SI J-A 2009 pgs 5/28/09 10:07 AM Page 14 CONFERENCE REPORT Highlights of CFI’s Twelfth World Congress ‘Science, Public Policy, and the Planetary Community’ KENDRICK FRAZIER The Center for Inquiry’s 12th World repeatedly that in opposing creationism, defending good science against political Congress in Washington (Bethesda, we are “fighting not religious belief but indifference and, worse, interference. Maryland, actually) was grandly yet the infusion of religious doctrine into Her lively title tells the story: “The appropriately titled “Science, Public public policy.” Philosopher/historian United States, a Former Global Leader in Policy, and the Planetary Community.” Barbara Forrest updated developments Science, Apologizes for the 2001–2008 In one way or another it covered just in the intelligent design wars since the Service Outage.” In her current job she about every topic CFI and its affiliated Dover decision in 2005, including the represents textbook publishers for grades organizations the Committee for latest troubling activities of antievolu- K–12. She warned that only a handful of Skeptical Inquiry (publisher of the tionists in Texas and Louisiana. And people pick the textbooks your children SKEPTICAL INQUIRER) and the Council Lincoln/Darwin historian David Con- use. “They are not teachers, usually. for Secular Humanism (publisher of tosta said: “I am convinced Lincoln was They are scary people, some of them.” Free Inquiry) deal with. a deist. He did not believe in the divin- She lamented that just the previous week Everyone seemed to enjoy it. The day in Texas opponents of evolution in text- afterward, CFI founder and chairman books declared an “insufficiency of evi- Paul Kurtz called the congress “exhila- dence” for natural selection. rating.” As he said, “The responses of •Author Susan Jacoby’s (The Age of our readers and supporters were over- American Unreason) litany of “anti-intel- whelmingly positive. What a stunning lectualism and sheer intellectual lazi- response that we received from them!” ness” in America over the past forty Ron Lindsay, CFI’s CEO and president, years. “We are in serious intellectual likewise called the conference very suc- trouble. We don’t value knowledge cessful and said many attendees com- enough.” She gave a long series of exam- mented favorably to him “that they ples of what she calls “junk thought,” noticed the skeptical/scientific side of ideas that are “impervious to evidence.” our organization was on display more She also defended the virtues of reading, than usual, which they appreciated.” a practice much marginalized in today’s That’s true, I think. Many people in hectic age of instant electronic commu- the audience told me at various times how nications. much they appreciate and value the •Paul Kurtz’s luncheon address on SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. SI and its articles the planetary perspective. He said and the work of the Committee for humanism includes genuine caring for Photo: Brian Engler Skeptical Inquiry got a lot of public men- Former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder gave others and a respect for the dignity and tion, too, in the talks, intros, and sessions. an invigorating talk at CFI’s World Congress. value of every person on the planet. “We Here are a few highlights for me: have common ground with all members •The opening session on Darwin ity of Christ. He was not baptized. He of the human family.” He said we need and Lincoln, evolution, ID and cre- questioned miracles of the Bible. He a new planetary ethic that mitigates ationism, and legal challenges of liked to tell jokes about preachers.... human suffering and increases the sum church-state separation involving the He probably couldn’t get elected today.” of human good and happiness. “As skep- latter. Civil rights lawyer and CFI board •Former twelve-term U.S. Congress- tics and rationalists, we need to cultivate member Edward Tabash emphasized woman Patricia Schroeder’s rousing talk a new planetary ethic. We need to be 14 Volume 33, Issue 4 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER SI J-A 2009 pgs 5/28/09 10:08 AM Page 15 concerned with the planet Earth. It juror’s warning not to take at face value the very recent Talibanization of Paki- seems to me that is the positive state- any proclaimed evidence of psychic pow- stan, even in Islamabad, where he teaches ment of humanism.” ers. At the end, Randi announced that his at a university. It has become very dan- •Astrophysicist John Mather’s (the famous one-million-dollar challenge to gerous, he said. Terrible things have first NASA scientist to win the Nobel claimants for proof of paranormal powers begun happening there in just the past Prize) beautifully illustrated talk on the under controlled test conditions, which several months. (The day after the con- entire history and future of the universe, was to end, will in fact be renewed. “It ference ended, news organizations from its origin in the “Horrendous was going to terminate in 2012,” he said, reported the imposition of Islamic law by Space Kablooey” (as he calls the Big “but now it will continue.” the Taliban in the Swat Valley of Bang) 13.7 billion years ago to the time •Major awards to Paul Kurtz, Randi, Pakistan. Further Taliban inroads have when the Sun goes out 7.6 billion years and Lawrence Krauss (see story below). prompted subsequent military action.) from now . and beyond. He reported •A session I moderated on Skepti- •The Saturday evening awards ban- on the 1998 discovery that the cosmic cism and Science seemed well received quet featured a live oratorio of composer expansion is accelerating, the mystery of (due especially to the presentations by Richard Einhorn’s new original composi- dark energy, the plans for the next big the witty and lively Richard Wiseman, tion (personally introduced by Einhorn) space telescope to be launched in 2013 with lots of video demos on perception “The Origin,” a celebration of the life (the James Webb Space Telescope), and and misperception, and equally so and work of Darwin based on Darwin’s the quest to directly observe more exo- Elizabeth Loftus, with her research own words in On the Origin of Species. planets. Cosmology may have no practi- demonstrating false memory, plus Joe •Awards banquet speaker Lawrence cal benefits, he said, but space science Nickell, on investigating rather than just Krauss’s (a CSI fellow and Arizona State sure does. People often forget that their debunking, and Armadeo Sarma, on University physicist and author) talk on weather reports, GPS devices, tele- alternative medicine fads in Germany “Science and Public Policy: An Oxy- phones, and television all “depend on and the rest of Europe). moron.” He concluded with the call, things out there in space.” •A small lunch given by Paul Kurtz “We must all become evangelists for sci- •NASA climatologist Drew Shin- for international participants in the con- ence. We cannot tolerate unambiguous dell’s full report on “The Science of gress, including the Chinese delegation nonsense in a democracy.” Climate Change.” He noted that our (where we were able to renew acquain- knowledge of climate change comes tances with several of the Chinese col- Kendrick Frazier is editor of the SKEPTICAL from detailed scientific observations, and leagues we met in Beijing in October INQUIRER. he reviewed the interplay and repeated 2007) and those from the U.K., Ger- testing that goes on between scientific many, the Netherlands, France, Russia, observations and computer models of India, Pakistan, and Senegal. Randi, Krauss, Kurtz climate. Some conclusions: the planet is •A lively audience-participation, Honored with Major getting warmer, natural forcings (solar packed-house session at the end of the Awards variation, volcanoes, etc.) have been flat afternoon Saturday on The Future of in recent years, the twentieth-century Skepticism. Run by Ben Radford and James Randi, Lawrence Krauss, and Paul warming is largely caused by greenhouse myself, I gave some introductory com- Kurtz were honored with major awards at gas increases, and the rate of future ments. Barry Karr and James Under- the Center for Inquiry’s 12th World warming is likely to increase. He noted down also participated. Sean McCabe Congress in Bethesda, Maryland. All were that apathy and resistance to change in of the James Randi Educational Foun- presented at the Saturday evening awards this area goes back to the 1840s when a dation (he also writes a skeptical blog banquet, April 11. smokestack-cleaning technology for for the general public at www.weird- ships of the Royal Navy was squelched things.com) emphasized the positive * * * by industry. messages of skepticism, noting that James Randi received the Committee for •James Randi’s lively participation in there are now nine network TV shows Skeptical Inquiry’s In Praise of Reason many sessions, hallway discussions, and featuring scientists or science oriented. Award “in recognition of his distin- his own late afternoon talk about how eas- Proclaimed McCabe: “Skepticism is guished contribution to the use of critical ily we all can be fooled. “I know the art of cool . and it’s getting cooler.” We inquiry, scientific evidence, and reason in deception. I know how people are fooled. then opened it to the audience. A lot of evaluating claims to knowledge.” And I know how to do that.” He de- good ideas and discussion came out of As everyone knows, Randi has for scribed repeated examples of very smart the session. decades been a tireless and charismatic people being fooled by trickery. “You can •A sobering presentation by Pakistani critical investigator of those who claim be fooled as well,” he said. It’s the con- nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy on paranormal powers, forthrightly chal- SKEPTICAL INQUIRER July / August 2009 15 SI J-A 2009 pgs 5/28/09 10:25 AM Page 16 CONFERENCE REPORT lenging them to undergo testing under cosmology and also an author of popu- time achievement award from the Center controlled conditions and exposing lar science books (The Physics of Star for Inquiry.