Joey enthralls everyone with his tall tales.
I want to thank everyone who came out last Tuesday for our inaugural skeptics in the pub meeting. There were about 20 people who showed up, which was overwhelming. I am very encouraged that even here in Calgary, a very conservative, religious city, 20 people want to meet and talk about skepticism on our first go! I look forward to doing this again very soon and can’t wait to see the turnout. You can find our flickr page here, and I’ve included some of the images, taken by Mr. Peter Olson, in this post. (If you don’t want your image here, or on Flickr, let me know)
Joey, Shayla and I arrived somewhat early, and to be honest I was expecting a somewhat lackluster turnout (though I was very excited even at that prospect). I’m sure we’ve all seen how it goes - it’s very easy to RSVP on Facebook with little intention of actually showing up. We were expecting about 18 people based on the RSVPs we saw.
Anita is making sure everyone knows just how skeptical she is.
I figured about 10 people would show up, and by the end of the night there might be 5 of us still there. Boy, was I ever wrong. Before I was even half way in to my first beer there was a dozen people, and almost everyone stuck around right till the end.
I think between the several groups we split into we must have covered several dozen topics - skeptical and otherwise - and while I can’t speak for everyone, I think for the most part we all had a great time. From ghosts, to religion, to why there is no money in skepticism, to the JREF, to CFI, to comic books, movies, music, you name it. It’s amazing how you can put 20 strangers in a room together (with some refreshing beverages) and end up with some of the best conversation you’ve ever had, on the most diverse topics.
Eric searches for just the right word.
Demographically, I have to say that the typical skeptical individual stereotype is woefully out of date. There might have been a time when these types of meetings were all old, white men with PhDs and Master’s Degrees, but I think the internet has done away with all that. Based on my experiences from Tuesday, and at TAM6, the average skeptic can be anyone. Among us were university students, graduates, drop outs, trades people, educators, blue collar workers - basically just what you might expect in any mostly random group of people. Skepticism and secularism are definitely on the rise, and thus, so is the diversity of people who find themselves identifying with these groups.
Dan and Cait just noticed something really interesting outside.
If anyone out there is interested in starting up their own Skeptics in the Pub event in their city I have some simple advice for you. Just do it! I never would have imagined that it could be this easy. There are a few simple steps to follow, but once you get these figured out, it’s a piece of cake.
- Decided you want to have a Skeptics in the Pub event. (This is the most difficult step)
- Pick a place
- Tell some people
- Show up.
If we can do it here in Calgary and have 20 people on our first night then there is nothing that should stop anyone. Get out there and get active!