The first CSICon I attended was in Nashville in 2012, and my goal was to meet my skeptical hero, Scott Lilienfeld. The next year I brought my son to CSICon in Seattle with the goal of meeting our shared hero, Bill Nye. In 2018, I spoke for the first time as part of CSICon’s Sunday Morning Papers in Las Vegas, with thanks to another hero, Ray Hall. And for CSICon 2023, I now get to report on the conference for the first time due to another hero of mine, Barry Karr. If you already read my editor’s note in this SI issue, then you know I’m really leaning into the hero theme. I acknowledge that this theme can come off a bit cheesy, but it’s really how I feel about all these skeptical inquirers (and I know I’m not alone). For your sake, though, I’ll stop adding the word hero before every name mentioned, but please know that the following presenters regularly inspire me, which is the true definition of a hero.
The first day of the conference, Thursday, October 26, began with two workshops, each with limited seating (I note this only as a bit of advice if you’re thinking about attending CSICon 2024; the workshops sell out quickly). As much as I would have liked to attend, I wasn’t able to score a ticket to the “Magic for Skeptics” workshop by Ray Hall, Massimo Polidoro, and Richard Wiseman. Fortunately, Adrienne Hill attended and reports on the magical experience on our website (skepticalinquirer.org). On the other hand, and with many thanks to an act of generosity, I lucked out into receiving one unused ticket for the other workshop, “Investigating and Testing Extraordinary Claims,” by Kenny Biddle and Jim Underdown. Biddle shared stories and strategies for solving mysteries, and Underdown discussed everything that goes into testing claims through the CFI Investigations Group. He also provided mock demonstrations of testing claims involving telepathy and dowsing. Overall, this dynamic duo shared many valuable insights.
In the evening, the welcoming reception was open to all attendees. Robyn E. Blumner, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry (CFI), and Eddie Tabash, CFI’s board chair, welcomed ever yone with two primary messages. First, they both thanked everyone involved in pulling the conference together. Special thanks went to Barry Karr, CSI’s executive director. Kendrick Frazier was also honored for his many decades of ser vice (see more on him below). Second, the opening remarks made it clear that both CFI and CSI are here to stand up for science whenever and wherever it is being threatened. Following these remarks, Richard Dawkins gave his keynote speech.