SAGAN/END OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE AT CALTECH
Michael Shermer
I would like to invite everyone to attend our upcoming end of the world
conference that will feature a one-hour CSPAN special on Carl Sagan with
his
two biographers.
On Sunday, December 12, from 1-5pm, the Skeptics Society is hosting a big
end
of the world conference that will include a one-hour CSPAN Book TV special
on
Carl Sagan, featuring his two current biographers William Poundstone and
Keay
Davidson. Here is a brief synopsis followed by a longer descriptive one:
1. Apocalypse When?: The Millennium, the End of the World, and Y2K,
featuring
Dr. Stephen O'Leary from USC, Alex Heard, Executive Editor of Wired
Magazine,
and Jon Fullinwider, Y2K compliance expert for Los Angeles County.
1:00-3:00pm
2. Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, a CSPAN Book TV special featuring
Sagan's two
biographers--William Poundstone, author of Carl Sagan: A Life in the
Cosmos
and Keay Davidson, author of Carl Sagan: A Life
3:30-4:30 This event will be taped by CSPAN for their Book TV series.
Both events hosted by Michael Shermer
Baxter Lecture Hall, California Institute of Technology
No advance tickets sold. First come seating. The hall will open at noon.
Out of towners can stay at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel. 150 So. Los Robles,
Pasadena, CA. 800/445-8667 or 626/577-1000. A shuttle service will take
you
to Caltech or you can walk the one kilometer.
-----------------------------
Apocalypse When?
A Half-Day Symposium on Y2K, the Millennium, and the End of the World
By now everyone has heard the debate about when the millennium really
ends December 31, 1999 or 2000 (technically it's the latter because the
first century only had 99 years so 100, 200 . . . 2000 are the official
ending
years of each century, and 1000 and 2000 are the official ending years of
each millennium). But everyone is gearing up for 1999 as the final year of
the century and millennium, with planned events ranging from $2000 a night
rooms in Las Vegas hotels over the final weekend (three-night minimum), to
militia/end-times groups holed up in bomb shelters armed to the teeth
awaiting the apocalyptic end of the world.
What will actually happen? Skeptics know that no biblical disaster will
befall the planet, but what about Y2K? Are Americans as prepared as we
should
be? What about foreign countries who have no Y2K compliance codes in
place?
Even if computers don't bomb, will their owners explode in a mass hysteria
of
runs on banks and supermarkets? Will gun-toting extremists fire on a
neighbor
coming to borrow a cup of sugar? Will religious fanatics hasten the
apocalypse through terrorist bombings here and abroad in volatile areas
like
Israel? What should each of us do in preparation? Should we stockpile
cash,
food, and water (if, for no other reason, because everyone else is doing
it
and we don't want to be left empty handed)?
To answer these questions, and more, we've assembled a panel of experts to
give us the inside track on what is going on in the world of millennial,
cult, and Y2K studies, and to offer their thoughts on the meaning of the
millennium.
Dr. Stephen O'Leary
Professor, University of Southern California, Co-Founder, Center for
Millennial Studies, Author of Arguing the Apocalypse
Millennial Cults, Apocalyptic Fears, and Extremist Reactions to Y2K
Stephen O'Leary, one of the world's leading experts on apocalyptic and
millennial groups, will present his 20 years of research, including his
latest project of surveying thousands of millennial web cites.
Jon W. Fullinwider
Chief Information Officer, Los Angeles County, Y2K Compliance Expert
Preparing for Y2K: What Has Been Done, What You Should Do
Jon Fullinwider, the Y2K compliance expert for Los Angeles County, will
present what we know and do not know about what might or might not happen
when the clock rolls over at midnight, December 31, and what his office is
advising people to do for proper preparation.
Alex Heard
Editor, Wired Magazine, Author, Apocalypse Pretty Soon
Travels in End-Time America: The Lighter Side of the Millennium
Alex Heard, an award-winning writer for Wired, Outside, Slate, the New
Republic, and the New York Times Magazine, will present the lighter side
of
the groups he personally met and interviewed in his research for his book
on
the apocalypse.
------------------------------------
OTHER UPCOMING SKEPTICS SOCIETY EVENTS INCLUDE:
Sunday, January 16, 2000, 2:00pm
Dr. Robert Zubrin
ENTERING SPACE: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization
Baxter Lecture Hall
Sunday, February 13, 2000, 2:00pm
Dr. Jan Harold Brunvand
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE: The Amazing World of Urban Legends
Baxter Lecture Hall
--------------------------------------
Michael Shermer
Publisher
Steve Gray
Michael Shermer wrote:
>
> UPCOMING SKEPTIC CONFERENCE ON CARL SAGAN AND THE END OF THE WORLD
> I would like to invite everyone to attend our upcoming end of the world
> conference that will feature a one-hour CSPAN special on Carl Sagan with
his
> two biographers.
>
GRAY:
I suggest adopting a viewpoint on the Millenium, the Y2K problem,
etc.,
borrowed from those Fundies who predicted the Rapture on a certain date,
and when that date arrived and apparently nothing happened, proclaimed
that the Rapture had indeed occurred at the predicted time, but nobody
noticed.
I therefore suggest that the turn of the millenium and the Y2K
event
(and I might as well throw in the Rapture) has ALREADY OCCURRED BUT NO
ONE HAS NOTICED!
This eliminates the feared multiple computer failures as well as
the
argument over when the millenium ends. So don't scoff. It's not often
that a major problem can be eliminated by decree.