Evil as I am, I had a wicked plan for #Skepticon. I am not speaking this year, so I was going to sit in the back of the room and roll my eyes at the weak lineup and regale everyone with tales of how it was so much better in the good old days, when they had the good taste to invite me. That’ll teach ’em.
And then, dammit, all of the talks so far have been different and awesome and interesting. It kicked off last night with Sikivu Hutchinson, who set the tone…but then, I’ve heard Sikivu speak before, so I knew what to expect. Then somebody I didn’t know, Nathanael Johnson, a journalist for Grist, talked about the science of feeding the world. It was good! I learned things! And lastly, Jamie DeWolf, another person with whom I was unfamiliar, did a spoken word and video set. He’s the great grandson of L. Ron Hubbard, used to be an evangelical Christian, and he was ferocious and eloquent.
My plan has failed. The Skepticon without me is shaping up to be the best Skepticon ever.
This morning, Muhammad Syed of the Ex-Muslims of North America is speaking, which is perfect timing. Later today we’re getting a Q&A with a videographer, Mark Shierbecker, about the Missouri protests. Relevance and matters of importance all over the place!
There’s also fun: last night was a gaming night for all of us nerds (I played some game called Slash…I will say no more), and tonight is Skeptiprom.
I am so impressed. A conference that doesn’t just line up the Usual Suspects and has a lot of new names and diverse topics works phenomenally well. Why aren’t you here? Are you coming next year?
PZ:
You kinda suck at being evil. I hate to break the news to you. I hope you have someone who can help you cope with this devastating knowledge.
I’ve enjoyed it so far, but due to my phone charger falling out of the outlet it died overnight, leading to oversleeping. At least I found my external battery which I thought I had lost at the venue.
Skipped the gaming at Skepticon in favor of gaming with some friends on the other side of Springfield.
Evil plans always fail. Then you have to slink of while blaming some meddling kids.
PZ, you brought this upon yourself. You’ve told various organizers over the years to look for new more diverse speakers rather than just the same old. So they did. Enjoy just being a spectator.
Unless, of course, you include a 5 year old in your planning group to spot all the stupid ideas.
I’m glad to see that you’re here in Springfield as a spectator supporting Skepticon. I feel the same way with seeing Greta Christina here at this year’s event. It’s good to see the famous past speakers here supporting the event and this year’s attempt to reach out to the new voices we’ve heard so far.
PZ, it sounds like you need an Evil Efficiency Consultant. Here you go:
http://podiobooks.com/title/how-to-succeed-in-evil-the-novel/
Envious that I can’t be there – but will definitely plan to be there next year.
Oh my gosh, PZ Myers played Slash? AND you’re reluctant to say anything about what happened. Now my curiosity is piqued.