SkeptiCamp NYC 2012 Sessions and Attendees
So far, 50 people have registered for SkeptiCamp NYC 2012! However,
not all of those attendees will be listed on this page. Some people may have chosen not to make their
attendance public. In additional, there are also 5 people on the waiting list.
Session Proposals So Far
Here are the session topics submitted, so far. Please note that placement here does NOT guarantee the
topic will be discussed. We are sure most of them will be on the schedule. However, various things, some beyond anyone's control, could force us to change it. The final version of the advanced schedule should be available on November 26nd, 2012.
To submit your idea, see the Session Host's Guide.
| Title | Description | Name of Leader |
| Can Skepticism Be Taught? | Educational programs centered around "critical thinking" abound, with logic and skepticism increasingly finding their way into the teaching of a diverse range of subjects. But recent research and scholarship have called into question the "transferability" of these skills. Can skepticism be taught? Do workshops, seminars, podcasts and blogs help spread the skeptical approach to existence -- or do they reinforce existing cognitive biases and make matters worse? Are we all doomed? | Marc David Barnhill |
| Skepticism & Curiosity: The Critical Connection | An argument for the idea that Skepticism and Curiosity are two integral parts of the critical thinking mind. Based on personal anecdote, non peer reviewed experiences and unplanned, impromptu experimentation. | Christopher Brown |
| Teaching Engineering in K-12 | When I was in K-12, technical education consisted almost entirely on math & science. Even in university, there can be a dearth of teaching anyone how things work. I feel that more teaching of technology in K-12 would lead to more motivated students, and, indirectly, a better grasp of science and math as an end result. | Bill Chapman |
| Let's get skeptical on shoes. | Why do most shoes do not resemble human feet? What do shoes that do not resemble feet do to us? How can we fix this? | Anna Chernyshenko |
| The Journeyman Skeptic | (description forthcoming) | Reed Esau |
| Homeopathy For Fun and Profit | A scam, looked at in a new light. | Amy Frushour Kelly |
| Space Robots | A high-level description of my experiences working for the "other" NASA robot research group. | Brian Gregory |
| Crowdsourcing Discovery: Making science truly open | Funding for basic scientific research has been wrought with problems for years. Now, the model for getting funding for science is finally changing. I will talk about why changing the model of funding science is important and I will also introduce our crowd funding project for a truly open science endeavor. | Daniel Korostyshevsky |
| Effective Altruism | Want to make the world a better place? If your answer is 'yes,' then great! But wanting to do good is only half the battle. How do you know whether or not you're actually doing good in the end? And how can you do the most good? The burgeoning field of effective altruism, which has roots in the rationalist community, sets out to answer these questions. This presentation will introduce you to some of the core ideas of effective altruism and some of the organizations involved in the movement. | Gregory Lopez |
| TBA | tba | Michael Rosch |
Note that the opinions of SkeptiCamp presenters do not necessarily reflect those of its organizers.
Other Attendees
These are folks who say they are going. But, they have not submitted a session idea, yet. (If you registered, and do not see your name on the list, you can Sign In to Edit your profile. On there is an option to have your name show up on the public list.)
Some of session topics from previous years included:
- "Promoting Skepticism via Wikipedia", by Tim Farley of
WhatsTheHarm.net
- Comedy pieces by a comedian and reality show star named Joshie
- The Science and Nonsense in Martial Arts, with John Rennie, former editor of Scientific American Magazine
- Stupid Bayesian Tricks
- "Critical Thinking for Dummies"
- How to Write an Essay
- A Skeptic's Guide to the Art Scene
- Anti-Vaccine Movement Fallacies and Tactics
- How to Preserve a Skeptic Community
- Teaching Critical Thinking in New York City Colleges
- Discussions about Atheism with Michael De Dora, executive director of
CFI NYC
- Mercury and Dental Fillings; Safer than You Think
- Science-based opera compositions performed by Hai-Ting Chin
Some of these past topics could be resurrected this year, with updates and new twists.
Contact us with questions or comments:
mitchlampert@optonline.net