The Amazing Meeting

[redietz]

The Amazing Meeting starts today in Las Vegas at South Point. It's sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation. The presentations are numerous and fascinating, so check it out if you can.

I'll be busy on a gambling project in LV this weekend, so I won't be able to attend most of the conference, but I will try to attend either Penn and Teller's famous Bacon and Donut Party (yes, there is nudity) or the fund-raising poker tournament. If you want to rub shoulders with famous scientists and magicians, this is the poker tournament for you.

The conference will be topped off with people trying to demonstrate paranormal abilities and claim the Foundations' million-dollar-plus prize. That testing is open to conference attendees.

It is a great conference. I recommend it highly.

P.S. Alan, you really should check this out sometime. You can probably get a press pass.

[quahaug]

R.S. should go and show his ability to influence RNG's with his mind. He can pick up a quick mil.

[Alan Mendelson]

Darn... I wish I had advance notice of this. Please give some reports redietz. Thanks.

[quahaug]

They used to have it at the Stardust before it became the wonderfully profitable.......... Oh never mind. Anyway, it's basically a skeptics convention where they all get together and think rationally about the universe according to what they think rationality is. I too would love to go but never was able to be there at the right time. Randi is a cool guy, he recently came out as a homosexual at like 84 years old. Funny.

[redietz]

My bad on this one, Alan. It completely slipped my mind. For some reason, I thought it was later in the summer. When I made my flight reservations, I completely whiffed on it. Then I saw a mention of the documentary about Randi being featured at the convention and I went -- Duh!! I really scheduled this wrong. I have too much to do to attend much this year.

Next year, I will keep solid tabs.

By the way, Johnny Carson was a big Randi fan.

[Alan Mendelson]

By the way, Johnny Carson was a big Randi fan.

I saw Randi on the Carson show many times, and Carson himself was a "magician".

See http://www.magictricks.com/magicians...ight-show.html

[FrankScoblete]

Read Skeptic magazine. The Amazing Randi has a great column in that magazine. Definitely worth a subscription.

[quahaug]

Hey Frank. Do you think skeptics have confirmation bias just like religious people. I'm amazed at the similarities between the two.

[FrankScoblete]

Probably. I am guessing that is a normal course of events for most people.