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LogiCON 2011: Thoughts and Thanks
May 31st
This spring on Saturday, April 9 the Greater Edmonton Skeptic Society partnered with the Telus World of Science – Edmonton to organize LogiCON 2011, a day long, all-ages conference promoting science and critical thinking.
Featuring a keynote from author/illustrator Daniel Loxton, the lineup included presentations from over 20 speakers both local and international on topics ranging from cognitive bias and correlation versus causation to vaccination and climate change. Attended by over 150 people, LogiCON’s inaugural event was declared a success by all who participated: the feedback we’ve received has been wonderful, and GESS is already thinking about how to make LogiCON 2012 bigger and better!
Daniel Loxton, Photo by Rodrigo de la Jara
Inspired by our tag line “Critical Thinking for Everyone”, LogiCON was split into three simultaneous but separate tracks: an advanced track, a beginner track, and a kids’ track. By providing content that spanned these three tracks, we hoped to engage a wider and more diverse audience.
Presentations during the day included lectures, panels and workshops. Our speakers and panelists came from diverse backgrounds, including several university professors, a science journalist, science communicators, healthcare professionals, a radio host, a photographer, and two magicians among others. For a complete list of speakers and topics, visit the LogiCON Schedule and Sessions page, and stay tuned for the videos of select presentations over the next few weeks and months.
The highlight of the day was Daniel Loxton’s Keynote presentation titled “The Reasonableness of Weird Things”, given in the Telus World of Science’s Star Dome space. Augmented by a backdrop of his beautifully constructed slideshow projected against the star dome above the audience, Daniel reminded us how much skeptic and science enthusiasts have in common with people who believe in strange things. In the end the search for the truth drives us both: it is our methods — not our intentions — that differ. Daniel used his own personal narrative to enrich his talk, taking us through his own transition from believer to skeptic.
Daniel Loxton, Photo by Marc-Julien Objois
The kids track took place in various public spaces around the Telus World of Science and was designed to engage the families visiting that day. Michael Snyder created two walk-up demonstrations: the first, a demo on brains with real brains on display; second, an interactive water taste test where participants discovered how easily our minds and opinions can be fooled.
Paul Hinman brought a geiger counter and gave fantastic walk-up demos on radiation, helping kids understand the difference behind good and bad radiation.
Paul Hinman's Radiation Table, Photo by Rodrigo de la Jara
GESS photographer Marc-Julien Objois gave a presentation on how perfectly normal tricks of light can produce strange looking results in photographs, and then helped the kids create their very own ghost photos using a double exposure effect, with them as the “ghost”.
Later that afternoon, local magician Sheldon Casavant took the stage in the Telus World of Science Star Dome theatre to help kids understand some of the methods behind the apparently magical, and revealed the secret behind a magic trick they could use to astound their family and friends.
GESS would like to extend our thanks to everyone who presented and participated in panel discussions: without your enthusiasm, LogiCON would not have been nearly as successful.
We would also like to extend our gratitude to all those who volunteered and were instrumental in putting LogiCON together: from day-of registration volunteers to the committee who took on coordinating the event back in September, everyone came together to create a five-star event.
LogiCON 2011 Volunteers, Photo by Marc-Julien Objois
Thank you to our sponsors for this event, including the James Randi Educational Foundation, which came through with financial support that allowed us to create a truly excellent event.
GESS also wishes to thank those who supported us by lending their expertise, meeting space, and airwaves. A very special thank you to Desiree Schell and K.O. Myers of local Edmonton science radio show Skeptically Speaking, and to the University of Alberta Business and Beyond Toastmasters Club.
Stay tuned for news of LogiCON 2012 and a brand new website rollout in the coming weeks. The LogiCON committee is already hard at work creating plans for next year, and we hope to see you all there.
Read more news, responses and recaps to LogiCON:
- Daniel Loxton’s recap and thoughts on LogiCON at Skeptiblog.
- Logical Monsters: conference hopes to teach scientific method from Edmonton newspaper Vue Weekly.
- Edmonton LogiCON One Day Skeptic and Science Conference from the Saskatchewan Skeptics Blog.
- Park-raised magician speaks to skeptics from the Sherwood Park News.
- Sheldon Casavant Speaking at LogiCON from the Canada’s Magic Blog.
SkeptiCamp Alberta 2010: Thoughts and Thanks
Aug 12th
SkeptiCamp Alberta attendees and the SkeptiCamp banners.
The first SkeptiCamp Alberta took place at the University of Alberta on July 24. Organized by a volunteer committee of the Greater Edmonton Skeptics Society, the inaugural SkeptiCamp Alberta was attended by over 50 local skeptics and critical thinkers who spent the day listening to talks presented by their peers on science and skeptical topics ranging from skeptical activism to myths about cell phone radiation. It was great to see both familiar and new faces in attendance.
Presenter Marc MacKenzie.
One of the talks was from local University of Alberta professor Marc MacKenzie, who spoke about the myths and misunderstandings of cell phone and power line radiation. He shared the facts about how these pieces of technology work, what kinds of radiation they emit, how much, and cut through the media hype and misinformation to explain what the actual effects of these transmitters and receivers are.
Presenter Hans Machel.
Hans Machel, a geologist professor at the University of Alberta, used his expertise to deconstruct Young Earth Creationist claims such as the age of the Earth. He extended the talk to include another Biblical story which is sometimes taken to be literally true: Noah’s Ark. Dr. Machel also applied geology to claims made by proponents of crystal power.
Presenters Trevor Zimmerman and Desiree Schell
Local Skeptically Speaking host Desiree Schell teamed up with Trevor Zimmerman to talk about skeptical activism and how to go about getting our voices heard and our points across in media and in politics. One of the more controversial topics that arose throughout the day was the idea of buying homeopathic remedies from local pharmacies or stores, and then returning them opened and demanding a refund when they don’t work. Some people thought this was a great way of pressuring businesses to remove ineffective cures from their shelves, but others questioned the integrity of such acts and thought it was unfair to target owners in the pocketbook.
There was also a panel conversation in response to Bad Astronomer Phil Plait’s controversial “don’t be a dick” TAM 8 talk on tone including local skeptics Brent Kelly, Marc-Julien Objois and Sean Ouimet which was led by Ryan Bromsgrove. Several points were brought up during this panel on attitude and tone that speak to both sides of the argument. How do you deal with hard-nosed believers who will interpret any tone — including genuinely polite ones — as attacks? Aren’t there some believers whose brains are impossible to logic our way into, and thus impossible to win over? How does peer-pressure work when it comes to believer versus skeptical thought, and how best should be use this to our advantage to change minds?
We would like to thank all of our excellent speakers who came prepared to present at SkeptiCamp: without your willingness to share your passion about science and critical thinking, this event couldn’t have been a success. Speakers included Mark MacKenzie, John Woolley, Hans Machel, Twyla Gill, Brian Dupuis, Brent Kelly, Michael Harrison, SkepDad Brad Salomons, Desiree Schell, Trevor Zimmerman, Ryan Bromsgrove, Marc-Julien Objois and Sean Ouimet.
We would also like to thank Reed Esau for creating and sharing the SkeptiCamp model, and Joe Anderson for sending us the SkeptiCamp banners. Their great SkeptiCamp Wiki resource that should be a first-stop for any skeptical group looking to organize a SkeptiCamp of their own.
A special thank you to those who donated money to fund SkeptiCamp Alberta, including Gordon Wolters and another local skeptic who prefers to remain anonymous: without your generous donation, we would not have been able to provide lunch free of charge, which allowed us to keep everyone on location and encourage networking and conversation.
A very special thank you goes out to the University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics, our partner for this event.
Thank you as well to all those who provided various pieces of equipment used throughout the day, including projectors and camera equipment from Redman Technologies and our ever talented photographer and videographer Marc-Julien Objois.
And finally, thank you to all who attended and made SkeptiCamp Alberta a success: without your interest, we wouldn’t have an event at all.
The second SkeptiCamp Alberta is tentatively being planned for March 2011, so stay tuned and start thinking about what you might want to talk about!
