The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry held its CSICon New Orleans 2011 conference October 27–30 at the New Orleans Marriott. It was a welcome resumption, after an eight-year hiatus, of CSICOP conferences.

It featured a dozen symposia on everything from conspiracy theories and UFOs to evolution versus creationism and skepticism in the media; special talks by skeptical luminaries; an awards banquet; and a host of social and entertainment events. The latter included a “Smarti Gras” parade and New Orleans Halloween Party Saturday evening at a French Quarter bar after the special conference address by Bill Nye “The Science Guy.”

Read more about CSICon and register for 2012’s CSICon Nashville at the CSICon website.

Even before CSICon 2011 in New Orleans officially began, I was already having great conversations with skeptics from all over the country. While helping at the registration table I met Skeptical Inquirer readers and supporters from as close as a few blocks away from the conference hotel to as far away as the United Kingdom. It was amazing to see people from so many places convening in one place to celebrate reason, science, and skeptical inquiry.

Indre Viskontas reminds us immediatley dismissing someone’s story can be counterproductive to skepticism. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

It sure is something to be surrounded by so many like-minded people. Dorion Cable, who authored a great write-up on CSICon 2011 on her Detroit-based blog (http://motorcityblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/csicon-2011-best-assignment-evar-by-dc.html), com­men­ted that she recalls no place other than CSICon that people have actually recog­nized her Flying Spaghetti Monster necklace. But even some non–conference-goers had their interest piqued by the high concentration of skeptics. One hotel employee remarked, “You guys have the guy from the X-Files and Bill Nye the Science Guy? My nerd self just freaked out.”

The first session after opening re­marks on Thursday was “The In­vesti­gators” panel with stellar talks from Joe Nickell, Massimo Polidoro, Karen Stollznow, and Ben Radford on various investigations they’ve undertaken. Be­cause the topic of women in the skeptics movement is of particular interest to me, I was happy that I was able to ask Karen Stollznow during the Q&A session after her talk if she has noticed any advantages or disadvantages to being a female paranormal investigator—a minority within a minority. She answered that she hasn’t noticed her gender making a big difference either way but that many of the people she meets tend to assume she is a believer.

PZ Myers sports a CSICon T-shirt during his talk on Sunday. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

Meeting Karen after many years of exchanging the occasional email was a conference highlight for me. As I gushed on my Twitter page: “Finally met @karenstollznow in person! She’s just as awesome as I knew she’d be.” It was my conversations at CSICon about women in skepticism over dinner with Karen, Miracle Detectives star Indre Viskontas, and CFI Communications Director Michelle Blackley that in­spired me to get more involved in the movement and to start the blog We Are SkeptiXX (http://bit.ly/skeptixx).

Phil Plait’s talk on the “Death from the Skies!” panel on Friday had me in stitches. “How do you keep [asteroids from hitting the Earth]?” he asked his captivated audience. “Well, if you ask Hollywood ... you will get the wrong answer.” After showing a clip from the horribly inaccurate 1998 movie Arma­ged­don, Plait pointed out that perhaps the most ludicrous detail in the scene is the fact that it is violently raining on the asteroid as Bruce Willis attempts to get the bomb into place. What’s wrong with that? Just the little fact that asteroids don’t have their own atmospheres and therefore there is no weather on them. I was able to talk with Plait for a couple minutes and compliment him on his ability to make his talks so enjoyable. He told me of a college professor he once had who during his classes would literally play a recording of himself giving a lecture. The memory of having to sit through those “lectures” is one of the things that motivate Plait to ensure that all of his own talks are engaging and entertaining.

Margaret Downey, founder of the Freethought Society, was a smash hit at the Smarti Gras party as the Tree of Life. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

Another highlight of the conference was once again seeing CSI Fellow James Randi—they sure don’t call him “The Amazing” for nothing. His talk during the “Sleights of Mind” panel on Friday was nothing short of inspiring. He re­minded us all that no matter how much pride we take in our skepticism and critical thinking skills, every one of us can fall prey to tricks and smoke and mirrors: “I don’t tell you how the tricks are done for a very simple reason ... I want you to know that you can be deceived.” One of my very favorite conference keepsakes is a picture I was able to snap of Randi “conjuring” CSI Fellow Richard Saunders’s famous origami Pigasus, the mascot of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF).

Another panel I really enjoyed was Saturday’s “Skepticism and the Media,” which featured William B. Davis of X-Files fame, Miracle Detec­tives star Indre Viskontas, and New York Times science writer Sandra Blakeslee. Led by CFI Communica­tions Director Michelle Blackley, it was the first CSI/CSICOP conference panel with a female moderator. After Davis’s engaging talk in which he admitted he once unknowingly agreed to moderate a panel of 9/11 Truthers—“You must do your homework!” he reminded us—Indre Viskontas wondered aloud, “How can I follow Cancer Man? Well, at least I wore my cigarette pants.” On a more serious note, she went on to remind us all that “It is counterproductive to dismiss someone’s story off the bat,” a mistake that she has seen some skeptics make. As Viskontas told Sharon Hill in her SI interview (Novem­ber/December 2011), “Once you’ve dismissed them, you’ve lost them. They don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

James “The Amazing” Randi conjures an origami Pigasus. (Photo: Julia Lavarnway)

CSI Fellow Richard Saunders, Life Member of the Australian Skeptics and the sole skeptical judge on Australia’s psychic-seeking reality show The One, was another delight to meet. I think ebullient is the best word to describe Richard. You’d be hard up to meet a more enthusiastic and personable skeptic. Richard not only allowed me to film him creating a JREF Pigasus (http://bit.ly/SaundersOrigami), he also invited me to appear on The Skeptic Zone podcast (http://bit.ly/skepticzone158). His Sunday presentation debunking Power Balance bands, in which he had some help from SI Deputy Editor Ben Radford in the form of audience participation (http://bit.ly/powerbalancedemo), was a big hit. (See also, “Power Balance Down and Out in Australia,” SI, September/October 2011 and “Power Balance Bracelets a Bust in Tests,” SI, January/February 2012).

My vote for “quote of the conference” came from SI Editor Ken Frazier during the close of his opening re­marks on Thursday: “One of the secrets we’ve kept from the public all these years is that skepticism is not just important, it’s also fun!” CSICon 2011 in New Orleans certainly proved the truth of Ken’s aphorism. Where else but CSICon would I have had the opportunity to have incredibly interesting conversations with luminaries in the skeptics movement while fast-dancing with the “big boss,” CFI president and CEO Ron Lindsay; rockin’ out to the Heathens (led by Inde­pendent Investigations Group founder Jim Underdown); eating ice cream with the eminent Massimo Polidoro; and admiring the awesomeness that was Steven Novella’s Dr. Horrible costume for the “Smarti Gras” party? I will most definitely be back at CSICon 2012, and I hope to meet even more of you SI readers and supporters there.

Bill Nye Wins In Praise of Reason Award; Novella Presented with CSI Balles Prize

Bill Nye “The Science Guy” received CSI’s In Praise of Reason Award. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

Bill Nye “The Science Guy” received the In Praise of Reason Award, the highest award of the Com­mittee for Skeptical Inquiry, at the CSICon New Orleans 2011 conference awards banquet.

The In Praise of Reason Award is given in recognition of distinguished contributions in the use of critical inquiry, scientific evidence, and reason in evaluating claims to knowledge. Previous recipients include Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, Martin Gardner, Ray Hyman, James Randi, and Nobel laureate physicists Murray Gell-Mann and Leon Lederman, among others.

Nye has a long string of television credits that promote good science, starting with his Emmy Award–winning 1990s series Bill Nye the Science Guy. An aeronautical engineer by training and early experience, Nye drew on his scientific and engineering background as a solid foundation for his demonstrations of scientific principles that are at the core of his communication of science to the public.

Subsequent programs include The Eyes of Nye, 100 Greatest Discoveries, Greatest Inventions with Bill Nye, and Stuff Happens. His Bill Nye’s Climate Lab is a new permanent exhibit at the Oakland, California–based Chabot Space and Science Center.

Nye is now the executive director of the Planetary Society in Pasadena, California.

“If you think Bill is popular among skeptics, you should attend a science teacher conference where he is speaking,” said Eugenie C. Scott, a member of CSI’s Executive Council, in presenting the award. “The National Science Teachers Association draws upwards of 12,000 [to] 15,000 teachers; I think all of them attend his talks, because although the organizers schedule his lecture in the largest ballroom in the conference center, there still are people standing in the back and in the aisles.

“It is obvious why,” said Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education. “Ken Frazier spoke at the opening ceremonies about the sense of exhilaration that skeptics feel in enjoying science—and that skepticism is ‘fun.’ Hardly anyone has as much fun as Bill Nye when he is talking about, and especially when he is demonstrating, principles of science.

“If you have seen any of his programs discussing astrology or other, to quote Carl Sagan, ‘extraordinary claims,’ you will soon see why he was made a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He is a longtime skeptic and proponent of critical thinking—obvious in all of his television programs.”

* * *

Steven Novella is keeping his CSI Balles Prize tucked safely under his arm. (Photo: Adam Isaak)

Steven Novella was presented with CSI’s Robert P. Balles Annual Prize for Critical Thinking at the same awards banquet. The $1,500 award is given to the author of the published work or body of work that best exemplifies healthy skepticism, logical analysis, or empirical science.
The award, previously announced (SI July/Aug­ust 2011), was presented by CSI Executive Council member and Skeptical Inquirer Edi­tor Kendrick Frazier.

In his case, Novella was honored not for a particular article or publication but instead for his “tremendous body of work,” including the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe weekly science podcast, the Science-Based Medicine blog, his Neuro­logica blog, his Skeptical In­quirer column, “The Science of Medi­cine,” and his tireless travel and lecture schedule on behalf of skepticism.

“You may be the hardest worker in all of skepticism,” CSI Executive Director Barry Karr said when he first announced the award. “We are honored to present you with this award.”

Novella is a clinical neurologist, assistant professor, and director of general neurology at the Yale University School of Medicine. He is a fellow of the Com­mittee for Skeptical Inquiry.

It featured a dozen symposia on everything from conspiracy theories and UFOs to evolution versus creationism and skepticism in the media; special talks by skeptical luminaries; an awards banquet; and a host of social and entertainment events. The latter included a “Smarti Gras” parade and New Orleans Halloween Party Saturday evening at a French Quarter bar after the special conference address by Bill Nye “The Science Guy.”

Read more about CSICon and register for 2012’s CSICon Nashville at the CSICon website.

Margaret Downey and CFI–DC Executive Director Melody Hensley are all smiles at CSICon. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

A Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) conference has been long-awaited since the last event held in 2003. The inaugural CSICon, the conference dedicated to scientific inquiry and critical thinking, was held October 27–30, 2011.

For such an event there simply is no better location than the French Quarter in New Orleans and simply no better time than the Halloween weekend. As I demonstrated in my talk “Making History,” New Orleans is the most “haunted” city in the country (or at least one of the many “most haunted”).

NOLA is famous for its music, cuisine, and Cajun and Creole culture, but it’s also a city teeming with pseudoscience and the paranormal. Jackson Square has art galleries and museums but also resident psychics offering tarot, palm, and astrology readings. The French Quarter is infamous for the reputation of Bourbon Street, Mardi Gras, and Southern Decadence, but it’s also known for its underbelly of voodoo, hoodoo, and Santeria. The city has a remarkable and vibrant history but is often best remembered for its folklore of ghosts, vampires, and Voo­doo Queen Marie Laveau. The conference was a haven of rationalism, inquiry, and skepticism amid the myths and legends of the Big Easy.

Paul Offit talks about the importance of vaccination during a special luncheon address. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

CSICon featured an exciting array of dynamic speakers. These are people we’ve seen on television, whose writings we’ve read in books and copies of the Skeptical Inquirer, and who we’ve listened to on podcasts and radio shows. There were fascinating and informative talks presented by James Randi, Bill Nye, PZ Myers, Lawrence Krauss, and Indre Viskontas of the TV show Miracle Detectives. The conference was well-attended with over 300 people but intimate enough to enable personal conversations with speakers and fellow conference-goers.

CSI was well-represented by speakers from within its own ranks, including Fellows Phil Plait, Seth Shostak, Edzard Ernst, David Morrison, Dave Thomas, and Sandra Blakeslee; Execu­tive Council members Eugenie Scott, Scott Lilienfeld, and James Alcock; and Point of Inquiry’s Chris Mooney.

Current, critical, and classical topics were tackled, including creation and evolution, science and public policy, investigations, UFO claims, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine claims, and grassroots activism and outreach. Skeptical Inquirer Editor Ken Frazier, CSI Executive Director Barry Karr, and Center for Inquiry President and CEO Ron Lindsay presented stirring speeches about the history and future of skepticism.

David Willey entertains awards banqueters. (Photo: Adam Isaak)

This was also a time for commendation. During a banquet dinner, Bill Nye received the “In Praise of Reason” Award and Steve Novella was presented with the Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking. For his decades of investigative work, Senior Research Fellow Joe Nickell was recognized with an asteroid named after him. (See separate stories.)

CSICon encouraged knowledge-sharing and networking, but it wasn’t all “work”; there was plenty of play with many unique extracurricular events. At the opening reception there was a performance by the Heathens, a band led by Jim Underdown of the Independent Investigations Group (IIG). David Willey, the “Mad Scientist,” presented “How Does a Thing Like That Work?,” an entertaining and interactive lecture consisting of the more visual and dramatic demonstrations from an introductory physics course.

One of the many highlights of CSICon was the Smarti Gras parade. It was a sight to behold—hundreds of skeptics in Halloween costumes led by a police escort and jazz band to the legendary Tipitina’s jazz club. In true New Orleans style, passers-by joined in with the merriment, cheering us along and even following the parade. We hope to have the same public reaction to our critical thinking!

David Willey takes a sledgehammer to the chest (wielded by his assistant) in the name of skepticism. (Photo: Adam Isaak)

This is what CSICon is about: showing that skepticism is not only important but also fun.

The party included music, dancing, jambalaya, and Halloween costumes. Blake Smith, of the IIG in Atlanta, won the best skeptically themed costume award for his “Occam’s Shaving Cream” outfit.

Unlike in other conference reports, the cuisine deserves a mention too. CSICon departed from the usual bland conference fare, offering crab cakes with a spicy remoulade, eggs benedict with andouille, and an ice cream buffet with freshly made waffle cones.

The conference concluded with CSI’s annual Houdini séance hosted by Joe Nickell. The session included talks by cold-reading expert Ray Hyman and psychic-buster Massimo Polidoro. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, Houdini didn’t turn up, yet again.

Vonnie Galligher and CFI Vice President of Outreach Lauren Becker enjoy the Smarti Gras party. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

Disappointed that the festivities were over, enthusiastic skeptics continued the revelry with a post-conference tour of the beautiful flora and fauna of the Louisiana swamps and marshes.

In general, the conference was a wonderful opportunity to learn and share learning, reconnect with old friends, and establish new friendships. Attendees left the conference armed with new information and perspectives, reinvigorated to step outside of the conference hall and take skepticism to the streets.

This was a highly successful and refreshingly different conference. Nego­tiations are already underway for next year. It is rumored that CSICon 2012 is being planned to be even bigger and better and that CSICon is poised to become a preeminent skeptical conference for years to come.

Joe Nickell Has Asteroid Named After Him

It was a surprise announcement at the beginning of the Friday night awards banquet at CSICon New Orleans 2011. Astronomer and CSI scientific consultant James McGaha came forward and announced that an asteroid has been named for Joe Nickell in honor of his distinguished work on behalf of science, skepticism, and critical inquiry.

Nickell, the tireless investigator, prolific writer, and author who is CSI’s senior research fellow, accepted the award. Asteroid 1999 CE10, discovered by McGaha on February 9, 1999, will henceforth be known as Joenickell. It is a main belt asteroid about five kilometers in diameter with a period of 3.44 years. The Inter­national Astronomical Union’s Com­mittee on Small Body Nomenclature oversees the official naming process using a set of well-defined guidelines.

Here is the citation:

31451 Joenickell = 1999 CE10

Named in honor of Joe Nickell (b. 1944), the Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. A noted author, investigator, and skeptic, Nickell has written more than 30 books on mysteries, frauds, forgeries, and hoaxes. He promotes scientific inquiry and reasoned investigation of extraordinary claims.

Nickell joins several other prominent skeptics in having asteroids named for them. Previously Martin Gardner, James Randi, Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Philip J. Klass were so honored (SI, July/August 1998; May/June 1999). Philosopher and CSICOP founder Paul Kurtz and CSICOP itself (“for its contributions to science education and skepticism”) received the honor on CSICOP’s twentieth anniversary (September/Octo­ber 1996, p. 8). Others include PZ Myers, Philip Plait, Michael Stackpole, and Rebecca Watson (September/October 2008).

James McGaha (center right) announces an asteroid has been named after CSI senior research fellow Joe Nickell (center left) while Eugenie C. Scott, Bill Nye, and Steven Novella approve.

It featured a dozen symposia on everything from conspiracy theories and UFOs to evolution versus creationism and skepticism in the media; special talks by skeptical luminaries; an awards banquet; and a host of social and entertainment events. The latter included a “Smarti Gras” parade and New Orleans Halloween Party Saturday evening at a French Quarter bar after the special conference address by Bill Nye “The Science Guy.”

Read more about CSICon and register for 2012’s CSICon Nashville at the CSICon website.

Like its earlier CSICOP conference predecessors, CSICon New Orleans 2011 was rich with provocative ideas, good science, critical thinking, informed analysis, and penetrating criticism of claims poorly supported by scientific evidence. It was also filled with fun social events that allowed plenty of opportunity for interactions with fellow skeptics and to enjoy the camaraderie shared by those who defend good science and expose shams, frauds, and unsupported claims.

It began on a Thursday afternoon with opening remarks by Center for Inquiry President Ronald A. Lindsay, CSI Executive Director Barry Karr, and me, and ended on Sunday afternoon with a “Houdini Séance” conducted by Joe Nickell, Ray Hyman, and Massimo Polidoro. The sessions provided quite an intellectual feast for science-minded skeptics of every stripe.

Some of the many highlights for me included:

• Bill Nye “The Science Guy’s” special conference address, informative and in­spiring. He provided a cosmic perspective on human curiosity and exploration and a sterling defense of the need for good science and math education for a science-literate citizenry. He ended with a backlit photo from the Cassini mission of a close-up Saturn seen from outside its orbit inward, the planet Earth a tiny dot barely visible through its rings.

Lawrence Krauss delivers a special luncheon address. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

• Chemistry Nobel laureate (and CSI Fellow) Sir Harry Kroto’s talk “Educa­tion as the New Dark Age Ap­proaches.” It excoriated parents who allow their religions to teach hatred toward others religions, lamented the rise of ideological-oriented nonsense (rather than common sense), and extolled natural philosophy (“the only philosophy we have devised to determine the truth with any degree of reality”). Kroto also called for more recognition of “true heroes” (those from the world of science, like Einstein, Darwin, Chandrasekhar, Maxwell, and Rosa­lind Franklin) and emphasized the importance of learning algebra and calculus (“the universe doesn’t speak any other language”).

• Chris Mooney’s talk (in a session on science and public policy) on the science of denial. He emphasized (as we have reported several other times recently) that corrections don’t change people’s false beliefs; in fact, they cause people to hold them all the more strongly, “doubling down” on them. Studies of “motivated reasoning,” the updated view of cognitive dissonance, show that we are not conscious of the vast majority of what our brains are doing and that our emotional reactions drive our memory retrieval. “By the time we are conscious of it we are defending ourselves—acting like law­yers.... This is how people work. We spin out all of the old rationalizations ... and create new ones.” And then there’s what he called the “smart idiot” effect, in which people who know more are more capable of showing bias and more skilled at coming up with arguments to defend their biased views. Thus things always polarize, a situation we now find endemic in political discourse.

• Indre Viskontas (neuroscientist and TV’s Miracle Detectives scientist; see the interview with her in our Novem­ber/December 2011 issue) on why we love stories and on using narratives to promote science. Why stories? Because we find them compelling. Stories or testimonials usually trump dry statistics because they are more easily remembered than facts. Likewise, stories become personal. Storytelling thus is a powerful tool for any message, including that of science and skepticism. In her role on the show, Viskontas says, “My job is to reframe the [claimed miracle] event in a way compatible with science. Some people might call me a skeptic.”

Phil Plait is dubious of Armageddon’s presentation of asteroids. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

• Biologist and famed blogger PZ Myers’s passionate paean to the power of narrative storytelling (in stated strong agreement with Vis­kontas). Myers’s Myth Number One is that we “people of reason” are “soulless robots who don’t know how to communicate.” He rattled off a long list of scientist-atheists who are first-rate scientists and communicators. “This is a golden age of science writing,” he said. His Myth Number Two: “If you are credible or gullible you are so much better at stories.” The Bible, often extolled by even skeptics as at least full of good stories, got no praise from Myers. “Genesis is crap. It’s crazy town.... There was no global flood. This story makes no sense.” As for those who give it a pass by saying that Genesis is just a metaphor, he said, “Tell that to the people at Answers in Genesis.” Said Myers, “Our side has the good story,” and it has both truth and beauty, two values often ignored. He provided a sample story, a fossil find showing a mammoth bone carefully (and lovingly?) placed in the mouth of a fossil dog, “the best present you could give a dog” and a strong clue that “dogs have been our partners for thousands of years.” Another compelling story is that around 50,000 to 70,000 years ago a catastrophe of some sort reduced the entire world’s population to only about 1,200 people, including only about 500 in Africa. “We were close to extinction.... This is the story that science can tell you. It is underappreciated.” As he said, “Our stories are not only beautiful, they are true.”

• Investigator Massimo Polidoro’s “A Recipe for Testing Psychics” and his five rules: 1. Exactly define a claim (in writing). 2. Agree on a shared protocol. 3. Have the psychic perform a demonstration (which should be 100 percent successful, since there are no controls). 4. Add the control. 5. See what happens ... “and wait for the excuses.” In his twenty years experience, “only once has a person admitted [they were] wrong.”

Eugenie C. Scott addresses the banquet crowd before presenting Bill Nye with CSI’s In Praise of Reason Award. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

• Physician Paul Offit’s stirring advocacy of vaccinations and condemnation of anti-vaccination campaigns, which undermine public health and endanger others. Offit, author of Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threat­ens Us All, said a lot of progress is being made, pointing out how the media came down hard on would-be presidential candidate Michele Bach­mann when she made an outlandish claim about the HPV vaccine, which can prevent cervical cancer. At his hospital in Phila­delphia, the flu vaccine is mandatory for all employees. He said the measles vaccine will get some public attention when unvaccinated people start dying of that disease.

• The symposium “Sleight of Mind” by neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde and science journalist Sandra Blakeslee (coauthors of a recent book of the same title), plus James Randi on the neuroscience of magic. Macknik and Martinez-Conde have been studying how the world’s great magicians employ ancient principles that can now be explained using the latest discoveries of cognitive neuroscience. Illusions dissociate perception from reality and reflect what the brain is actually doing. The scientists described numerous cognitive illusions, demonstrated the power of manipulated awareness, and showed that different effects are due to different circuits of the brain. Randi, the hero of his fellow skeptics, worked with the authors in their studies and followed their joint talk with his own personal views on the subject. “Magicians have to be aware of how they themselves think,” he said, lamenting that “some magicians don’t know at base how their tricks work.” As for why he and other magicians don’t tell you how their tricks are done, he gave his stock answer: “I want you to leave here knowing that you can be deceived.” That is an invaluable lesson, he said. He called Macknik and Martinez-Conde pioneers in their field and “heroes” of his.

The X-Files’s William B. Davis presents on skepticism in the media. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

• The symposium on alternative medical claims featuring physician/skeptic luminaries Steven Novella, Har­riet Hall, and Edzard Ernst. Hall punctured the acu­puncture myth, including the widespread belief that acupuncture is an ancient practice (“current practices developed in the twentieth century”) and showing that sham acupuncture works just as well. Novella ardently advocated science-based medicine and described a litany of biases that contribute to self-deception among patients and practitioners as well. Physi­cians themselves are susceptible to such clinical pitfalls as pattern recognition, relying on personal experience, elevating experience over evidence, failing to consider alternatives, be­coming confused by nonspecific symptoms, and falling prey to confirmation bias (“I’ve seen it work”). Throw in problems with re­search such as publication bias, research bias, the decline effect, and the fact that preliminary studies are not as rigorous, and it is no wonder that, as medical re­searcher John Ionnidis has written, the majority of medical studies are wrong. Ernst has published a thousand papers in peer-reviewed journals, including 300 systematic reviews. “Many of these publications have disappointed en­thusiasts of alternative medicine,” he noted. “Some were outraged.” He and his colleagues have examined studies funded by NCCAM, the National Center for Comple­men­tary and Al­tern­ative Medi­cine, and (as did authors of our January/February 2012 cover article on the topic) found many highly questionable. Re­gard­ing their studies of chiropractic, he found “questionable whether such research is worthwhile.” Rigorous studies of “energy medicine” were negative, hardly surprising since they were testing “implausible treatments.” When Prince Charles, an advocate of alternative medicine, complained about Ernst to the chancellor of his university, Ernst lost most of his funding and team. Ernst defended himself successfully but at high cost. He said his work has “generated substantial bodies of evidence,” much of it undermining assertions of alternative medicine, and made him “some friends, lots of enemies.”

CSI’s Barry Karr gives welcoming remarks. (Photo: Brian D. Engler)

This is just a brief taste of the sessions that made CSICon New Orleans 2011 such a treat. There were also lively sessions on “The Investigators” (Joe Nickell, Massimo Polidoro, Karen Stollznow, and Ben Radford), “Death from the Skies” (Phil Plait, David Morrison, and Seth Shostak), “Science and Public Policy” (Chris Mooney and Ron Lindsay), “Feeling the Future” (Ray Hyman and James Alcock), “Evo­lu­tion and Creationism” (Eugenie Scott and Barbara Forrest), “Skepti­cism and the Media” (Indre Viskontas, San­dra Blake­slee, and William B. Davis), “Super­stitions and Hauntings” (Amar­deo Sarma, Stuart Vyse, and Joe Nickell), “UFO Claims” (Robert Sheaf­fer and James McGaha), “Con­spiracy Theories” (David Thomas, Robert Blaskiewicz, and Ted Goert­zel), “Inde­pendent In­vestigation Groups,” “Grass­roots Activ­ism and Outreach,” “Educating the Next Genera­tion,” and a characteristically mind-bending lunch talk about frontiers of modern physics by physicist Lawrence Krauss.

It was exhausting but exhilarating, and we can hope there will be many more CSICons to come.