Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism

Beginnings

The New York City Skeptics wanted to have a skeptical conference and invited magician James Randi to speak at their one-year anniversary. That lecture attracted over 400 attendees and so it was determined that there would be enough interest for a scientific skepticism conference in the area. The NYCS and NESS organizations began talks about combining to form NECSS. The conference began in 2009 as a one-day event, popular science writer Carl Zimmer was the keynote speaker. Over the years, the conference has grown to include Skeptics in the Pub events, fundraising dinners, separately ticketed workshops and live-podcast recordings.

According to Steven Novella and Evan Bernstein, the NESS was asked to speak for the New York City Skeptics, September 12, 2009. That lecture was a tribute to Perry DeAngelis (died 2007), and as it was near the anniversary of both his birth and death in August, they continued the tradition of celebrating Perry at each conference. Even after the NECSS organizers decided to move the conference to April, the SGU cast continues to celebrate the life of Perry DeAngelis each year at NECSS.

New York City Skeptic's co-founder Jamy Ian Swiss writes that the conference was created "because we felt there was a need for a regional skeptic conference in the Northeast", and because the organizers "were intrigued by and attracted to the prospect of creating the concept and content of such an event". The first evening in 2009 was sold out with 400 attendees. According to emcee Jamy Ian Swiss, organizers turned people away.

Details

According to co-organizer Michael Feldman, the conference regularly attracts about 400 attendees. In past conferences this has maxed out attendance, for 2015 they are using a venue that can hold up to 600 people. They want to continue to grow, but not to sacrifice quality with the conference experience. When asked what surprised him about the attendees he said "Even though the title of our conference is the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism and it takes place in New York City, the attendees are only about half from the tri-state area, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. A full 40-50% come from the rest of the United States... and other countries." The 2016 conference attracted people from ten countries and thirty states.

The 2015 conference organizing committee is made up of Steven Novella, Jay Novella, Michael Feldman, Jamy Ian Swiss, Benny Pollak, Spiro Condos, Mark Crislip, Heather Berlin, Deborah Berebichez and Brian Wecht. Others that have become involved in the conference are Massimo Pigliucci and Julia Galef.

Full admission ticket prices (does not include workshops or special events) for Fri-Sunday for 2015 are $195 a person. Single day passes can be purchased for $35–95 depending on the day and student status. Workshop pass tickets are $100, workshops run consecutively. Single workshop passes are $35. Student scholarships are available.

Highlights

Emcee musician George Hrab outdrew the science-based medicine seminar in April 2015 with almost 500 attendees. His "hybrid musical act/quiz show, A Skeptical Extravaganza of Special Significance" pitted the SGU team and Bill Nye against each other with mock debates over "the Millennium Falcon vs the starship Enterprise ... and the American system of units ... [vs] the metric system. Hrab also managed to add in "rounds of Pictionary about Area 51 and water fluoridation."

"Stimulus/Response" conceived by George Hrab and Brian Wecht was a three-act performance held on Friday night, and was separately ticketed from the conference. It was a night of discussion, performances and an improv comedy group. This group roasted Jay Novella in 2013, brother Steve wrote "it was hilarious" so in 2014 Jay made sure that Steve was next.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait and musician George Hrab performed a song Hrab wrote called Death From the Skies based on Plaits book by the same name. This performance has Harb playing guitar and signing "This is the way the world will end" with Plait speaking statistics about the likelihood of various astronomical deaths, such as meteors, super-novas and solar flairs.

Doubtful News creator Sharon Hill compared the 2009 conference to the 2011 one. She felt that things were improving, great speakers and wonderful meeting new people. She bemoans that it would cost less for the attendees if held outside New York City, but understands that for many people, this is a more convenient location. She also wishes that there were more quiet areas to allow for more socializing with old and new friends. In 2009 when Hill was attending the very first NECSS she mentions that the theme of the conference was very relative to her own current college degree work in Science & the Public. She says "the overarching theme was science portrayed to the public – how the media delivers a message, how even scientists screw up and take missteps, how we can get better."

Magician and author Richard Wiseman performing at the 2009 conference explained in answer to a question by an attendee, people believe in the paranormal for many reasons, they might need to believe and it's possible that they have had "personal experiences" that convinced them. '“It is not clear to me that by robbing people of their beliefs, we always make the world a better place.”'

According to James Randi, "I recently appeared at the annual NECSS – Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism – in New York (think of it as a superb mini-version of our annual The Amaz!ng Meeting in Las Vegas), and was asked to speak on the faith-healing racket. As I walked on stage, I switched from my original intention, and decided to handle a specific example of the subject that I find very difficult to address, an example of the faith-healers’ perfidy and cruelty that I’d previously only mentioned in the introduction to The Faith Healers."

When interviewed about the New York City Skeptics, Julia Galef responded, "I think a lot of people felt the same way as you did, Karl -- there seemed to be a lot of pent-up demand for an organization devoted specifically to science and reason, not just secularism. In terms of our success, I have to give a lot of credit to our president, Michael Feldman. He's a fantastic organizer, and the kind of person who really makes sure things get done. We've also got a dedicated team of volunteers, the Gotham Skeptic blog, and of course our annual Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism (NECSS), which sold out two years in a row and drew people from all over the U.S. and several other countries."

Dawkins controversy

In early 2016, the NECSS dis-invited the prominent evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins from speaking due to a tweet Dawkins had made in the weeks prior which drew parallels between extremist Islamists and extremist feminists. Many free speech advocates such as Sam Harris criticised the NECSS decision, labelling them "fools". In a press release the NECSS defended the decision stating "We believe strongly in freedom of speech and freedom to express unpopular, and even offensive, views. However, unnecessarily divisive, counterproductive, and even hateful speech runs contrary to our mission and the environment we wish to foster at NECSS."

After much criticism, the NECSS apologized to Dawkins, admitted their dis-invitation was "not professional" and re-invited him, stating, "There is room for a range of reasonable opinions on these issues and our conversation will reflect that diversity." Dawkins was unable to accept the re-invitation, as he had suffered a stroke in the interim. At NECSS 2016 a panel was designed to address what had happened with Dawkins, this panel was moderated by Jennifer Lopez from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. Also on the panel were Heather Berlin, Will Creele, Julia Galef, John McWhorter and Yvette d'Entremont and titled "Free Speech, Social Justice, and Political Correctness". According to journalist Russ Dobler the panel came to "common ground" by agreeing that unless the person you are talking to is "completely unreasonable, we should seek out and talk to the people we disagree with most."