Conference thoughts

If you've been reading the newsletter for any time you'll be aware of the joint conference we ran with the Australian Skeptics last weekend. I hope you had a chance to attend and to view the talks. If not, you can still purchase a ticket.

For me, it was great getting to know the Australian Skeptics organisers better, and we attracted a wide variety of speakers which we'd not have had access to if it wasn't run online, and was run in-person.

It also allowed people to attend for whom cost would be a barrier, or for whom social anxiety might make it difficult to attend. We also had attendees from outside of Australasia, so holding it online really did broaden our opportunity.

Maybe next year we'll have the luxury of being able to run an in-person event. We're all probably fatigued with the experience of virtual presentations and meetings over Zoom and other such technologies. Nothing beats being there, and some of the most enlightening moments occur in the conversations between the talks and at social events. But, the comments on YouTube worked well - there was lively discussion during the talks and also in between, and it generated some great questions for the speakers.

NZ Skeptics would love to hear feedback about the conference. What you liked, and what you didn't, and how we could improve them in the future.