Experience the history of organized skepticism during a tour through the headquarters of the Center for Inquiry. CFI's Chief Investigator Kenny Biddle will tell tales of the most intriguing curiosities in the center, and CFI's Director of Libraries Tim Binga will guide you through the building discussing the history and architecture while taking you through CFI's extensive collection of books authored by – and even owned by – the world's greatest mystery solvers, skeptics, and freethinkers.\nTo be added to a waitlist for this event please email rgiambrone@centerforinquiry.org
","frontmatter":{"title":"The CFI History & Mystery Tour with Kenny Biddle and Tim Binga","location":"CFI Headquarters","fullspkr":null,"paid":true,"slug":"tour","day":"Thursday","speakers":["biddle-kenny","binga-tim"],"startTime":480,"endTime":690}},{"html":"Experience the history of organized skepticism during a tour through the headquarters of the Center for Inquiry. CFI's Chief Investigator Kenny Biddle will tell tales of the most intriguing curiosities in the center, and CFI's Director of Libraries Tim Binga will guide you through the building discussing the history and architecture while taking you through CFI's extensive collection of books authored by – and even owned by – the world's greatest mystery solvers, skeptics, and freethinkers.
","frontmatter":{"title":"The CFI History & Mystery Tour with Kenny Biddle and Tim Binga","location":"CFI Headquarters","fullspkr":null,"paid":true,"slug":"tour-2","day":"Thursday","speakers":["biddle-kenny","binga-tim"],"startTime":600,"endTime":810}},{"html":"Join veteran investigators Jim Underdown and Benjamin Radford as they share their decades of experience in this split workshop focused on mysteries and superpowers! The world is full of mysteries, and with over half our population still holding onto various paranormal beliefs, we need all the tools we can get to investigate, test, and solve them. When it comes to claims of fearsome monsters, extraterrestrials, and haunted houses, where do you start? Benjamin Radford, author of Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries and deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine will go over the methods, tips, and tricks he uses to not only investigate paranormal claims but to solve the mysteries. But what about those individuals who claim to have superpowers beyond those of mortal people? That’s where Jim Underdown shines. He’ll go over the processes and detail-specific methods he and the CFI Investigations Group employ when designing properly controlled tests for the CFIIG $500,000 Paranormal Challenge, which happens to be the largest such prize in the world.
","frontmatter":{"title":"Workshop: Investigating Extraordinary Claims","location":null,"fullspkr":null,"paid":true,"slug":"workshop-1","day":"Thursday","speakers":["underdown-jim","radford-benjamin"],"startTime":720,"endTime":825}},{"html":"Visit the conference bookstore to chat with several presenters about posters depicting their skeptical pursuits. You can even have your caricature drawn by Celestia Ward, Skeptical Inquirer's Caricaturist-In-Chief!
","frontmatter":{"title":"Poster Session (and Caricatures with Celestia Ward)","location":null,"fullspkr":null,"paid":false,"slug":"poster-session-and-caricatures-1","day":"Thursday","speakers":[],"startTime":825,"endTime":885}},{"html":"Think you’re immune to bias? That’s exactly what a biased person would think! Join Bertha Vazquez and Melanie Trecek-King for a lively, eye-opening workshop on how tribal thinking hijacks our beliefs. Learn how to argue with yourself more productively and catch your inner caveman in the act. You’ll try out critical thinking tools for escaping your echo chamber, practice the fine art of being wrong (gracefully), and even learn how to outsmart your own brain. Bertha Vazquez is the Director of Education at the Center for Inquiry, and Melanie Trecek-King is the founder of Thinking Is Power.\nTo be added to a waitlist for this event please email rgiambrone@centerforinquiry.org
","frontmatter":{"title":"Workshop: Don't Believe Everything You Believe","location":null,"fullspkr":null,"paid":true,"slug":"workshop-2","day":"Thursday","speakers":["vazquez-bertha","trecek-king-melanie"],"startTime":855,"endTime":960}},{"html":"Join Richard Wiseman and Raymond Hall as they undertake a journey into the fascinating world of magic and skepticism. In the first part, you will discover the key psychological principles that magicians use to astound their audiences and find out how to perform several mind-blowing miracles. In part two, you will be invited into the mysterious realm of scientific sorcery and learn physics-based stunts that can be used to both educate and entertain. Together we will take a deep dive into deception, psychology, science, skepticism, and the paranormal. This will be a hands-on and highly interactive session in which you will discover how to perform amazing card tricks, read minds, predict the future, transform a tea towel into a chicken, and much more.\nTo be added to a waitlist for this event please email rgiambrone@centerforinquiry.org
","frontmatter":{"title":"Workshop: Magic for Skeptics","location":null,"fullspkr":null,"paid":true,"slug":"workshop-3","day":"Thursday","speakers":["hall-ray","wiseman-richard"],"startTime":990,"endTime":1110}},{"html":"CSICon’s opening reception will include appetizers, a cash bar, and opening remarks from Stephen Hupp (CSI’s executive director), Robyn Blumner (CFI’s president and CEO), and Eddie Tabash (chair of CFI’s board).
","frontmatter":{"title":"CSICon Opening Reception","location":"Syview 2 & 3","fullspkr":null,"paid":false,"slug":"opening-reception","day":"Thursday","speakers":["tabash-eddie","blumner-robyn","hupp-stephen"],"startTime":1140,"endTime":1200}},{"html":"","frontmatter":{"title":"Welcoming Remarks","location":null,"fullspkr":null,"paid":false,"slug":"welcoming-remarks","day":"Thursday","speakers":null,"startTime":1215,"endTime":null}},{"html":"Mary Roach has authored multiple best-selling nonfiction books, including Grunt, Stiff, and Fuzz. Her most recent best-seller – Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy – explores scientific advances (and ill-advised missteps) related to replacing body parts for medical reasons. She will be joined in conversation with Richard Wiseman, also a best-selling author for books such as 59 Seconds and The Luck Factor. They will discuss the intersection of science communication and skeptical inquiry. Mary Roach will do a book signing in the CSICon bookstore immediately after this conversation (and she will do a second book signing during the first break on Friday morning).
","frontmatter":{"title":"Mary Roach in Conversation with Richard Wiseman","location":"Convention Hall","fullspkr":null,"paid":false,"slug":"opening-reception-1","day":"Thursday","speakers":["wiseman-richard","roach-mary"],"startTime":1230,"endTime":1290}}]}}}