2004 National Convention

Sydney

The 2004 Australian Skeptics National Convention was described as "The best ever" by the President of the International Skeptics Committee in his speech at the Closing Ceremony. This will be his last Convention as President of the ISC, but if you are thinking about applying for the job, please remember that it gets very cold in Lausanne and you have to be fluent in both English and Pleiedian.

A highlight of the convention was the gala dinner. There was a slight hold-up with the proceedings because the caterers thought that we had said "galah dinner" and they were not sure whether this meant that we wanted to dine solely on roast parrots or whether everyone should just be given a bowl of canola seeds and a cuttlefish bone. Sanity prevailed. Well, it did until Steve Walker got up to entertain us, but that's another story.

At the dinner, the presentations were made for the two major awards offered by Australian Skeptics each year. Skeptic of the Year for 2004 was awarded to Lynne Kelly, whose book, The Skeptic's Guide to the Paranormal, is doing all the sales she could hope for. The Bent Spoon award was won by the producers of the ABC television show The New Inventors for letting a preposterous piece of paranormal piffle percolate through the preliminary process and make it onto the screen. Lynne's agent also manages James O'Loghlin, the host of The New Inventors, a fact previously unknown to anybody associated with the judging for either award. (Lynne only found out herself because it was mentioned in a casual conversation with her agent earlier that day). Explain that, skeptics!

◄ Lynne

James ►

You can read a write-up of the convention here.

Friday, November 12

• Singing to Your Swimming Pool: Looking at strange claims - Ian Bryce
• Evolution & Creationism - Panel discussion with questions from the floor
  Dr Phil Plait, Dr Paul Willis, Rev David Millikan, Professor Colin Groves, Peter Bowditch (moderator)

Saturday, November 13

• Welcome and introduction
• You could just die laughing: The madder extremes of alternative medicine - Peter Bowditch
• Health Care and Science: Medicine and quackery, what's the difference - Dr David Brookman
• Mystery Video Surprise - Steve Walker
• The Great Skeptic Attempted Mass Suicide Using Homeopathic Crap: Just how many sleeping tablets with nothing in them do you have to take to get an overdose?
• Homeopathy - Dilution or Delusion? - Dr Steve Roberts
• The Moon Landing Hoax Exposed - Dr Phil Plait
• Mind Magic - Talking with the Dead or Lying to the Living - Mark Mayer
• Skepticism in the surreal world of Flacco - Paul Livingstone
• Skeptical feminism and fun - Sue-Ann Post

Sunday, November 14

• Science & Politics: Panel discussion about nuclear energy, greenhouse and climate change
  Danny Kennedy (Greenpeace), Dr Colin Keay (physicist), Professor Ian Plimer (geologist)
• Mystery Investigators Show - Taking Reason to Schools - Richard Saunders and Alynda
• Teaching Children Healthy Skepticism - Cheryl Capra
• Filling in the Undergrowth: Teaching with a skeptical approach in the university - Dr Martin Bridgstock
• Preaching to the Unconverted - Lynne Kelly