Central New York Skeptics

The Amazing James Randi!

The Technology Alliance of Central New York Presents the Tenth Annual Celebration of Technology Banquet

Date: Monday, May 12th, 2008

Place: Holiday Inn, 441 Electronics Parkway, Liverpool, NY

Times: cash bar 5:00, dinner 6:30, opening of program 7:30,  Speaker 8:00, awards presentation to follow.

Cost: $30 before May 1, $40 after; Students $15; $25 after

Topic: Pseudo-Technology in the New Millennium: "New" Technologies for the 21st Century Designed to Drain You of Your Profits

The average citizen is suspicious of science and technology. James Randi addresses this unfortunate misunderstanding in an effective and entertaining fashion by asking the right questions -- and then answering them.

From satellite television to the Internet, society is bombarded with carefully designed misinformation. Much of it is simply age-old cons repackaged for the new millennium. From U.S. patents issued for devices that control your computer with ESP to multi-million dollar studies funded by federal agencies to study imaginary "E-Rays;" from new age dowsing rods designed to detect drugs, to magnets designed to relieve pain, our society continues to be susceptible to "snake oil" claims that drain corporations and our government of millions, if not billions, of dollars annually.

Does a simple felt-tip pen detect counterfeit money for merchants? Can a registered nurse using "quantum mechanics technology" heal a patient by simply passing her hands over her patient? Does a "high-tech" dowsing rod enable the U.S. Border Patrolto find smuggled aliens? Can a simple, sealed, plastic ball replace detergent in your washing machine?

James Randi answers these questions, and many more, while showing you how to protect your and your company's pocketbook, by outlining how to spot and expose these cons of the new millennium.

James Randi has been a member of the CNY Skeptics advisory board since its inception.

CNY Skeptics members Mahlon Wagner, Bryce Hand, Brian Madigan, and Kevin Gates with James Randi in 2003.

Monthly Meeting with Special Guest and Special Prize!
April 16, 2008, 7 PM

IMPORTANT! Meeting location has been changed!

Instead of meeting at Betts we will be meeting at the Soule Branch Library
101 Springfield Road (at the intersection of Salt Springs Rd. and Springfield Rd. across the street from LeMoyne College)
Syracuse, NY 13214

Map

Speaker: DJ Grothe, Center for Inquiry vice president (outreach programs) and Point of Inquiry podcast host

Topic: A Nation of Suckers: Getting Duped in America Today

What makes people believe, despite the lack of evidence - or even in the face of solid contrary evidence? How many Americans believe the unbelievable? In a free society, does it even matter what people believe, or why?

Focusing on the leaders of contemporary cults of irrationality, DJ surveys some of the more "unbelievable beliefs" of our society, including Scientology and other fringe religions, the Ufology movement, alternative medicine remedies like "healing touch" and magnet therapy, and the most popular current conspiracy theories. He concludes by suggesting concrete actions that rationalists can take to counter these trends of unreason in society.

About DJ Grothe: DJ Grothe is vice president and director of outreach programs at the Center for Inquiry International, a think-tank collaborating with the State University of New York on the Science and the Public program.

As associate editor of Free Inquiry magazine he lectures and debates frequently on topics surrounding science and central beliefs. He hosts the nationally popular radio show and podcast, Point of Inquiry.

Special Prize to Be Awarded!

One member present at the DJ Grothe presentation will win a seat at the table with James Randi at the upcoming Technology Banquet!

Monthly Meeting
June 18, 2008, 7 PM

Betts Branch Library
4862 S. Salina St. (near the corner of Salina and Seneca Turnpike)
Syracuse, NY

Speaker: Lauren Becker, Center for Inquiry field organizer

Topic: TBA

Expelled Review

By David Harding

Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is certainly the most dishonest movie I have ever seen, portraying Intelligent Design supporters as political martyrs to Big Science, academia as the equivalent to the USSR, and doing everything it can to link Charles Darwin and evolution directly to the Holocaust. It truly is despicable and intellectually insipid in a way I thought not possible until now. If you want all the gory details about how awful this film is factually, please visit the NCSE's Expelled Exposed website and Scientific American.

Unfortunately, the movie is almost certainly a success. In the US, most people know absolutely nothing about evolution, or any other form of science for that matter. They probably never heard anything about it in their schooling, from the media, or from the science establishment. If they know anything about it, it is probably something negative (and false) they heard from a creationist. It must also be remembered that most people in the US (and for that matter, around the world) rely on understanding their world through perceptions, feelings, and intuitions, not facts, logic, or evidence.

This film may very well be the only thing that many people ever hear about evolution, and while factually worthless, it is decent propaganda. I thought that the film would be hard to watch because Ben Stein wasn't likable enough. I was wrong. Stein is human: funny or serious as the situation demands, with his characteristic dead-pan delivery and wit. Although the film sags in the middle when Stein takes his little trip to Hadamar and Dachau, and then on to Down House, it moves at a fairly brisk pace and effectively uses images, editing, and symbolism to get its point across (though Stein and the director are no Michael Moore).

The images used play more to a generally conservative, though not overtly evangelical/conservative, audience: evolutionists are associated with Stalin, communism, the Berlin wall, angry atheists, Planned Parenthood, eugenics, euthanasia, and abortion, while Stein and the ID supporters are juxtaposed with Reagan, American flags, the Washington monument, MLK Jr., the destruction of the Berlin wall, Mom, and apple pie.

The ID supporters are given ample time to present their vague and ill-documented claims, while the evolutionists get scant screen time and, for the most part, look bad (not necessarily their fault, probably due to editing). All of this makes for a compelling, if somewhat heavy-handed and overwrought, film. Most people who do not know anything about evolution or ID will probably be swayed by it. To believe otherwise is wishful thinking. Contrary to the opinion of many prominent science bloggers, it is a really big deal for a documentary to be shown in thousands of theaters in the US (most documentaries will only be shown in a handful). It is a big deal for a documentary to take in $3 million dollars in its first weekend (most never take in hundreds of thousands). It is a big deal for a documentary to be supported by millions of dollars of PR and expensive TV and print advertising (most documentaries get none).

People can argue over whether Expelled will ever make enough money to cover its costs (I think it will through DVD sales), but it will influence a lot of people, and no debunking website (not matter how factually correct) will reach as many people. The only thing that would be effective would be another film to counter it, like Randy Olsen's Flock of Dodos. But that isn't likely in the cards. This is a bad day for the public understanding of science. Really bad.

Greater Syracuse Scholastic Science Fair 2008

Judging team captain and CNYS VP David Harding


View of the science fair

Click here for a full report of the 2008 science fair.

Contact / © 2008 CNY Skeptics

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