We have the extraordinary evidence!

Over at Talking Philosophy I have published a version of my TAM 2013 talk in two hopefully manageable parts. The talk was entitled: “We have the extraordinary evidence! Science, skepticism, and denialism.”

Since I never simply read a speech – even if I have a script, I always cut out stuff, reword things, add material extempore – what appears there is a reconstruction. However, my memory is pretty good, and I think it is pretty close to what you’ll hear when the talk becomes available on YouTube, courtesy of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), which is, by the way, a wonderful organisation that merits your support.

Damion Reinhardt has commented briefly on my talk in this post, in which he reflects briefly on his experience at TAM. He says: “Watch Russell Blackford’s talk when it comes out on video. The modern view of the world as free of invisible ineffable minds (souls, spirits, ancestors, gods, etc.) and other magical properties is not intuitive for most people and cultures, it was hard fought and hard won.”

My thanks, once again, to JREF, and to Jerry Coyne for the photograph on the left – and to other friends who’ve provided great photographs of the occasion. The whole convention was a highlight of my life and career; and my friends who attended, friends old and new, certainly helped make it so.