them.

Many people probably missed them, so I thought I would post them here. There are two separate presentations, one for skeptics and one for “believers”. You can view them after the break…

Push Protesting

This is a presentation I gave at the second Atlanta barcamp on Saturday, October 18th, 2008. It builds on some of the techniques I described in my TAM6 presentation Building Internet Tools for Skeptics, and shows some new examples.

Instead of a transcript, I’m posting the actual slides. There are notes on many of the slides which the widget below doesn’t show, so you may want to view it on slideshare. Make sure you click the “notes” tab below the slides so you can see them as you proceed. (Or if you prefer, download the original PowerPoint file from there).

Comments welcome.