| Biography: |
Rob Palmer is a retired aerospace engineer turned skeptical and atheist activist. He has had over 90 articles published by Skeptical Inquirer as well as in other skeptical and humanist media in several counties. He writes about contemporary skeptical issues and has interviewed individuals as diverse as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Richard Dawkins, Penn & Teller, and John de Lancie. Rob has given presentations for various skeptic and humanist groups and conventions, including Dragon Con 2021 and four times at CSICon. He has been interviewed about his work on various podcasts and YouTube shows, including The Skeptic Zone, Big Picture Science, Point of Inquiry, The Thinking Atheist, and by RecoveringfromReligion.org, for which he volunteers as a helpline agent and co-host of their weekly livestreamed show. |
| Session Description: |
Most of the public believes that aliens are visiting Earth in their UFOs, and many believe their government is suppressing this (for reasons). Although most scientists & skeptics dispute this, due to the prodigious number of exoplanets now known to exist, most of them routinely state with confidence that extraterrestrial civilizations are very likely and perhaps even abundant in the Milky Way, and "first contact" is only a matter of time. This presentation will explore whether this ubiquitous optimism is warranted.
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