I arrived back at the Anders Villa just a couple of hours before dawn this morning. TAM was… extraordinary. I finally got to hug my friends that, until this weekend, were just compassionate avatars.
I also got to meet some of my skeptical heroes. Not just the big names like Phil Plait and James Randi (and I was a bridesmaid in a wedding with Adam Savage, if you hadn’t heard), but also some of my not-as-big names who are doing great things for skepticism and saving the world while I tweet about Moose eating crayons. It was humbling to finally meet the lovely (albeit frenzied) A Kovacs, who you probably know as A.Real.Girl, probably the hardest working person in skepticism today. And I very purposefully spent as much time as I could chatting with Joe Albietz, the PICU doctor responsible for the TAM vaccine drive. It was humbling, empowering, inspiring, and motivating. I am a better person today because I was at TAM last weekend.
Aside from the “big names” out there, who are the people out there that you want to meet? Have you met any of your less prominent heroes? Who would you like to see get the recognition for their work in skeptical activism that isn’t yet getting the attention you think they deserve? Are there big name skeptics that you think, even with the amount of attention they currently get, are still under-appreciated by our community?
Well, since Adam Savage said all the skepchicks could call him a close, personal friend, I claim the right to use that title.
I am a close, personal friend of Adam Savage.
Anyone for me who has turned into an unsung hero of mine happened after meeting them, though none of them have been skeptics that we would be able to identify easily, but working it at their own angles. But like I said, most of my minor heroes I meet first and then keep an eye out on what they’re doing, and those people have all been artists. The benefit of being in an art organization in university is that we usually get to meet visiting artists on a more personal basis outside of them presenting their work at the art museum or wherever they are in Laramie. One of them ended up becoming a teacher at University of Wyoming, so it was great have that opportunity to be under his wing.
A guy named Jim (Fowler?) sat at our table for the SGU dinner and he was inspirational. He’s “just a guy from Alabama” and just ran for an won a seat on the board of education. His first hurdle is to try to ban corporal punishment in AL and then he wants to tackle some of the more heinous perversions of science education that are going on. His message was ‘just do it, run for office and help make a change’.
PS – On a personal note, it was awesome meeting the skepchicks in person. I so understand why Rebecca is so devoted to you all. You rock. (and don’t forget to friend me on flickr for the extra pics!).
Maggie (aka Tankgrrl)
I’d like to go to Skeptics in the Pub in Sydney sometime. Those Aussies are awesome on skepticism.
I’d just like to go to a Skeptics/Skepchick meet-up, period! Still new to the whole Skeptics community, and there isn’t always a lot going on in the Phoenix/Tempe area. Or at least, when I have the time/money. :)
@marilove: TAM next year !?!
My kids thought the coolest thing I brought home from TAM last year was a ping pong ball signed by Adam savage. I’ll be there next year and am anticipating some hugs and meeting more great skeptical people.
@James Fox:
I think you meant to say:
a ping pong ball signed by Elyse’s close personal friend, Adam Savage.
(He told me to refer to him that way from now on when I asked if we could just start calling him “Adam” instead of “Adamsavage”)
Speaking of Adam Savage (who was surprisingly genial when I chatted with him), I was a wee bit disappointed that when he rushed forward with the rings, he didn’t offer that he “just made them in the workshop” or something like that.
Much like Maggie, I thought it was important to meet single, individual skeptics who were about to do something significant as an individual – I did speak quite a bit with Derek Bartholomaus (who set up http://jennymccarthybodycount.com). I’ve been inspired to do something myself, which I’ll be working on this year (which hopefully will be fruitful enough that y’all will hear about it).
But the important message is, even one person in the skeptical community can really make a notable difference.
Jef and Theo Clark from Hunting Humbug 101. They run the skeptics field guide, and have a podcast discussing logical fallacies. I like to use their handy dandy field guide to tear into arguments that have no rational basis!
I think they fall more into the “Relevant in your daily life” category. As a matter of fact, on my facebook, since I don’t have a blog, I found a story with a lot of LF’s in them, and tore it up.
For years I had dreamed of meeting Isaac Asimov and then he died. So after that I had hopped I would someday meet Douglas Adams and then he died. I had hopped to meet Arthur Clarke and then he died. I have decieded to stop hoping to meet any one. It apparently kills them.
I continue to see how awesome TAM was, and I continue to get stung by my last-minute passport problems. My beef, I’ll have to deal.
I was really looking forward to meeting the Skepchicks most of all to be perfectly honest. I read all the other skeptic blogs daily, and even comment on occasion, but the Skepchick model is one that encourages not just blog aggregation, but active participation…making it much more of a community than say, Bad Astronomy (which, I love dearly, don’t get me wrong) or Pharyngula (and as much as I dig PZ,, the idea of being a part of the “Pharynguloid Army” is a little nauseating). I’ve been more active here than anywhere else (even my own blog!), and I was really excited to meet the Skepchicks, as well as my fellow commenters.
Truthfully, I’ve been SGU’ing longer than Skepchicking, but I’ve been way more skepchicky. (Not that I wasn’t excited to meet the rest of the SGUers, and all the other top and middle-tier skeptics that I admire and read). Oh man, just thinking about this stings so friggin hard.
Teh bitterness: it burnz
If it wasn’t fatal I would like to meet Marilove, Elyse, James Fox, Kayla, Tmarie, Evan Berstein, the Novella brothers, Adam Savage and get stupid drunk with all of you.
@Gabrielbrawley: I never met Douglas Adams, but let me tell you a story, one which I continue to hold really close to my heart:
In 1997 (when Douglas was doing the Starship Titanic stuff), the internet was a young, vibrant lass who freely tossed her hair about and te