CSICon

CSICon

CSI Executive Director Barry Karr speaking at CSICon 2011.
Status Active
Genre science and skepticism
Location(s) Changes each year
Country United States
Inaugurated 2011 (1983)
Attendance 500 in 2015[1]
Organized by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
Website
csiconference.org

CSICon or CSIConference is an annual skeptical convention typically held in the United States. CSICon is hosted by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), which publishes the magazine Skeptical Inquirer, and which is a program of the Center for Inquiry (CFI).[2]

History

1983–2005: CSICOP conferences

Banquet at the 1983 CSICOP Conference in Buffalo, NY.

CSICon's current format stems from 2011, but similar conferences by CSI (until 2006 known as CSICOP, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal) go back as far as 1983, when the first was held at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY).[3] The second international CSICOP conference, themed "Paranormal Beliefs: Scientific Facts and Fictions", was held at Stanford University in 1984. The third, the first European CSICOP conference, was held at University College London in Britain, themed "Investigation and Belief".[4]

Throughout the 1980s, the European readership of the Skeptical Inquirer was increasing, while CSICOP members James Randi and Paul Kurtz were visiting several European countries to help found national skeptical organizations with their own magazines. In 1989, the second European CSICOP conference occurred in Bad Tölz, Germany, co-organized by the GWUP and also known as the 1st European Skeptics Congress. It was followed by the formation of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations in 1994, that would henceforth host international skeptical conferences in Europe.[5]

Subsequent CSICOP conferences were always held inside the United States. These included the First World Skeptics Congress at SUNY Buffalo (1996), "That’s Entertainment! Hollywood, the Media, and the Supernatural" with the Council for Media Integrity in Los Angeles (1998), "Science Meets 'Alternative Medicine'" in Philadelphia (1999) and others.[4]

2005–2011: hiatus

Around 2005, the CSICOP conferences that were on average held every year and a half, usually at a major American university in conjunction with the relevant faculties such as physics, psychology and philosophy, went into a seven-year hiatus. According to Kendrick Frazier, the organization struggled with its leadership, focus and future perspective, prompting amongst other things the 2006 renaming from CSICOP to CSI, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. In the meantime, the annual skeptical conference in Las Vegas, The Amaz!ng Meeting run by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), started to fill the gap and grew larger every year.[6]

2011–present: CSICon

Bill Nye received the "In Praise of Reason" Award at CSICon 2011.
CSI, CFI and CSH gathered at the joint CFI Summit in Tacoma, Washington in 2013.
2016 CSICon Logo

When CSI stabilized in 2011, it held its first newly styled CSICon in New Orleans, Louisiana.[6] At this first CSICon, Planetary Society president Bill Nye was presented with the "In Praise of Reason" Award for his efforts in science communication with shows such as "Bill Nye the Science Guy" and later series and lectures.[7] CSICon 2 took place in Nashville, Tennessee in October 2012.[8][9][10]

In October 2013, CSICon 3 was held as part of a larger CFI conference, including the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH), called the CFI Summit in Tacoma, Washington.[6] This combined congress was an experiment, as some people like Ray Hyman and Daniel Loxton feared or argued the goals and focus of skepticism and humanism differed too much from each other to be discussed at a single conference. On the other hand, Ronald A. Lindsay and Eddie Tabash defended the decision of a joint convention, and Susan Gerbic wrote afterwards she was "completely impressed" by how well the two camps overlapped (citing the creation–evolution controversy as the most important common ground), and "have to work together".[11][12] In June 2015, again a joint CFI conference was organized under the banner "Reason for Change", with almost 500 people attending. Frazier opined that "[s]cientific skepticism and secularism/humanism blended fairly seamlessly" in Amherst, New York, the headquarters of CFI.[1]

After the last installment of The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2015, Las Vegas was chosen as the location for CSICon 2016 to fill the void.[13][14]

Events

Dates Location Name Speakers Themes and notes
October 27–30, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana CSICon Bill Nye, Phil Plait, Barbara Forrest, Lawrence Krauss, Harriet Hall, Steven Novella, William B. Davis, Chris Mooney, Karen Stollznow, James Underdown and The Heathens, Joe Nickell, James Randi, Ray Hyman, Massimo Polidoro, D. J. Grothe, Indre Viskontas, Ben Radford, Margaret Downey, PZ Myers, Sandra Blakeslee, Michelle Blackley, Richard Saunders, Kendrick Frazier, Robert Sheaffer, and others. Theme: "The Conference Dedicated To Scientific Inquiry And Critical Thinking"[3][15][16]
October 25–28, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee CSICon 2 Ronald A. Lindsay, Kendrick Frazier, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (Steven, Bob, and Jay Novella, Rebecca Watson, and Evan Bernstein), George Hrab, PZ Myers, James Alcock, Elizabeth Loftus, Indre Viskontas, Massimo Polidoro, Richard Wiseman, Jon Ronson, Sara Mayhew, Eugenie Scott, Dan Kahan, David Morrison, Sharon A. Hill, Scott Lilienfeld, Anthony Pratkanis, David Gorski, Harriet Hall, Kimball Atwood, Richard Lippa, Carol Tavris, and others. Theme: "The Conference Dedicated To Science And Skeptical Inquiry")[9]
October 24–27, 2013 Tacoma, Washington CSICon 3 (part of the CFI Summit) Ronald A. Lindsay, Ray Hyman, Daniel Loxton, Edward Tabash, Susan Gerbic, Barry Kosmin, Michael De Dora, Ophelia Benson, Mark Hatcher, Bill Cooke, Zack Kopplin, Bill Nye, Ben Radford, James Underdown, Joe Nickell, Leonard Mlodinow, Lindsay Beyerstein, Josh Zepps, and others. Co-organized with the Center for Inquiry as part of the "CFI Summit: A meeting of minds — a call to collaborative action"[11]
June 11–15, 2015 Amherst, New York Reason for Change[note 1] Ronald A. Lindsay, James Underdown, Kendrick Frazier, Tom Flynn, Michael Specter, Eugenie Scott, Harriet Hall, Steven Novella, David Gorski, Leonard Tramiel, Rebecca Goldstein, Stephen Law, Mark Boslough, Scott Mandia, Jan Dash, Joshua Rosenau, Dave Thomas, Ray Hyman, Scott Lilienfeld, Amardeo Sarma, Barry Karr, and others. Co-organized with the Center for Inquiry as "A CFI Conference"[1]
October 27–30, 2016 Las Vegas, Nevada CSICon 4 James Alcock, Banachek, Julia Belluz, Lindsay Beyerstein, Robyn Blumner, Richard Dawkins, Katie Dyer, Sanal Edamaruku, Mark Edward, Kevin Folta, Kendrick Frazier, Susan Gerbic, Stephanie Guttormson, Harriet Hall, Ray Hall, David Helfand, George Hrab, Ray Hyman, Maria Konnikova, Lawrence Krauss, Ronald Lindsay, Elizabeth Loftus, Michael Mann, Joe Nickell, Paul Offit, Massimo Polidoro, Anthony Pratkanis, James Randi, Joe Schwarcz, Eugenie Scott, Kavin Senapathy, Jamy Ian Swiss, Jill Tarter, Carol Tavris, James Underdown, Bertha Vazquez, and Tamar Wilner.[18] Theme: "Celebrate Science and Reason"[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frazier, Kendrick (September 2015). "'Reason for Change': Quacks and Cranks, GMOs and Climate, Science and Philosophy". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 39 (5). Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Conference Dedicated to Science and Skeptical Inquiry". CSIConference.org. CSI. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Adam Isaac (October 5, 2011). "CSICon – The Conference Dedicated To Scientific Inquiry And Critical Thinking". Point of Inquiry. CFI. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Frazier, Kendrick (June 2001). "CSICOP Timeline". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 25 (3). Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ Gábor Hraskó. "Earlier European skeptic events". Hungarian Skeptic Society. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Frazier, Kendrick (March 2015). "Organized Skepticism: Four Decades ... and Today". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 39 (2). Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Bill Nye Wins In Praise of Reason Award". CSI website. CSI. January 20, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  8. ↑ Bob Smietana (October 26, 2012). "Skeptics, atheists share their doubts at conference". The Tennessean. Gannett Company.
  9. 1 2 3 Frazier, Kendrick (March 2013). "Ideas and Insights, Inquiries and Investigations". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 37 (2). Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ Kyle Hill (November 14, 2012). "How Long Will a Lie Last? New Study Finds That False Memories Linger for Years". Scientific American Blog Network. Scientific American. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Frazier, Kendrick (March 2014). "CFI Summit: Highlights. Skeptics, Humanists Come Together in Tacoma in First Joint Conference: Skepticism, Humanism, or Both?". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 38 (2). Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ Gerbic, Susan (March 2014). "CFI Summit: Impressions. Conference Report.". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 38 (2). Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ Brian Dunning (March 19, 2016). "Are you frustrated that TAM & the JREF are no more, and the skeptical community has disintegrated?". Skeptoid blog. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Susan Gerbic (September 22, 2016). "From TAM to CSICon: An Interview with Ray Hall and Katie Dyer". CSI website. CSI. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ Lavarnway, Julia (March 2012). "CSICon New Orleans 2011 - Where Meeting Awesome Skeptics Is As Easy As Saying 'Hello'". Skeptical Inquirer. CSI. 36 (2). Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  16. ↑ Lee Speigel (November 1, 2011). "UFO At NFL Game: TV Camera Captures Strange Object In Flight During Broadcast". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  17. ↑ Barry Karr. "CSICon ad final". CSIConference.org. CSI. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  18. ↑ "CSICon Las Vegas: Speakers". CSIConference.org. CSI. Retrieved October 24, 2016.

Notes

  1. ↑ Unlike the 2013 CFI Summit that incorporated CSICon 3,[9] "Reason for Change" was not officially named a "CSICon", although CSI again co-organized it.[6] Instead, it was dubbed "A CFI Conference", while the 2016 CSICon in Las Vegas has been ranked the "4th".[17]
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