A day with the bad astronomer

I just hosted the Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait, at Jamestown College. It was great to meet him and have a chance to talk with him. I've tried to remember how long I've been reading his blog. I guess I must have started sometime in 2006. Since I had to pick him up and drop him off in Bismarck, I had the chance to talk to him for many hours. I guess when you read a blog day after day for years you feel that you get to know the person fairly well, and there really weren't any surprises. Phil is exactly what he seems to be on his blog. He was talkative, enthusiastic, and full of geekery about movies and pop culture and celebrity heroes.

We talked quite a bit about his talk at TAM 8, his famous "Don't be a dick" talk that I blogged about earlier. What I found interesting was some of the critical responses he got. Many skeptics resent the stereotype of being negative and critical, but from his comments it is clear that the shoe fits some of them. He has had people complain about and misunderstand every detail of his talk. What I found most interesting is that some people thought there was a conspiracy. I mentioned that Phil's point was reinforced by other speakers at TAM, such as Carol Tavris and Massimo Pigliucci. Apparently Phil has had comments implying that this was some plan on the part of the JREF to drive home this point. That is the same logic as conspiracy theories--you see a pattern and assume there must be some greater plan behind it. Skeptics should know better, but they can fall into the same patterns. That only reinforces the point more--everyone has some faulty thinking. Don't be a dick every time you see it in someone else. In fact, Phil had only told two people about his talk before hand.

Phil's presentation at JC was excellent. It was well attended for a JC convocation, although I always wish there was more. Why don't students take better advantage of the opportunities we have? He presented on Death from the Skies!, his second book. He was enthusiastic and funny. There were a lot of questions afterward, and a lot of people lined up to buy his book and talk to him. A year ago, when it was first suggested I get someone to talk about pseudoscience, Phil is the first one I thought of. His appeal isn't just to skeptics. I didn't want a narrow talk, I wanted something with broad appeal. Phil is good at promoting the excitement of science.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to bring Phil to JC, and to have the opportunity to get to know him better. He is a good guy. Now, who's the next skeptic to bring here?