Skeptic: Extraordinary Claims, Revolutionary Ideas, and the Promotion of Science
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The Long Tail of Skepticism
What can regular skeptics actually do to enhance the appreciation of science and skeptical inquiry?
This question has been an ongoing theme for Skepticality, and this week’s guest has one answer to propose. In his audio essay, “Raising Our Game: The Rationale to Embrace Skepticamp,” software architect Reed Esau argues that “Skepticamps” (self-organizing peer conferences of intimate scale) can harness the potential of the “long tail” of the skeptical movement — offering a voice to all of us who have passion and expertise to share but who cannot take on the role of a “professional” skeptic.
These meetings are an experiment in the structure of a movement, and they are capturing the imagination of many new skeptics. What are the true implications for skeptical organizing? Is the advent of social networking technologies really the moment when everything changed?
Skepticality presents the essay in audio format, followed by Swoopy’s feature interview with Reed. Rounding out the discussion, Swoopy talks with Whatstheharm.net creator Tim Farley about his role in encouraging Skepticamp.
DOWNLOAD the text version of the essay (719 KB PDF) >