Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

[Barry Karr <SkeptInq@aol.com>]

The Fourth World Skeptics Conference
June 20-23, 2002 Burbank, California

visit www.csicop.org and click on conference banner

The Fourth World Skeptics Conference, sponsored by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) is to be held at the Hilton, Burbank Airport and Convention Center, Burbank, California, June 20-23, 2002.
The first such conference was held in 1996 at the State University of New York at Buffalo; the second conference, sponsored by CSICOP and the German Society for the Scientific Investigation of Para-Science (GWUP), was held in 1998 at the University of Heidelberg, Germany; and the third, cosponsored with the Australian Skeptics, was held at Sydney University in Sydney, Australia, in 2000.
These conferences have proven to be very successful in bringing together the best known and most effective speakers in the promotion of science, critical thinking, and education. Our intent is to bring together the leading lights in the skeptical movement and we are eager to have you be part of this event. The overall theme is "Prospects for Skepticism: The Next Twenty-Five Years." We not only want to examine issues that are important today, but also try and focus on topics that will influence science and skepticism in the future. Thus, we are planning sessions on alternative medicine, unsubstantiated psychotherapies, confidence and financial scams, intelligent design and attacks on evolution, education and young skeptics, urban legends, a meeting of local skeptical organizations, and other topics.


June 20-23, 2002,  Burbank, California
at the Hilton, Burbank Airport and Convention Center


Schedule of Events           

Thursday, June 20

Registration 6:00-7:30 pm

Paul Kurtz, Chairman, CSICOP             Welcoming Remarks

Don't Get Taken 7:30-10:00 pm

Richard Lead, treasurer of the NSW (Australian) Skeptics
Richard Schroeder, CFP, Executive Vice President, Schroeder, Braxton & Vogt, Inc., Amherst, NY
Robert Steiner, speaker, expert, author in the fields of magic, confidence games, and psychic investigations

Friday, June 21 

Registration 7:30-9:00 am

Evolution and Intelligent Design        9:00 am-12:00 pm 

Massimo Pigliucci, Moderator, Associate Professor of botany at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville
William Dembski, Associate research professor in the conceptual foundations of science at Baylor University and a senior fellow with Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture
Wesley Elsberry, Behavioral research programmer. Software and hardware design, implementation, and operation for audiometric, behavioral, and acoustic studies of cetaceans and pinnipeds, Science Applications International Corporation
Kenneth Miller, Professor of biology at Brown University
Paul Nelson, Editor of the journal Origins & Design

Special Address             12:00-2:00 pm

Harlan Ellison, World-famous author of 75 books. He is waiting for the Guinness Book of World Records to confirm his title as the "Biggest Pain in the Ass in the Western Hemisphere."

Concurrent Session

Fringe Psychotherapies   2:00-5:00 pm

Scott Lilienfeld, Moderator, Emory University, Department of Psychology
Gina Green, Director of Research, New England Center for Children
Steven Jay Lynn, State University of New York, Binghamton, Psychology Department
Jean Mercer, Ph.D., Richard Stockton State College, Department of Psychology
Carol Tavris, social psychologist and writer

Concurrent Session

Look to the Stars            2:00-5:00 pm

James McGaha, Moderator, Major, USAF Retired, Director, Grasslands Observatory
Alan Harris, Senior Research Scientist in the Earth and Space Sciences Division, JPL 
Tod Lauer, Kitt Peak National Observatory
David Morrison, Senior Scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute

Keynote Address 8:00-10:00 pm

Marvin Minsky, Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Saturday, June 22 
Registration 8:30-9:00 am

Urban Legends 9:00 am-12:00 pm

Benjamin Radford, Moderator, Skeptical Inquirer magazine
Jan Brunvand, Professor Emeritus, Department of English, University of Utah, author, Encyclopedia of Urban Legends, The Vanishing Hitchhiker, The Truth Never Stands in the Way of a Good Story and Too Good to Be True
David Mikkelson, Creator, director snopes.com
Barbara Mikkelson, Creator, director snopes.com
Timothy Tangherlini, folklore instructor at UCLA, where he holds a joint appointment in the Scandinavian Section and the Dept. of East Asian Languages and Cultures

NATIONAL MEDIA CENTER-Los Angeles Luncheon 12:00-2:00 pm
CFI WEST VIDEO
James Underdown, Executive Director, CFI West

Concurrent Session

Medical Claims                  2:00-5:00 pm

Wallace Sampson, Moderator, formerly the Associate Chief of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Editor, The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine
Stephen Barrett, Retired psychiatrist, has achieved national renown as an author, editor, and consumer advocate. Board Chairman, Quackwatch
Willem Betz, Professor in General Practice Medicine at the University of Brussels VUB, Head of Chair and Director and of the Academic Centre for Training of General Practitioners (University of Brussels, VUB)
Steve Novella, assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine. Co-founder and president of the New England Skeptical Society (NESS). Editor, New England Journal of Skepticism
Marcia Angell, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; former Editor-in-Chief, New England Journal of Medicine

Concurrent Session

The Investigators 2:00-5:00 pm

Joe Nickell, Moderator, Senior Research Fellow, CSICOP
Jan Willem Nienhuys, Department of Mathematics and Computing Science, Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands)
Massimo Polidoro, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. He holds a degree in psychology from the University of Padua.
Richard Wiseman, Director, Perrott Warrick Research Unit at the University of Hertfordshire, England

PRE-BANQUET social hour           6:00-7:00 pm
(cash bar)

Awards Banquet                     7:00-10:00 pm

Paul Kurtz, Host, CSICOP Chairman
Gabe Kaplan, Comedian, TV personality, star Welcome Back Kotter
Jim Underdown, Executive Director, CFI West

Sunday, June 23

Concurrent Session

EDUCATING OUR FUTURE 9:00 am-12:00 pm

Amanda Chesworth, Moderator, program director of the Young Skeptics, specializing in educational materials and activities for children
Don Hockenbury, Assistant Professor of psychology at Tulsa Community College
Sandra Hockenbury, science writer who specializes in psychology
Diane Swanson, award-winning author of over forty books, specializing in natural history and science, including Nibbling on Einstein's Brain
Charles Wynn, Professor of chemistry at Eastern Connecticut State University

Concurrent Session

Paranormal Around the World 9:00-12:00 pm

Shen Zhenyu, Research Fellow at the China Institute for Popularization of Science and Technology (China)
Lin Zixin, Former Editor, Science and Technology Daily, (China)
Sanal Edamaruku, Chairman of the Indian Rationalists Association (India)
Manuel Abraham Paz y Miño, Editor, Neo-Skepsis (Peru)
Alejandro J. Borgo, Founding Member of CAIRP, Argentina Skeptics Organization (Argentina)
Sami Rozenbaum (Venezuela)
Mario Mendez-Acosta (Mexico)
Amardeo Sarma, GWUP (Germany)


Conference Information
CSICOP Los Angeles Conference 
Prospects for Skepticism: The Next Twenty-Five Years
The Fourth World Skeptics Conference is to be held at the Hilton, Burbank Airport and Convention Center, 
Burbank, California, June 20-23, 2002.
Accommodations: Hilton, Burbank Airport & Convention Center, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505  (818) 843-6000
Standard Guest Room @$89.00 +10% tax/night
Junior Suite Guest Rooms @$127.00 +10% tax/night
Additional Person Charge $20.00 per person
Parking @ $6.50 + 10% city tax/cab
There is an airport shuttle that runs from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm
Discount airline rates can be obtained by calling the 
CSICOP travel agent Jacque Vernen, Stovroff & Taylor Travel, at (716) 631-4022, ext. 212 or (800) 543-8616 ext. 212.

If you have any questions about the program or the arrangements call or write Barry Karr at CSICOP, PO Box 703, Amherst, NY 14226; (716) 636-1425 ext. 217, or by  
e-mail at: skeptinq@aol.com.

Media Representatives should contact Kevin Christopher at CSICOP, PO Box 703, Amherst, NY 14226 (716) 636-1425 ext. 224  or by e-mail at: press@csicop.org.
Hosted by: The Center for Inquiry West, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA  90027 (323) 666-9797.

Opinions expressed at this conference are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the views of CSICOP.

Yes, I (we) plan to attend the 2002 World Skeptics Conference in Burbank, Calfornia Register your seat early for the Fourth World Skeptics Conference. Preregistration is advised. Registration does not include meals or accomodations. Make checks payable to CSICOP and return this coupon to:CSICOP Conference, P.O. Box 703, Amherst, NY 14226 - (716) 636-1425 ext. 200 - FAX (716) 636-1733

Name(s): _______________________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________________
City: ______________________ State: _________________ ZIP: __________ 


O $159 registration for ____ person(s), includes Keynote
Address.................................$________
O $75 student registration for ____ student(s), send photocopy of
ID.............................$________
O $25 Friday Luncheon (optional) for ____
person(s)....................................................$________
O $15 non-registrant ticket(s) to Keynote Address on Friday night for ____
person(s)....$________
O $25 Saturday Luncheon (optional) for ____
person(s).................................................$________
O $35 Saturday Awards Banquet (optional) for ____
person(s)......................................$________
TOTAL: $________
Charge my:
O VISA O MASTERCARD O AMEX O CHECK ENCLOSED 
Account #:___________________
Expiration Date:_______________
Signature:____________________
(for credit cards only)