December 10, 2022
Studio 611, 315 West 39th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY
www.SkeptiCampNYC.org
SkeptiCamp is an Open Conference on science and skepticism, where any of the attendees can also be presenters! It is based on the “BarCamp” event model that was once popular among technology communities. In the past, people have camped out overnight at those types of events. But, today, the “camp” suffix doesn’t really mean anything, anymore.
We have some rules and things to keep in mind, during the event:
· SkeptiCamp lectures are not to be passively accepted. We encourage the asking of challenging questions! But, always please try to argue the argument, without insulting or disrespecting the people, themselves.
· Every speaker is required to endure at least 5 minutes of live Q&A, divided between those who arrived in person, and those attending on-line. Some presenters won’t even mind if you interject with a question in the middle of their presentation. But, be respectful of those who choose to wait until the end for answers.
· Behavior that is abusive to anyone, or disruptive of the event will get you ejected.
· Everything in front of a camera is going to be recorded, unless otherwise specified.
· No unauthorized videotaping or audio recording of your own, please.
· Everyone in the web conference will be muted while speakers will be speaking.
·
Up to 100 people will be allowed into the web conference
at once. We apologize to those who can’t get in.
·
Always feel free to come and go into and out of
the event, as you please. No one is forced to be here. Please do not be
disruptive if you do decide to leave in the middle of a session.
·
If you make a mess, you will be responsible for
cleaning it up.
· The opinions of SkeptiCamp presenters do not necessarily reflect those of its organizers.
· Have fun! And we hope you learn something awesome!
Visit the Dashboard page, for any important status updates about the meeting: https://skepticampnyc.org/webcasthome.aspx. If anything goes wrong, contact: admin@skepticampnyc.org
If you would like to speak at SkeptiCamp NYC, either next year, or to fill a gap this year, please read the Session Leader’s Guide on our web site: http://skepticampnyc.org/SessionGuide.aspx
Sponsorship
New York City Skeptics: http://www.nycskeptics.org
New York
City Skeptics is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 nonprofit that promotes critical
thinking and science education. 
Mitchell Scott Lampert
Mitchell
is just some guy, you know. But, he puts a lot of time and resources into this.
So, we think he ought to be listed here, as well.
Organizers
Lead
Organizer: Mitchell Scott Lampert: MitchLampert42@gmail.com
Assistant
Organizers and Volunteers: Craig Sachs, Benny Pollak, Russ Dobler, Jonathan Nelson
Other
Consultants (from previous years): Michael Feldman and Reed Esau
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82601676307?pwd=MklIQUxtQXBJMTB1WEo0aHgxQ1ZxQT09
share
the apple of knowledge
SkeptiCamp NYC 2022
The Intended Schedule
This schedule, of
course, is subject to change throughout the day.
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pre-Con Meet-and-Greet!
Schmooze with your fellow
attendees, while we get things ready.
10:00 AM - 10:10 AM Opening Ceremonies and Other
Obligatory Stuff
Category: Cryptids (Imaginary Animals)
10:10 AM - 10:40 AM JD Sword D.C.
- The Demon Cat of the U.S. Capitol
Imagine you’re a night watchman,
patrolling the echoing, empty corridors of the Capitol. You hear something. The
meowling of a feral cat. But suddenly, the cat grows to the size of an elephant
and pounces at you with a hellish roar! Scary, right? For over a century the
myth that a demon cat prowls the halls of the United States Capitol building
has fascinated tourists. Where did this myth start, how has it changed over
time, and is there a logical explanation?
10:40 AM - 11:10 AM Russ Dobler Mothman is My Boyfriend: The Rise of Cryptidcore
There's one thing most skeptics and
believers can agree on -- crytpids are cool. But now
they're also trendy?! Cute caricatures of the Jersey Devil, Nessie, Mothman and more have taken over online craft stores and
spurred their own sudden subculture. How did this happen? What does it mean for
skeptics and "real" cryptozoologists?
This is a startlingly big topic,
but we'll start to scratch the surface here.
11:10 AM - 11:25
AM Short Break #1
Category: Humankind is Doomed
11:25 AM - 11:55 AM Craig Sachs There
Are No Accidents
Exploring the time-saving Bias by
Swedish psychologist Ola Svenson and how it kills Americans as much as gun violence.
NHTSA projects that an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic
crashes last year, a 10.5% increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020. How our
own perception of space and time get us and others killed because of our liner
bias and selective attention.
Talk and
discussion is based on this blog https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-linear-bias/
and my and the audiences evidence.
11:55 PM- 2:00 PM Lunch Break
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM Bill Chapman Outreach to Conservatives on Global Warming
I have been
reading everything I can get my hands on about climate science and zero-carbon
energy since 2016. I have been specializing in outreach to conservatives on the
issue, who have proved a tough nut to crack. The consensus of most on the left
is the climate skeptics are just "paid shills" of the fossil fuel
industry, and I outline why I don't think that's quite the case.
Category: Cryptos (Imaginary Wealth?)
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM Benny Pollak "Investing?" in Crypto
Why the
whole idea of investing in Crypto makes no sense.
Category: I Don't Care.... Whatever...
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM Mitchell S. Lampert William Shakespeare and Other Things
You Probably Don't Care About: An Exploration of "True Neutrality"
We are told that a True Skeptic
must approach each claim with a neutral stance, and then investigate which way
the data actually goes. Sometimes this is hard to do; but with training, it can
be done even for the most eye-rolling of silly claims. Sometimes, however, it
can be quite easy! Barely an inconvenience! Especially when you don't actually
care about the topic at hand. Let us discuss the ins and outs of how we tend to
think about these sorts of things. (Though, my own crackpot ideas for how the
mind works, will NOT be part of it.)
3:30 PM - 5:30 PM Open Sessions - Here, we open
the floor to anyone else who wants to talk about anything involving science or
critical thinking.
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM Closing Ceremonies and Cleaning
Up After Ourselves
6:00 PM Until Whenever: After Party - Russ
Dobler is picking a nearby place.
Note: The categories don’t really mean anything, and aren’t really very important.