Global Atheist Convention 2012

[zebra363]

This convention was in mid-April, but I was so distracted by the House final arc after I got home that I never got around to posting about it. Now I'm trying to clean off my desk in preparation for the end of the financial year and I want to put my notes away

Comments

[isiscolo]

This sounds so very cool! I wish there was something like this around here.

I know the US is a relatively religious place, but it always startles me when this is pointed out, because my friends, my family, my co-workers (I'm a physical scientist) and the circles I generally move in are all atheists.

I am entertained that I have a somewhat appropriate icon for this comment.

[zebra363]

my friends, my family, my co-workers (I'm a physical scientist) and the circles I generally move in are all atheists.

That sounds good! As far as I know all of my US relatives are at least somewhat religious. I'm everlastingly grateful to have been born into the "religion is child abuse" branch of the family.

I know more religious accountants than I'd like - maybe conservatism wins out over logic. In my natural hoofcare line of work, hardly anyone is involved with organised religion, but many are into "energy healing" and so on, which I think is just as crazy. I'm waiting for one of those people to be able to demonstrate better health for themselves or their animals than people who aren't into it! I always have to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "If this works, why haven't you fixed this? And this? And this?"

It took me a while to work out that those must be meatballs!

[isiscolo]

I guess I should not have assumed you are familiar with The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster...

[zebra363]

I recognised the spaghetti, just not the meatballs!

[shayheyred]

Completely apropos of nothing, just wanted to tell you that Sherry Rae's wool is currently being dyed, preparatory to being turned into a hat for yours truly. My friend the spinner admired the wool and is making the hat for me, so yay!

[zebra363]

Excellent! My mother has made quite a few beanies from her fleece.

[emma_in_oz]

How much did it cost? What group organised it? Am thinking of the constant troubles of Swancon - could be a model?

[zebra363]

$310 for the Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, with lunches, morning and afternoon teas and Friday night drinks and canapes included. The food was interesting stuff like Asian pancakes and rice paper rolls, not just sandwiches. Venue was the Melbourne Convention Centre. Run by a volunteer group of I think they said 12 core people from the Atheist Foundation of Australia.

Having mostly professional speakers and a professional convention venue with reminders about when sessions are due to start (with bells like at the concert hall) probably make a lot of difference to things happening on time.

[bluebrocade]

I so want to go to an Atheist convention. I joined the AAI mailing list after reading your 2010 report. Looks like this one was fabulous.

[zebra363]

I hope you make it to one! I love just being part of the audience and looking at my fellow attendees (I suppose I should say talking to, but I actually mostly just look!) as much as listening to the speakers.

I know there are several conventions in the US each year, though I think none as big as this one. The organising committee deserves every credit for making an event like this happen in Australia.

[bardiegrub]

Some very interesting points. Thanks for the recap.

[zebra363]

You might have liked the meditation half of the Sam Harris talk - Mark did.

If that statistic that only 50% of mainstream Christians are not against homosexuality is right, you clearly have plenty of work ahead of you! I perhaps naively assumed there was less resistance than that.

[bardiegrub]

I think that stat is hard to understand without knowing how they counted Christians. If they mean regular church-attenders that might skew towards evangelicals. I don't think most 'Christian-by-default' people have much of an issue.

Also need to know what they mean by 'against homosexuality', i.e. what precise question did they ask and how did people interpret it. Most people aren't either ho-yay or burn-the-sinners but somewhere in the middle and usually shifting around on different aspects of the question.

And yes, I probably would have liked the meditation.