| Friday 08-31-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 1:00pm SKEPTICS AND SKEPTICISM 101 by Dr. Michael Shermer, Derek Colanduno, Benjamin Radford, Jeff Wagg & Swoopy |
Meet some of the heavy hitters in the Skeptical Community as they discuss the different types of logical fallacies, how to spot them and why people believe them. | |
| 2:30pm COLD READING AND THE SKEPTICS TOOLBOX: How to Fake Psychic Powers for Fun, Not Profit by Dr. Michael Shermer, Ben Radford, Jeff Wagg, Swoopy |
One of the best ways to debunk a fraud is by learning their tricks. This workshop will cover the tools skeptics use to explain and disprove pseudo-science claims. | |
| 4:00pm MADNESS, MYSTERIES AND MAYHEM IN THE GEORGIA TECH LABS by Stephen Fleming |
Just down the street from DragonCon is one of the top research universities in the country. GT's chief commercialization officer talks about new inventions in engineering, computer science, biotech, nanotech, and more! | |
| 5:30pm BOSE–EINSTEIN CONDENSATES, FERMI SUPERFLUID GASES, AND OTHER WEIRD STATES OF MATTER by Dr. Stephen Granade |
How you can cool atoms, make quantum fluids, and win a Nobel Prize. note - Nobel Prize not included with talk - | |
| 7:00pm ANTIMATTER MATTERS by Dr. Stephen Howe |
What it is, what it isn't, how we make it, what we're doing with it now, and what we're going to do with it in the near future. | |
| 8:30pm THE JAMES RANDI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION MILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE by Jeff Wagg |
Info on the million dollar challenge, it's impact, the good it does, some problems associated with it, and why no one has won it. | |
| 10:00pm BIGFOOT, MONSTERS, AND MERMAIDS: A History Of Fabulous Hoaxes by Ben Radford |
A slideshow and talk covering famous and fabulous crypto-zoological hoaxes throughout history. | |
| Saturday 09-01-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 10:00am IS IT A GHOST? A Skeptic Reviews Paranormal Footage by Alison Smith |
Compelling footage from an Australian Ghost-hunting group leaves Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society mystified and brings up questions about the nature of skepticism, as well as the power of belief. | |
| 11:30am MYTHBUSTERS BUILD TEAM by Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, & Grant Imahara |
Tory, Kari and Grant return to Dragon*Con with more tales of mayhem. | |
| 1:00pm SCIENCE, SKEPTICISM AND SLEIGHT-OF-HAND by Jeff Wagg |
Natural phenomena don't try to fool you, but people do. The study of psi phenomena benefits greatly from the assistance of competent magicians, as demonstrations will show. Can you spot the subterfuge, or will you be fooled too? | |
| 2:30pm THE HYDROGEN MYTH by Stephen Fleming |
Clean-burning, no carbon dioxide emissions, and an inexhaustible supply -- what's not to love about hydrogen as a fuel? Lots! Come hear why hydrogen isn't likely to solve any energy problems, no matter how much it's hyped. | |
| 4:00pm EVIL GENIUSES FOR A BETTER TOMORROW: 5th Annual Recruiting Session, Membership Drive and Bake Sale by Richard Altstatt, Dr. Steven Howe, and Dr. DNA |
Members of the professional association for the working Evil Genius discuss various methods of taking over the world for fun and profit, avoiding common mistakes and the design of secret lairs. New applicants should bring a resume or a project to demo. | |
| 5:30pm SMACKDOWN! SKEPTICS VS TRUE BELIEVERS by Moderator: Mike Stackpole ~~ Skeptics: Dr. Micheal Shermer, Ben Radford and Alison Smith ~~ X-Track: Patrick Burns and others TBA |
This is the Skeptics/X-Track debate. Details are pending. | |
| 7:00pm REFLECTIONS ON A DECADE OF PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION by Ben Radford |
Discussing ten years of paranormal investigations, including the nature of the paranormal, case studies of Bigfoot, crop circles, dowsing, etc. | |
| 8:30pm GENERATION 4 REACTORS by Patrick Mason |
The next generation of nuclear reactors: VHTR, Supercritical-Water-Cooled, Molten Salt, GFR's, Sodium and Lead Cooled Reactors. What they are, whose working on them, and why they're so cool. | |
| 10:00pm BRAIN DAMAGE FOR FUN AND PROFIT! Plus Eternal Salvation(c)(tm), free sex, byofrop, etc. by The SubGenius Space Patrol and random street crazies |
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to WARP the mental functioning of as many "norms" as possible. Either turn 'em into MUTANTS like us or give 'em COLD SWEAT SCREAMING NIGHTMARES *FOREVER*!!! Fun for the WHOLE FAMILY! | |
| Sunday 09-02-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 10:00am THE IMPROBABLE UNIVERSE by by Dr. Pamela Gay |
Physics as we know it does not dictate that our universe must be just as it is. Many other possibilities are possible and more probable. But we are here, and this has consequences on how we must view our universe, and on what factors might make life possible. | |
| 11:30am GEOLOGICAL HOAXES AND FRAUDS by George Hrab |
How geologists know the world is not 6000 years old, among other things. This may be a musical, which would be interesting. | |
| 1:00pm WEIRD AND UNUSUAL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES (and the Rationales Behind Them) by Jason Schneiderman, Jon Nyx |
Studies of learning in headless cockroaches, MRI imaging of sexual intercourse, and the link between country music and suicide rates. Inspired by the IgNobel Prizes and the Annals of Improbable Research. | |
| 2:30pm THE 2ND NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE by Patrick Mason |
...and what it means for the US: safe, clean, and eco-friendly power. Find out who the players in the current nuclear power market are, government involvement, and current plans for both extending plant lifetimes while constructing new ones. | |
| 4:00pm HOW TO INVESTIGATE A HAUNTED HOUSE by Ben Radford |
Two case studies of how a scientific paranormal investigator goes about investigating a haunting, including the Santa Fe courthouse "ghost" video solved mid-June 2007. | |
| 5:30pm THE ASSAULT ON SCIENCE – OR – THE LEMMINGS RACE TO THE CLIFF by Jason Schneiderman, |
Why is the US slipping in international rankings for science and engineering? There are a lot of culprits - political, religious, legal, educational and economic just to name a few. So what's the fix? | |
| 7:00pm MAKING THE DEAD SPEAK by Dr. C. Kevin Barrett |
Law enforcement increasingly depends upon forensic anthropology and the application of other scientific methods in the investigation of crimes. Come explore the fascinating world of death, decomposition and the identification of skeletal remains! | |
| 8:30pm BEER SNOBS IN SPACE by Dr. DNA and Audience Members |
The physics and chemistry of fermentation will be affected by low and micro gravity processes, as will carbonated beverage container designs. These issues are of vital importance to man's future in space and must be addressed. Why go if we can't drink? | |
| 10:00pm THE SCIENCE OF DUNE by Dr. Kevin Grazier & JPL Mission Planner |
Is the ecology of Dune realistic? Could humans really evolve as Herbert suggests? Which of Herbert's inventions have already come to life? Other topics covered will include the physics, chemistry and psychology of the Dune universe. | |
| Monday 09-03-2007 | Return to top | ||
| 10:00am SUNDAY NIGHT SURVIORS? by guests still fighting it out |
Who and what this panel will be about hasn't been decided yet. A few of our new guests think they will actually be awake and functioning at this time; we're not so sure. Keeping checking the Daily Dragon and the Science room for updates. | |
| 11:30am WASTE NOT, WANT NOT by Patrick Mason Henry (Hilton) |
Where is all that nuclear waste going and why do we have so much of it? The history of nuclear waste disposal, current techniques, and future hopes. | |
| 1:00pm CRYONICS: Cheating Death. Maybe. Presented by Randall Bollig and people who plan on being frozen at some point. |
The how and why of being frozen (vitrified, actually) in liquid nitrogen in the hopes of being "reanimated" in the future. How it's done, what it costs, how to get started, and why everything you learned about cryonics from Star Trek is probably wrong. | |
| 2:30pm TRANSHUMANISM: Xerox People Open Discussion hosted by Randall Bollig |
What will happen when you can copy your brain? If your original body dies in an accident, would a "restored you" really be a "you?" Why or why not? What if you restore a physical copy of yourself before you die? What is the potential for abuse? | |
| 4:00pm TRACK WRAP–UP AND BLAME: Comments, Criticisms, Requests and Death Threats by jonnyX and Science Track groupies |
Do you like the split track? What kinds of science would you like to see next year? Do you think skepticism should have it's own track? Tell it all to jonnyX. Be brutally honest. Don't worry about his feelings; by this point he won't even remember his name! | |
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