Skepticamp Redux

Whew. What a Saturday.

I arrived at SkeptiCamp Ohio around 11:30 or so, with my daughter, ‘E’, in tow. She was going to attend the Camp Quest mini-session that day. We were obviously early, but Kim and Amanda were very welcoming and E immediately set about playing. I did check in on her once or twice during the day, and each time, she was having so much fun, that I ended up trying to leave her alone. I was hoping she would learn at least one new thing today as a result of Camp Quest. On the way back to the car we had this conversation:

E: We played dinosaurs outside today.
D: Ah, is that what you were doing out there… how did you play ‘dinosaur’?
E: Well we went through the bushes looking for things to eat. Some of us ate leaves and plants, and some of us ate meat.
D: (guessing where this was going). Ok. What do you call a dinosaur that eats plants? A Herbivore, or a Carnivore?
E: A Herbivore.
D: And if it eats meat?
E: A Carnivore! (Said with a kind of hungry growl).

Mission accomplished, there. Thanks to Amanda, August, and all the Camp Quest volunteers for not only helping to keep our kids safe and happy for the afternoon, but to help them grow just a little bit.

So, I went briefly to check to make sure my presentation materials would work. In a stunning display of rarity, they worked perfectly. With that in mind, I went back to the main room and checked in with the ringleaders, Jen and Ashley. I wanted to make sure the microphone levels would be OK for the game show, so I hooked a couple up, and Chad did a little Game Show Rap while I provided the beatbox. I think somebody clapped… once… That done, we took our seats, and Jen gave us all the intro and basics for SkeptiCamp.

Things got to a bit of a late start, due to some people coming from out of town. However, we soon settled into a groove. The first session I attended was Jonathan Weyer’s session on God and Skepticism, or God’s Skepticism as he described it in session. Philosophical and Religious Skepticism run very close with Scientific Skepticism, and while I try to keep a bit of a distance between the two, they invariable tend to run into one another. Despite a roomful of critical thinkers, and mostly Atheists, Jon did an excellent job of presenting his Christian position on skepticism and answering questions as best he could. Intelligent Atheists ask difficult questions, and they were handled very well by Jon. Thanks to him for doing an excellent job, and for stepping into the proverbial lion’s den.

Next up, I went to Colin Thornton’s session on the True Stories behind Monsters, Myths and Legends. Colin did a great job using a mix of personal stories and hard science to discuss the origins of many popular myths including vampires, chupacabre and the Loch Ness Monster. Colin also provided examples of real world animals that exhibited some of the behaviors of those legends, and were just plain cool on their own. I think everyone walked away from that session with a few things to google later, including myself. Kudos to Colin for an interesting, and informative presentation.

Next, there was this David Maxwell guy, rambling on about Advertising. Boooring…

Honestly, I think it was well received. I tried to make things more of a discussion group rather than just me going on about ads and such, and I got some really good feedback from the people in the session. It’s nice, as a presenter, when you get to learn something from the people you’re presenting to, and this session was an excellent example of that. Thanks to everybody who attended.

During the break, there was a short discussion group on how the crossroads between Religious Skepticism and Scientific Skepticism affected Activism on both sides. Good points were made by all, but I think it would have probably been better as an hour session. Too many good things to talk about to limit that to just a half hour. Sadly, the name of the person who led that discussion escapes me, but if someone knows it, please leave it in the comments so I can thank him properly.

The next session I attended was Glenn Davis’ talk on Skepticism and the Self Help movement. Having had a friend get caught up in some ‘interesting’ self-help blather in the past, I had a definite interest in the topic. Glenn did a fine job discussing the origins and basic tenets of some of the popular self-help movements, including EST\Landmark and AA. Thanks to Glenn, I have a few new books to add to my reading list. I also got to stay around a bit after his talk and chat with him further about the subject. He’s a very approachable guy. Thanks for attending, Glenn, and good job!

With only an hour left before the game show, I decided to skip the last round of sessions and work out final details with the rest of the game show crew. Most of the setup had already been done, so we concentrated on making sure everything worked, proceeded with sound checking, finishing up final details of the gameplay mechanics, and generally psyching ourselves up for a good time.

The crowd we got for the game show was fantastic. They stepped right up to the challenges we offered and had fun the whole time. From start to finish, much fun was had by all. We gave away some great prizes, including free web and graphic design services, tickets to COSI, and even a “home version” of our show! (Ok, that last one was kind of a booby prize, but you get the idea…)

All in all, I had a great Saturday, spending time with like-minded, fun and friendly people, and learning a few things in the process. And when all is said and done, that’s what it’s all about.

Biggest thanks go to Jen Myers and Ashley Paramore, who led the effort to get Skepticamp going, and kept us on track for the day. Ladies, when you’re ready for the next one, let me know. I’m in.

Thanks.
-D.