TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform, with a 100% user growth rate between 2020 and 2022, and a 13% increase in monthly active users between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023. In 2023, TikTok reached 1.92 billion users, a 16% increase from the previous year, and is expected to reach 2 billion by the end of 2024. In this workshop, Kenny will be taking attendess down the TikTok rabbit hole...of the paranormal!

With over 25k followers on the platform, Kenny routinely recreates and exposes how many channels create ghostly figures, poltergeist activity, and have objects appearing & disappearing through mystical portals – while all the while claiming the spooky activity is “real.” These types of videos attract millions and millions of views, which has many people often asking, “how the hell did they do that?” In Kenny’s half of the workshop, he’ll go over some of the popular techniques in use, show you behind-the-scenes videos, and even grab some of our attendees to become a “ghost” themselves!” Let’s explore the world of video editing and practical effects.

Test Your Friends (and Enemies)

In the second half of the workshop, CFI Investigations Group founder, Jim Underdown, will divide the participants into groups. Each group will either design protocols for the CFIIG $500,000 Challenge or devise ways to cheat the skeptics out of the money. Participants will gain insight into conducting actual tests of individuals who claim to possess superpowers.

Event Location

SkyView 3

Presented by

Kenny Biddle

Jim Underdown

“The scientific mind does not so much provide the right answers as ask the right questions.”

—Claude Levi-Strauss (translated by John and Doreen Weightman from* Lu Cru et le Cuit*, 1964)

We like answers. We like to know them and give them. Sometimes we want others to think we are smart or knowledgeable, so we jump to give answers rather than ask questions. And the questions we do ask are sometimes more about our personal assumptions and biases than about getting to the real answer.

Good questions are a skeptic’s essential tools for finding good answers. In this participatory workshop, we will ask you to interact with us and fellow attendees to practice methods for posing questions that lead to better understanding and possibly rethinking ideas—maybe even your own.

Event Location

SkyView 3

Presented by

Chip Denman

Grace Denman

We are excited to announce that the Lilienfeld Alliance will be hosting its first half-day academic conference this year! We are calling it LiliCon. It will be held in conjunction with CSICon, Thurs Oct 24, 2024, 1-5pm, at the Horseshoe Las Vegas Resort and Casino. We hope to promote the scientific study of our work, to discover what is effective, and to promote it. Furthermore, we hope to build the strength of connections among academics who are working toward this end by providing an inspirational meeting of the minds.

We are soliciting two types of proposals:

1. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning - Research related to the teaching of rational skepticism in a higher education setting. Proposals must include data.

2. Teaching Demonstration - Description of a course focused on teaching rational skepticism, or an assignment, or an in-class activity. These must include some kind of audience-involved demonstration.

We will have both presentations and posters.

We hope that each of you will consider sharing your work, and help us solicit proposals from other scholars. A PDF of the call for proposals is attached. Feel free to share among your contacts and encourage students to submit as well.

Submit proposals by June 1. https://forms.gle/KwUzaYVm9Bo4ERXC8

LiliCon 2024 Planning Team

(Katie Dyer, Ray Hall, Rod Schmaltz, Natalia Pasternack, & Craig Foster)

Lilienfeld Alliance for the Teaching of Rational Skepticism in Higher Education 

Event Location

SkyView 4

Presented by

They say memory is a fleeting thing, but it does not have to be. In this interactive workshop, Banachek will teach you how to boost your memory retention and recall abilities. Whether you struggle to remember names, important dates, information for exams, or anything else, this workshop is for you.

During this workshop, you will learn:

· The history of mnemonics

· Different systems of mnemonics

· Techniques for enhancing short-term memory

· Memory improvement strategies and exercises

· Tips for staying sharp and focused

In the end, you will blow your own mind with what you remember in a very short span of time. Guaranteed!

Don’t miss this opportunity to harness the power of your mind and improve your memory skills. Sign up now and take the first step toward a stronger, more reliable memory, presented by the Number One Mindreader in the World, Banachek!

Event Location

SkyView 3

Presented by

Banachek

Please join us for CSICon's opening reception

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Robyn Blumner

Stephen Hupp

Eddie Tabash

Brian Cox delivers the CSICon 2024 Keynote speech.

Event Location

StarView 6

Presented by

Brian Cox

We all know what pseudoscience is and why it’s important to fight the good fight. Or do we? While some instances of pseudoscience are obvious (astrology, homeopathy), it turns out that it’s hard to draw a sharp line of demarcation. We want to fight the good fight, but, arguably, we go about it largely in the wrong way.

A dip into rhetoric, for instance, may be more useful than one in science communication. And our ultimate objective, the triumph of science over superstition, is very likely forever unreachable. We should instead pursue the more modest goal identified by Carl Sagan: to keep the light of reason alive, even if surrounded by darkness.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Massimo Pigliucci

Have you ever wondered why even smart people fall for hoaxes, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories? Or why giving people facts doesn’t change their minds? This presentation explores how our brains and social circles can make us vulnerable to false or misleading information and how curiosity and skepticism can help us navigate today’s information landscape … and even connect with people who disagree with us.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Melanie Trecek-King

How is the media fueling health misinformation--and why? Is it getting better or worse? And what do we need for better science literacy? Journalist Rina Raphael shares what goes on in the newsroom that leads to so much poor health reporting.

Event Location

Skyview 5

Presented by

Rina Raphael

Come join us for this VIP Luncheon featuring special guests Brian Cox, Neil Tyson, and Michael Mann. Seating is limited. Be sure to choose it when registering.

Event Location

SkyView 4

Presented by

Robyn Blumner

Brian Cox

Michael Mann

Neil deGrasse Tyson

The technologies under the umbrella of genetic engineering have provided everything from cheap cheese to COVID-19 vaccines to curing sickle cell disease. We are at a precipice where the newest technologies stand to drive incredible innovation in agriculture, medicine, and conservation. However, deployment of these technologies hinges on public acceptance. Those opposed to these technologies exploit social media to spread false information and break trust in genetic engineering, the companies that develop products, and the scientists that seek to educate a concerned public about them. Their goal is to vilify useful technology for political or ideological reasons; sadly even trusted organizations fall victim to promoting misinformation. While the pace of innovation is accelerating, the deployment of technology must navigate a formidable social hurdle. The scientific and skeptical communities play a central role in identifying legitimate concerns, while at the same time countering mis /disinformation before innovation may proceed to application. This presentation frames new technologies, the tactics used to defame them, and how you can participate in effective strategic communication to advance their acceptance.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Kevin Folta

Discover how to cut through misinformation and connect with diverse audiences. This presentation will explore the success of the Unbiased Science platform, highlighting how delivery and empathy are often as crucial as the scientific content itself. Learn about the power of motivational interviewing to build trust within science-hesitant communities. Additionally, the presentation will delve into how online spaces normalize medicalization and contribute to the spread of pseudoscience, particularly in the context of contested illnesses and gaps in the healthcare system—and ways to get through to people especially vulnerable to this type of misinformation.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Jessica Steier

How to use scientific rationality, coupled with a dose of cosmic perspective, to navigate our tribal divisions on gender, race, politics, and religion during holiday dinners.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Family Constellation” is a pseudoscientific therapy in which the “quantum energy” of the family and relatives of the patient (dead or alive) manifests itself. Created in Germany, it became popular in Brazilian courts of law as a way to ease family disputes. The practice systematically blames women for refusing to submit to their male relatives.

Event Location

Skyview 5

Presented by

Natalia Pasternak

David McRaney will talk about how, in the process of writing a book about the science of why it’s so hard to change people's minds, he changed his own mind about how minds change. In this talk, you'll not only learn what works when it comes to persuading, debunking, and challenging conventions to disagreeing well, you'll learn why it is vitally important to understand why some of us saw that photo of a dress as black-and-blue and others as white-and-gold (because it answers a whole of questions about how much of modern discourse can seem impossibly polarized).

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

David McRaney

Although the main research focus of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths was the development and, where possible, testing of non-paranormal explanations of ostensibly paranormal experiences, we have also over the years devoted considerable time and effort to directly testing paranormal claims. This talk will present an overview of these investigations including claims of psychic ability and mediumship, "human magnetism", dowsing, and precognition. Spoiler alert: I am still a sceptic.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Chris French

In a world increasingly polarized by differing ideologies, acceptance of scientific evidence becomes a battleground shaped not only by facts but also by the echo chambers of social and political beliefs. These insular groups and resultant identity communities cultivate selective trust in science, which substantially influence public and individual perceptions of scientific facts.

Drawing from case studies in contentious fields such as vaccines, food ingredients, and genetic technologies, this presentation explores and illustrates how ideological biases lead to the selective rejection of evidence. This rejection is further exacerbated by psychological phenomena such as confirmation bias and belief perseverance.

By shedding light on the challenges of effectively communicating science in a polarized society, this talk aims to propose strategies for bridging the ideological divide. It emphasizes the importance of fostering productive discussions on topics frequently targeted by misinformation campaigns in order to minimize far-reaching and pervasive harms to public health and science literacy.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Andrea Love

This talk will include Steven Novella, Jay Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Bob Novella, Evan Bernstein

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

When it comes to the world of magic and mysticism, do you consider yourself a believer in the unknown? Well, it may surprise you that magician and master mentalist Banachek is a devoted nonbeliever—and trust us when we say that his skepticism is absolutely a gift to the world.

Banachek's current reputation as the world's leading mentalist began when he was just eighteen years old when he and a friend signed up for a “scientific” study called Project Alpha.

For the next four years, Banachek would use his arsenal of mentalist tricks to convince the researchers at the newly founded McDonnell Laboratory for Psychical Research of Washington University that he had psychic abilities. Some of these researchers were so convinced of Banachek's “abilities” that once he revealed the truth, they still refused to change their minds.

Banachek has also partnered with multiple investigators to expose fraudulent psychics, mediums, and spiritualists who take advantage of the suffering and emotions of others for monetary gain. One of his most famous investigations was of the American televangelist Peter Popoff, whom he unmasked on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Carson in 1986.

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Banachek

Paper Session - Ray Hall Moderator Natalia Pasternick

The Sunday Morning Papers session will recognize new voices and new ideas and showcase them in the spotlight of the CSICon stage. These are people who have had success in communicating scientific skepticism, teaching critical thinking, combating pseudoscience, or furthering the mission of CSI in some new and significant way.

Click here to learn more

Event Location

SkyView 5

Presented by

Raymond Edward Hall

Natalia Pasternak