This December, Celebrate Reason at the End of the World
Eschaton2012 is a conference of freethinkers, rationalists, atheists, skeptics, humanists, etc, running from 30 November to 2 December.
Of course, the world is no more likely to end on December 21, 2012 than any other day, and the fact that there are a bunch of misinformed and misguided people who are preparing for the last days may not be that significant in the long list of things wrong with the world. But this and other apocalyptic silliness highlights people's lack of rationalism, critical thinking, and skepticism. So we are taking advantage of the opportunity to gather a dynamic group of speakers, panellists, and conference participants to celebrate reason, skepticism, and freethought.
The conference opens with a Friday night plenary session on the historical relationship between humans and our apocalypses. Saturday morning and afternoon, we have parallel tracks: 1) Talks and panels on skepticism/science/science communication (including a live recording of Ottawa Skeptics' podcast, The Reality Check) and 2) "The Immaculate Convention" - talks and panels on religion from an academic and sociological perspective. Saturday evening there will be a reception with food and drink in the early evening at the Canadian Museum of Nature (around the corner from the hotel), after which there will be a talk by PZ Myers, followed by a meet-and-greet social, with snacks, cash bar, and access to some of the galleries and exhibits. On Sunday the parallel tracks include panels and workshops on ethics, gender identity, parenting, and other exciting topics to be announced.
For more information, please contact eschaton2012ottawa@gmail.com.