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Sorry I have been so quiet lately, life just seems to overtake me from time to time. Anyway, I am looking forward to TAM this year, and I wanted to let you all know a couple of things to help you enjoy the experience more. I will live tweet the event again. The hashtag is #TAM2013, so follow that. Also, as I tweet, there are question and answer sessions with presenters. If you have a question for a presenter, send it to me at @LarianLeQuella on Twitter. I plan to have my tablet running twitter and facebook, so you should be able to reach me via those media as well.

EDIT: Small Change. TEXT questions to me at 603-341-4125 The hotel is charging for WiFi in the convention area.

At the end of each day of tweeting, I also plan to copy/paste all my tweets into this thread, so you can catch up on anything I may have said. Feel free to comment and discuss stuff here.

Related Post: The Amazing Meeting 2013 - Sponsorship Proposal

Related Post: Live Tweeting NECSS

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  • Larian, weren't you going to post your paper and stuff? Did you get to present?
    – JasonR
    Jul 16, 2013 at 12:10
  • @Brightblades yes, I will as soon as I catch up on my sleep... I went all of TAM with an average of 4 hours a night... Jul 17, 2013 at 0:02

4 Answers 4

2

Day one of Tweets. This was the workshops. Remember, WiFi is not reliable here, so if you have a question for a presenter, text me at 603-341-4125

#TAM2013 Want some Stack Exchange SWAG? Find me at JREF Forum table at 5:45PM for pens, stickers, and even a T-shirt

#TAM2013 Optimal vs. Typical situations. What can you do vs. What will you do

#TAM2013 No shit sherlock quote: smart people do stupid things. Been said since TAM1 I bet.

#TAM2013 Nailed Newcomb's Problem at least. Rationality is a lot more about consistency

#TAM2013 Representativeness is a tricky heuristic that makes us pick a less likely probabilities.

#TAM2013 As skeptics, we all want to argue with each and every question. At least we are willing to question.

#TAM2013 Availability and Risk is one where a lot of skeptics do well overall in risk assessment

#TAM2013 Also defied the sunk cost effect, however framing seems to get me

#TAM2013 Well, apparently I don't have the Myside Bias according to the first question

#TAM2013 Rationality and intelligence are not co-dependent variables

#TAM2013 How Rational Are You? Is the next workshop. There's supposedly a test.

#TAM2013 subjective effects of placebo do NOT translate to actual healing.

#TAM2013 Placebo interventions have no important clinical effects. The illusion of an effect is still unethical

#TAM2013 the more you invest in something, the more pronounced the placebo effects

#TAM2013 There needs to be a better way to start off a rebuttal than with the word "actually"

#TAM2013 Dunning-Kruger effect combined with "Peter Principle" explains most of world history.

#TAM2013 people generally don't like having it pointed out to them they are using a logical fallacy. Go figure!

#TAM2013 Critical thinking does not exist in the wild, it's an artificial construct. We naturally don't do it.

#TAM2013 Negative result studies are generally not published in China or Russia. Wait until results are actually replicated

#TAM2013 New quackery term is "Integrative medicine" Still total bullshit.

#TAM2013 Look up the BMJ paper on parachutes for a beautiful critique

#TAM2013 We CAN reject a treatment if it's mechanism violates basic physics

#TAM2013 EBM was blindsided by CAM because a randomized trial of an impossible modality was given credit

#TAM2013 EBM has a blind spot because you can't throw out things that violate basic science

#TAM2013 Evidence Based Medicine is actually different from Science Based Medicine, see the Cochrane Collaboration

#TAM2013 Science-Based Medicine website has new look, as well as articles for e-readers.

#TAM2013 Gotta love a panel with 4 MDs and a PhD thrown in for good measure.

#TAM2013 The holy water was just toilet water in a Mumbai "miracle". Quite the allegory if I ever heard one

#TAM2013 The case for harm by irrationalism is playing out in Africa in a very graphic way

#TAM2013 American skeptics can help by adopting one of the African witch camps. Make the issue known

#TAM2013 The humanist/skeptical groups in Africa are generally made up of younger folks than in Europe and the US

#TAM2013 Far East Asia seems to be missing from this international panel.

#TAM2013 skeptical organizations really do need your support, even if they don't say it. You can do that easily.

#TAM2013 DJ and Richard had to take off for something relating to million dollar challenge. Wonder what that's about.

#TAM2013 each little event that happens can be a catalyst for the next skeptical growth and vitality

#TAM2013 DJ's ONE idea: identify another skeptics group somewhere in the world and set up a "sister skeptic group"

#TAM2013 practitioners of homeopathy are homeopathetic

#TAM2013 Amazingly skeptics receive government funding to teach the spirit of inquiry

#TAM2013 Sanal Edamaruku facing threat of arrest for showing where a drain was leaking on a cross...

#TAM2013 DJ said, "Randi is like the Johnny Appleseed of skepticism." Don't tell Randi DJ said that!

#TAM2013 Skepticism is a worldwide effort! Don't think it's only in the US

#TAM2013 The ONE thing you can do to foster skepticism. DJ straight out of the gate.

#TAM2013 Looks like @SouthPoint only allows wifi in specific areas. Only costs $20/ hour #ripoff :(

#TAM2013 next workshop: Supporting Skepticism Around the World. An international panel

#TAM2013 Lazy Truth: plug in to Snopes to let you know when the email you get is BS

#TAM2013 Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) is goin it's second year! Improving the internet all around.

#TAM2013 Ben Franklin List: a PAC for getting scientists and engineers elected to office!

#TAM2013 Skeptic Love: we need to support each other as well as our skeptical activism on fighting the scammers

#TAM2013 Just ONE thing a day: @SkepticAction and sign up! Rate it with Web of Trust

#TAM2013 Susan Gerbic: Guerrilla Skepticism: Activism Beyond the Choir

#TAM2013 @krelnik Great tools and wonderful presentation. Why not mention http://skeptics.stackexchange.com? :)

#TAM2013 on all these projects, critical mass is crucial. Can't crowdsource without a crowd

#TAM2013 Hypothes.is an annotation layer for the entire web. In alpha, and very carefully vetted

#TAM2013 fact checking apps: FactLink & Skeptive is another interesting effort.

#TAM2013 http://Unsourced.org is another crowdsourced tool for users: UK based

#TAM2013 Churnalism US: matches articles against press releases (plagarism). Cut and Paste Journalism.

#Tm2013 Churnalism US: matches articles against press releases (plagarism). Cut and Paste Journalism.

#TAM2013 there is a lot of interest in the fact-check space. For instance, one tool is Pundit Tracker

#TAM2013 most tools were targeted at us skeptics, now there is a host of tools coming out in the journalism field

#TAM2013 More tools for online skepticism from Tim Farley. First one is called Reality Drop.

#TAM2013 rebutr is currently only available as a chrome plug-in

#TAM2013 For skeptics, we believe the evidence is on our side. Use rebutr to provide the demand for that evidence

#TAM2013 No! The debate needs to reach out to the folks who are just getting exposed to this new information.

#TAM2013 People actively avoid encountering information that contradict their view, so it's useless to debate them?

#TAM2013 The moment when someone first encounters new information is where the search for truth will be fought

#TAM2013 your physical position (Wonder Woman pose) can actually affect your confidence. (Is this true?)

#TAM2013 rebutr is a network and discussion of the topic, it's a much more complicated tool than that.

#TAM2013 you can install a plugin to your browser at http://rebutr.com as well other tools.

#TAM2013 rbutr project: one memetic immune system tool already in action.

#TAM2013 We can make an impact with skeptical activism. Don't be the blonde girl from the Allstate commercial. Bonjour

#TAM2013 We need a system in place as a memetic immune system to improve the ideas on the internet

#TAM2013 ALL of us have a false belief, the challenge is to identify it and destroy it

#TAM2013 Unfortunately Truth is not a criteria for what makes it onto the internet

#TAM2013 False beliefs cause harm. See http://whatstheharm.net for numerous examples

#TAM2013 Next workshop: Crowdsourcing Skepticism. Such as http://Skeptics.stackexchange.com 

#TAM2013 Someone needs to secure the wifi "Access Code" for conference attendees.

@jref Could you please request the "Access Code" for SouthPoint wifi and post it in the conference area.

#TAM2013 "A UFO! Quick, get the worst camera we have!"

#TAM2013 Take a picture with the shutter closed, to allow you to subtract camera noise. Some cameras do this automatically

#TAM2013 Peradoila is a term that goes back to the 1800s. Just because it doesn't have a name, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

#TAM2013 Live demo of camera gain (noise in a picture). Very fascination and clear demo.

#TAM2013 Southpoint wifi is asking for an access code... Having trouble getting to twitter account. Anyone have a code?

#TAM2013 Be honest, do you really know how to use your camera? Do you know how it works?

#TAM2013 Most artifacts in photography are because photographers suck. Dust, straps, hair, etc.

#TAM2013 Even if you predate photoshop, a lot of things can be faked with just the camera

#TAM2013 if you ever have questions for a workshop or seminar, send me an @ tweet. 149 characters, no quemments

#TAM2013 Workshops day one. Going to: How Your Camera Lies to You.

#TAM2013 http://carboncomic.com check it out. Science and skepticism funnies @carbonkyle

@broze circular reasoning works because

#TAM2013 Cards Against Humanity is a game you must get! It's like Apples to Apples, but adult!

#TAM2013 And the festivities start at the Del Mar lounge! :) Cards Against Humanity in a while

#TAM2013 just landed in Vegas, and it's 108 in the shade... Hurray for air conditioning

#TAM2013 Sitting in MHT waiting to board. EXCITED! :)

#TAM2013 Special thanks to StackExchange for sponsoring me. Check out the Skeptics group.
1
  • @Sancho Thank you for the edit! :) Being at TAM is a full time dedication, so I just didn't have the time to go through that last night. :) Jul 13, 2013 at 1:57
2

Day 2! This is the meat of the conference. Just a quick SITREP, gave away a lot of SWAG, and hope to have many new contributors to the site. Some of these tweets contain statements/assertions that could even be made into questions. ;)

Remember, WiFi is not reliable here, so if you have a question for a presenter, text me at 603-341-4125

 #TAM2013 youtube comments are free speech without any skin in the game. The anonymous troll is really just a coward

 #TAM2013 our society is drowning in junk thought, which seems to be immune to facts and evidence

 #TAM2013 anti-intellectualism and ignorance are not only destroying our politics, but the roots of our society

 #TAM2013 and using facts generally can't penetrate the ignorance of people who think their opinions are facts

 #TAM2013 sadly most Americans don't know the difference between facts and opinions

 #TAM2013 we need to take a closer look at the public discourse regarding opinions and facts

 #TAM2013 Keynote speaker: Susan Jacoby: how to define facts when we're not entitled to our own

 #TAM2013 the discovery of Neptune is a cautionary tale on falsification, as well as the Mercury anomaly

 #TAM2013 Duhem-Quine thesis does still make falsification a difficult endeavour

 #TAM2013 science isn't a pragres by confirmation, but by resisting falsification (don't make your position immune to falsification!)

 #TAM2013 3 reasons to care: knowledge, the money, and the fact it can cause harm

 #TAM2013 why skeptics should care about the demarcation problem with pseudo-science @mpigliucci

 #TAM2013 fighting the fakers and failing. Fakers still end up moving the goalpost and plain lying

 #TAM2013 TAM elevator speech: we encourage critical thinking and the examination of the evidence to reach (small T) truth.

 #TAM2013 http://Skeptics.StackExchange.com is a question answer site, but not the Mos Eisley of stupidity like Yahoo!Answers.

 #TAM2013 scientists don't expect nature to lie, but the fakers will do so all the time

 #TAM2013 sometimes scientists get taken in by pseudo-science because they didn't know enough about nonsense

 #TAM2013 we aren't specifically scientists, but promoters and advocates of scientific skepticism. Consumer advocates @jamyianswiss

 #TAM2013 the skillset we use is different from the subject which we apply them to

 #TAM2013 @stevennovella has a wet dream of converting the skeptical method to a rigorous academic discipline

 #TAM2013 @stevennovella would love to have those slides with the definitions to post publically as a link for the masses

 #TAM2013 Panel on going forward with skeptical activism

 #TAM2013 go to http://anhonestliar.com for more info on this film

 #TAM2013 Johnny Carson Foundation is a big supporter of TAM/JREF, a decades long relationship

 #TAM2013 some wonderful and classic set of film clips from Randi's life. Those will be worth the price of admission for the film alone

 #TAM2013 Randi can absolutely work an audience!

 #TAM2013 There is very little money in the documentary world so it keeps out the assholes

 #TAM2013 The making of "An Honest Liar" a film about James Randi. About frikkin time!

 #TAM2013 Thank you @saramayhew for the awesome Benedict Cumberbatch picture. :)

 #TAM2013 if you want a free t-shirt, come show me your http://skeptics.stackexchange.com account. Find me at lunch, or anytime during TAM

 #TAM2013 everybody should have the gift of scientific thinking to drive out the fear bred by ignorance

 #TAM2013 the need to understand. CULTIVATE THAT!

 #TAM2013 In order to have an answer for everything, the answers start to get kind of crazy.

 #TAM2013 @carasantamaria Wonder if those glasses are a prescription? @realmaxmaven has caused me to doubt it now!

 #TAM2013 Bill Hemmer anecdote from Max was absolutely hilarious and quite telling. :)

 #TAM2013 Who's skeptical about the skeptics? Can't be only Max, so who else? But don't make it Us vs. Them

 #TAM2013 as with everything in life, there is no clear line on what constitutes necessary lies and truth

 #TAM2013 a few words in praise of deception: the truth lies here. Max Maven

 #TAM2013 reward the effort, not the outcome (provided the effort is put in to warrant a possible outcome of success)

 #TAM2013 skepticism is a tool, and you can filter any aspect of your life with that tool, to include martial arts

 #TAM2013 Batters are generally superstitious because the actual success rate is so low, and science predicted this.

 #TAM2013 they will dig in harder, and blame themselves for the failure because they got a specific ritual wrong

 #TAM2013 even when someone has a confrontation reality they still won't let go of their delusion

 #TAM2013 woo in martial arts panel is humerous, yet has real consequences

 #TAM2013 amazing social experiment in past decade. Porn availability up, decline in crimes and dysfunction

 #TAM2013 take the sexual addiction screening test. You'll probably be a sex addict just because you're American

 #TAM2013 how robust can a clinical concept be if it can be done by non-therapists and strangers

 #TAM2013 apparently sex addiction was invented in 1986 by someone without any training is human sexuality

 #TAM2013 amazingly http://sexed.org is blocked on many college campuses

 #TAM2013 there is an illusion of threatening sexual "others" out there fostering panic and anxiety

 #TAM2013 America's war on sex is a clever ploy by the religious right to blur church/state separation

 #TAM2013 The Bastard Burger at the Burger Fuel in New Zealand is the best @georgehrab ever had.

 #TAM2013 @krelnik coming to the rescue for IT troubles, @georgehrab entertaining the crowd

 #TAM2013 Joss Whedon should sue Bob Larson, sounds too much like Buffy with his teenage girl exorcists

 #TAM2013 Bob Larson novels like Dead Air are porn for christians

 #TAM2013 Deliverance Ministries are the most common US forms of exorcisms

 #TAM2013 Harry Potter and Skepticism can cause demonic possession: I may be possessed all the time

 #TAM2013 "God Bless America" examining the many other religious beliefs in the US, including exorcism

 #TAM2013 New e-book out there called "Haunting America" Check it out!

 #TAM2013 some slight audio visual troubles before a talk on exorcism. Begone demons of incompatible hardware

 #TAM2013 There is too much "Outrage Theatre" out there distracting from actually accomplishing anything

 #TAM2013 The honest broker is the socially conscious approach of Doubtful News

 #TAM2013 being objective without context doesn't accomplish any change

 #TAM2013 the problem with "you decide" is that an informed decision can only be reached with all the data

 #TAM2013 anyone want some StackExchange SWAG? Find me at JREF forum table at the coffee break

 #TAM2013 civility is a strict policy at doubtful news. NO trolls

 #TAM2013 news stories rarely try to follow up on the weird news they report on, http://Doubtfulnews.com does

 #TAM2013 a talk about positive skepticism by Sharon @idoubtit

 #TAM2013 Religion is always about 50 years behind the moral arc, but then tries to take credit for progress

 #TAM2013 MLK "The moral arc of the universe is long, and bends towards justice"

 #TAM2013 Timothy Ferris: The Science of Liberty: keep running the experiment continuously

 #TAM2013 Triangulating Peace (Russett and Oneal) as democracy increases, violence decreases

 #TAM2013 Lifeboat Ethics is most appropriate for undergraduate philosophy courses.

 #TAM2013 We can view morality as provisional like the Gould quote on facts.

 #TAM2013 What makes something wrong or right? How are we supposed to know?

 #TAM2013 This talk is pretty much the same as his #NECSS talk, with updates

 #TAM2013 First speaker is Michael Shermer on Science and Morality.

 #TAM2013 George Hrab doing Haikus for intros this year instead of songs.

 #TAM2013 at 85, James Randi still has the energy and presence that is deserving of the MDC prize

 #TAM2013 starting off day 2 with a little bit of comedy thanks to George Hrab.
2

Day 3.

 #TAM2013 sushi for dinner tonight, can't thank Skeptics StackExchange enough. See you tomorrow.

 #TAM2013 James Randi himself on stage. No tweeting, paying rapt attention

 #TAM2013 What the hell theory! A sort of binary position of honesty or cheating

 #TAM2013 how do we get people to rationalize less? Remind people of their moral fiber, prime them

 #TAM2013 dishonesty isn't generally about the cost benefit analysis, but the rationalization

 #TAM2013 there is no statistical difference in crime between states with the death penalty and those without

 #TAM2013 The honest truth about dishonesty: how we lie to each other and ourselves

 #TAM2013 "We distrust the witness when he is too vehement." - David Hume. Why have we forgotten this?

 #TAM2013 the credulous man is the father to the conman and the cheat. Is a danger to self as well as society as a whole

 #TAM2013 be willing to say "I don't know" to avoid credulity

 #TAM2013 be aware of the continuum from well established to the speculative

 #TAM2013 credulity about scientific claims from scientists in fields outside their area of expertise is a problem

 #TAM2013 all people have a lot of credulity but it depends on the subject and the source

 #TAM2013 credulity was an unknown word to many of Susan Haack's students!

 #TAM2013 Robert Ingersol: there is no harmony between religion and science. Look up the rest of the quote

 #TAM2013 religious claims are not refutable and they have built an airtight echo chamber to protect their ideas

 #TAM2013 in theology, we don't know anything more than we did in the 15th century, not so with science

 #TAM2013 when something in religion is flasified it becomes a metaphor

 #TAM2013 when science falsifies something, it goes into the garbage can

 #TAM2013 incompatibility in three areas: methodology, philosophy, and outcomes

 #TAM2013 depressing statistics about the incompatibility between science and religion here in the US

 #TAM2013 most doctors are evidenced based, not science based. Just watch for red flags and question it

 #TAM2013 a resource to send folks to are science based medicine and http://quackwatch.org  

 #TAM2013 @susangerbic Hey, that wasn't a QUESTION! :)

 #TAM2013 the legal process doesn't get underway until there is a patient complaint. But they sometimes don't know how

 #TAM2013 make the acceptance of the alt-med embarrassing so people move away from it. Educate people

 #TAM2013 if medical boards would do their jobs, but they are full of bureaucrats, wimps, and people without balls!

 #TAM2013 50 states with 50 boards: too many allow a cornucopia of woo to flourish. 17 states allow naturopathy

 #TAM2013 Floriduh makes it on the list for quacks! Seems that the laws in those states are skewed against reality

 #TAM2013 Texas seems to have a lot of the quacks. Wonder if there are any factors that lead to that

 #TAM2013 each of the panelists have a nemesis: blurring the lines between real medicine and woo

 #TAM2013 Fighting the medical fakers: science based medicine rejected Sysiphus pushing the rock as a logo in their never ending fight

 #TAM2013 sign up at AIG table for call to action with @rjblakiewicz fighting the fakers

 #TAM2013 The number of dead Burzynski patients seems almost extraordinary, and they don't leave testimonials

 #TAM2013 Burzynski's clinical trials were a sham so he could continue treatment, they weren't really clinical trials, but shams

 #TAM2013 Why we fight. Burzynski and the harm done by that scammer is a perfect example

 #TAM2013 only 4 t-shirts left from http://skeptics.stackexchamge.com   find me and get the last few

 #TAM2013 SGU has a good method to get questions instead of quemments.

 #TAM2013 Woot! Got the science or fictin right this time. I usually suck at this segment

 #TAM2013 science or fiction questions are really nuanced and there are so many ways of interpreting them...

 #TAM2013 SGU discussions on the scrotum are somewhat cringeworthy, but fascinating

 #TAM2013 SGU recommends going to the Grand Canyon. Although, nothing compares to flying in a C-130 THROUGH the canyon :)

 #TAM2013 Live recording of Skeptics Guide to the Universe. Download it from the iTunes store on July 20th

 #TAM2013 There is no Magic Bullet for solving climate change, which is a problem of generational ethics

 #TAM2013 the politization of science is really the scientization of politics

 #TAM2013 Frank Luntz memo basically created the anti-science confusion that will leave a fundamentally different world for our children

 #TAM2013 if we ONLY considered natural effects (volcanoes and the sun) the earth would actually have cooled

 #TAM2013 we use climate models to test hypotheses, we only have one planet to collect data on

 #TAM2013 we've known about greenhouse effect for 200 years, what would be harder to explain is no temperature increase

 #TAM2013 @michaeleman is a reluctant public figure even though there is no real debate in the science

 #TAM2013 @michaeleman get the book "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars" and check http://realclimate.org  

 #TAM2013 What skeptics need to know: we must educate ourselves and embrace empathy

 #TAM2013 Is there a clear line between victims and victimizers? No

 #TAM2013 Save the weapons for the victimizer not the victim. Think about who you are confronting

 #TAM2013 We will inevitably be fooled, and cognitive dissonance will protect us in those cases. No one wants to be fooled

 #TAM2013 tweeting @jamyianswiss is dangerous, you may miss a gem, his passionate presentations are FULL of great thoughts

 #TAM2013 credit the conman, don't blame the victim. Do we blame the gazelle for becoming the cheetah's meal?

 #TAM2013 for every complex problem that is neat, simple, and elegant. And wrong

 #TAM2013 Three card monty demonstration @janyianswiss

 #TAM2013 @jamyianswiss can also work an audience, starts off with a game to credit the conman

 #TAM2013 Help the JREF do science (bitches) http://bit.ly/18tJ0Z9   and get a $10 Starbucks gift card

 #TAM2013 only 6 shirts left from the Skeptics StackExchange. Find me and show me your account and get SWAG! :)

 #TAM2013 @peterboghossian NAILS the thing that makes my head spin as soon as philosophers start talking

 #TAM2013 the appeal of the skeptical movement is the broad range of knowlege/thought that are in the tent

 #TAM2013 the extreme fragmentation of society (and specialization) is part of the can of worms we are dealing with

 #TAM2013 evidence sensitive skepticism is now going to replace empirical skepticism. So form 1 word "skepticism" now to 3...

 #TAM2013 philosophy is not post-modernism, so the rejection of these thinkers whole scale is a form of anti-intellectualism

 #TAM2013 #empericalskepticism is now the new label of skepticism according to @djgrothe

 #TAM2013 using the adjective of science as meaning epistemically good should be abolished because there IS bad science

 #TAM2013 things that supernaturalist parents don't want their kids to know: sex, drugs, Rock & Roll, and philosophy

 #TAM2013 since the days of Aristotle, philosophy has been (and is) a mess.

 #TAM2013 unsurprisingly a panel of philosophers don't seem to agree with each other on any points :)

 #TAM2013 However just because you have a class in critical thinking doesn't make you a rational critical thinker

 #TAM2013 amazingly, you get a science degree, you probably won't get any critical thinking courses, yet philosophy degrees do

 #TAM2013 4kepticism and Philosophy panel: luminaries in the field with a whole host of books we should read

 #TAM2013 @sanaldemaruku fights the fakers for real, with skin in the game. Research his story for inspiration

 #TAM2013 Guru Busters - British documentary reproducing all the holyman tricks and exposing them

 #TAM2013 @sanaledamaruku can teach you to levitate, and then you can teach others. Show, not tell.

 #TAM2013 We all think we are rational, but turn that mirror examining irrationality on yourself

 #TAM2013 our brains aren't broken, we just have a default setting which can get us in trouble

 #TAM2013 rationality is not a byproduct of intelligence. That's not how people work

 #TAM2013 ApparentlY "Starving the Monkey" is a thing with Mensa. What the fuck is that?

 #TAM2013 @badrescher Why Mensa won't solve world hunger. Why do such smart people do such dumb things?

 #TAM2013 "Skepticism is not about what is impossible, but seeking what is." @skepticzone

 #TAM2013 Failing STILL reinforces the belief because they shift the blame to the supernatural

 #TAM2013 The "Red Straw Herring Man" is a new way of thinking by the true believers. @skepticzone original new fallacy

 #TAM2013 @skepticzone is the Simon Cowell of the psychic shows in Oz

 #TAM2013 The powerbalance guy didn't even know he was executing the Applied Kenesiology carnie trick via the idiomotor effect

 #TAM2013 there are some characteristics that are common to true believers, the "out" being most common

 #TAM2013 the true believers are honest, but are deluding themselves. The small residual are the scammers

 #TAM2013 James Randi in Australia - Google it and find the YouTube video of the 1980 documentary

 #TAM2013 @skepticzone will look into the mind of a true believer. I would be terrified

 #TAM2013 After a night of Bacon and Donuts with @pennjillette and the NO god band, not too tired for day 3
1

And finally, Day 4. I am exhausted from staying up too late every night and having quality conversations with other skeptics, but I also feel great. I sincerely want to thank the folks at StackExchange for the sponsorship.

 #TAM2013 A hearty, and sincere, thank you to http://Skeptics.StackExchange.com  , and all my new twitter followers. See you next year at #TAM2014

 #TAM2013 the excuse is because it was Ramadan and the time difference. He's at one seventh of his "power" apparently

 #TAM2013 Zero for three. A very convincing failure. Wahwahwah.

 #TAM2013 The objects have been selected! Now for the theatrics of the reveal.

 #TAM2013 the challenger has a 1 in 1064 chance to get the 3 objects correct. Maybe he'll be really, really lucky?

 #TAM2013 Watching the million dollar challenge live. I still think Randi's money is safe.

 #TAM2013 You must be genuinely open to revise your beliefs to avoid dogmatism. What would it take for me to believe?

 #TAM2013 Ideas do not deserve dignity, people deserve dignity.

 #TAM2013 be sincere, take risks, make a difference

 #TAM2013 the danger of being authentic could be to be called an asshole. Too many people think disagreement is an attack

 #TAM2013 fighting the fakers starts with authenticity. Fight the fakery in yourself

 #TAM2013 the distinction between a skeptic and a denialist needs to be popularized in light of our hard won evidentiary world

 #TAM2013 the history of our scientific advance is a very exciting story that needs to be told more often

 #TAM2013 things we know in today's world were Extraordinary Claims when first introduced in history, but still had Extraordinary Evidence

 #TAM2013 Couldn't Russell Blackford's name cause some confusion? I think I'll call him Bruce! #philosopherssong

 #TAM2013 Higgs the cat that debunks creationist claims. Molybdonym, Uranium, Selenium :) @cosmic_tabby

 #TAM2013 Look up the "Knight Science Journalism Tracker" for insight on junk information in science journalism

 #TAM2013 something that isn't done in the media much anymore: direct investigation of the claim. It shows!

 #TAM2013 from a small sample size at "The Inquirer" in Philadelphia

 #TAM2013 apparently the religious inclination of investigative journalist was lower even than scientists

 #TAM2013 Faye Flam: fighting fakers in am accelerating information universe. Reaching a much more diverse audience

 #TAM2013 I think Dr. Hall needs to replace every so called doctor that is on TV. Her advice is science based and makes sense

 #TAM2013 if you are going to call yourself a skeptic, you need to be explicit in your claims (specifically for entertainers) @jamyianswiss

 #TAM2013 Sparks are flying on the panel! There are some genuine disagreements and conflicts here

 #TAM2013 DJ is moderating via quemments instead of questions to the panel :)

 #TAM2013 There are over 70 different techniques in cold reading, yet most people think only one is the umbrella for them all

 #TAM2013 we are NOT debunkers, we are INVESTIGATORS. Debunking presupposes a position on the claim

 #TAM2013 check out the JREF video channel for a series on "How to think about dubious claims"

 #TAM2013 You need a magician in the laboratory if you are trying to test a paranormal claim

 #TAM2013 Magicians vs. Psychics. Would make for a great video game! @georgehrab

 #TAM2013 Edwina Rogers is totally depressing me with the weapons grade stupid in Washington DC!

 #TAM2013 The Truth According to Washington: Pretty much the telling of a fairy tale

 #TAM2013 even if you don't understand a science topic, with skepticism, you can spot the fakers

 #TAM2013 @saramayhew the key to making something Real is apparently to Capitalize it

 #TAM2013 @idoubtit has a shirt that may have solved the bigfoot dilemma: they are wookies, and don't leave evidence because they leave t ...

 #TAM2013 The standards of evidence in the cryptozology field are totally backwards to reliability

 #TAM2013 McGill university sponsoring more skeptical meetings. Slide went by too fast. A job for google

 #TAM2013 Another tour de force of wonderful presentations. Special thanks to Professor Hall for curating

 #TAM2013 Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM) or the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM). Coincidence? Yeah, most likely. :)

 #TAM2013 rbutr isn't a tool FOR skeptics, it's a tool for MAKING skeptics. Far more valuable

 #TAM2013 changing minds is hard, but catching someone's first exposure to new information and employing skepticism is possible

 #TAM2013 please change your browser to chrome, and install the rbutr application. We are in a fight against the willful ignorance on the web

 #TAM2013 Shane Greenup to talk more about rbutr as part of the global debate

 #TAM2013 add "and that's why the author is going to hell" to the homeschool descriptions of the author

 #TAM2013 @eveskeptic that description of teaching criteria was absolutely TERRIFYING! Thanks for shining light on that

 #TAM2013 skeptics are rightly upset about the inaccuracies of science teachings by creationists, but it also happens with humanities

 #TAM2013 @eveskeptic just damned us to hell on a sunday morning. :) How appropriate

 #TAM2013 Andrew absolutely kills it! Expectation management wasn't a problem at all

 #TAM2013 credulous press of course makes the case that this is an unusual phenomenon instead of the simple explanation

 #TAM2013 Andrew of @granitestateskeptics is up on The Marblehead UFO

 #TAM2013 @apenotmonkey hallmark of good comic is regular updates: 3 times a week is excellent, now let's get the word out!

 #TAM2013 wonderful characters http://apenotmonkey.com   as well as clever commentary on current skeptical topics

 #TAM2013 I think that @michaelshermer wouldn't mind being compared to an ape :)

 #TAM2013 Hey, I've heard about his comic strip: Ape, not Monkey

 #TAM2013 next topic: Skepticism through Comics. Already found Carbon Dating, so looking for a new skeptical comic

 #TAM2013 meaning is something that we make, not given to us. This can be both frightening and liberating

 #TAM2013 human motivation is not dependent on the universe itself having a pre-defined purpose

 #TAM2013 motivation is the normal, natural state of all animals. Humans are animals with a varying level of motivation

 #TAM2013 current naturalistic explanations of the universe are complex, subtle and inaccessible to most

 #TAM2013 as more plausible hypotheses explain the fine tuning of the universe leaves nothing for god(s) to do

 #TAM2013 challenge the assumption that a purpose driven life needs a purpose driven universe

 #TAM2013 Stayed up way too late in the Del Mar playing Cards Against Humanity, but ready for the papers

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