Tag Archives: Skepticon 2023

Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz at Skepticon 2023

Posted in General, Media, Science, Skeptic, Social Media by

So, it’s Sunday morning right. No not now. Back then. Back on… Sunday morning.

I’ve plunged the coffee, added a cup and milk, and am scrolling through that thing called X. You know – what Elon did to Twitter. I meant to check the weather because it’s cool, windy and wet and I hate the heat, so I’m like “Yay! Let me look at the digits”, but somehow I get on X.

There’s a tweet with a screenshot and the screenshot reads:

If you’re not an expert but you think you’ve destroyed the entire foundation of a vast scientific edifice with 10 minutes of Googling, you might want to consider the possibility that you could be wrong.

Even before the caffeine kicked in I knew it was good – the tweet not the coffee – and perhaps I maybe wished I’d said it. Okay, I did wish I did but I didn’t and will now have to learn to live with that. Then I looked at the handle and the caffeine must have just then kicked in because my memory worked. It went way, way back to the afternoon before, when I’d seen it on Twitter / X. It was @GidMK.

Now, @GidMK calls himself the Health Nerd, but has a whole bunch of talent. In fact I even know that:

Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz

Well, I actually stole that from the Skepticon 2023 speaker bio for Gideon. I also know stole information that he’ll be involved in a panel discussion and that you can:

Join Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz (Health Nerd) and the award-winning science journalists Melissa Davey and Liam Mannix in this panel discussion looking at science in the media and how to avoid being misled by the headlines you read.

Skepticon 2023 runs over Saturday 2nd to Sunday 3rd December, and you can get tickets for either day or for virtual attendance. As for the tweet itself, well I couldn’t find it at first. I had to do an advanced search, which is all very la-de-dah with lots of typing in little boxes until I found it way, way back in January 2020.

Yes. It was from B.C. Before COVID. And it’s hard evidence that critical thinkers were employing logic and sensibility long before social media platforms realised fact-checking was a thing.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to catching Gideon at Skepticon.

Melanie Trecek-King at Skepticon 2023

Posted in General, Science, Skeptic by

Over on the Skepticon 2023 website is a link to all convention speakers.

Melanie Trecek-King, the creator of the online critical thinking resource, Thinking Is Power will be speaking at Skepticon 2023. Melanie is an Associate Professor of Biology at Massasoit Community College and has a “teach skills, not facts” approach to science education.

You can check out Melanie’s Facebook page, the Thinking is Power X profile or read Melanie’s full profile on the Skepticon 2023 website.

Details and a range of tickets to Skepticon 2023 are available via Try Booking.

Skepticon 2023: Tickets on sale

Posted in General, Science, Skeptic by

The Australian Skeptics National Convention is being held in Melbourne this year, at the University of Melbourne Parkville campus. Tickets are now on sale.

Early bird discount of 5% applies to convention tickets until 31 July 2023.

The convention will be held over Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd December at the Ian Potter auditorium, in the Kenneth Myer building (Google maps reference). Online access is also an option. To date, international speakers include critical thinker Melanie Trecek-King and well known skeptic activist Susan Gerbic. Keep an eye on the Skepticon 2023 website or check back here for updates, as the full speaker’s schedule continues to take shape.

Skepticon is known for presenting great speakers and stimulating topics. Recent conventions have included presentations on pseudo-archaeology, research into vaping, responding to the COVID pandemic, superstition in elite sporting performance, adaptation to climate change, the Ivermectin scandal, discerning trustworthy scientific studies and escaping cults. Speakers have included Dr. Ken Harvey, Dr. Rachael Dunlop, members of the European Skeptics podcast, Brian Dunning of Skeptoid, Steven Novella, Bruce Baer Arnold and great panel discussions, to offer just a hint of what this convention brings.

The annual Skepticon dinner will be held on the Saturday night at St. Andrews Hotel, Nicholson Street Fitzroy. It’s a popular night of entertainment, dining, great conversation and the presentation of awards from Australian Skeptics Inc. One is a unique prize that inevitably draws some media comment. Namely, The Bent Spoon Award.

This exclusive title is an annual award presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudo-scientific piffle. Nominations are underway for this year’s winner. Or should that be “lucky loser”? They include, but are not limited to favourites of this author, such as Dave Oneegs, Senator Gerard Rennick and (suspended) Dr. William Bay. If you have somebody in mind or want to add your support to an existing nomination, submit your vote by email.

Last years winner was bogus-medico Maria Carmela Pau who was caught out selling fake COVID vaccination exemption certificates. Other winners include Craig Kelly, 2021, for spreading his waffle on COVID, the vaccine, alternative “cures” and various conspiracy theories. Pete Evans, 2015 for dietary nonsense, anti-fluoride and anti-vaccination piffle. Pete also won in 2020, for his colourful but useless BioCharger, and yet more prolonged anti-vaccination rhetoric. What’s that? No, no. A haircut, no matter how preposterous, is neither paranormal nor pseudoscientific.

2016 was a great year, producing the winning trifecta of Judy Wilyman, Brian Martin and the University of Wollongong. This came in the wake of a doctorate being awarded for Wilyman’s anti-vaccine thesis, void of any research design or novel data. SBS-TV, ABC programmes and producers have also won for presenting pseudoscience and alternatives to medicine in a supportive framework. Of course dear reader I cannot omit that the 2009 Bent Spoon went to Meryl Wynn Dorey and the AVN for being themselves.

Justifiably, there are merit awards given for great talent and hard work. At a time when we are surrounded by conspiracy theories, scams, pseudoscientific claims, discrimination and bigotry, the skeptic movement is motivated to recognise and reward individuals who contribute to critical thinking, scientific reasoning and who value diversity and inclusivity. This is particularly clear in the Goals of Australian Skeptics Inc.

To this end, the following awards are also presented at the Skepticon Saturday dinner. The Fred Thornett Award – known as The Fred – is given for the promotion of, and educating the public about, issues of Science and Reason. The Barry Williams Award for Skeptical Journalism, also known as The Wallaby, acknowledges journalistic work that critically analyses or exposes issues related to pseudoscience or the paranormal. Depending on the topic, individuals chosen for these awards may have faced abuse and/or intimidation as they work toward these valuable goals. This is not lost on skeptics in Australia.

Finally, Skeptic of The Year is awarded to a skeptic or someone with links to the skeptical community in recognition of effective activism or an exceptional contribution to the skeptic movement. This is not awarded annually or biannually, but rather in response to an individual’s unique contribution.

Throughout the weekend there is opportunity for stimulating discussion with like-minded individuals on topical issues relevant to Skepticism. It’s also a great time to broaden your interest in, or involvement with, the skeptical community.

I hope to see you there.

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