One of the new speaking events I’ve added recently is Mensa’s Annual Gathering in Portland, OR. I was invited by the Mensa Atheists, who apparently have at least one of my blog readers as a member (hello!).
I’m pretty excited to give my Creation Museum talk to an audience that isn’t explicitly atheistic or skeptical. They’ll probably have heard less about it than a room full of atheists, and I’m curious to see how they’ll react.
But I’m also excited to poke around a non-godless conference for a change. It looks so wonderfully eclectic. My talk is at the same time as “How to Create a Successful YouTube Channel,” “Ireland and the Grail, or: Yes, Sophie, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ is Wrong!,” “Near Death Experiences 101,” and “Space Vanguard: How Some of Us Are Preparing for a Brighter Future.” And that’s not even the oddest stuff – you should really skim the program if you have the time.
Maybe I’ll be able to get some good ideas on how to improve our atheist conferences. I was told that Mensa AG has a 24 hour game room and that speakers can get free booze all day in a hospitality room. Are you listening, TAM and Skepticon?!
In July! I live in PDX the whole year, and you decide to come here when I’m actually on vacation out of the country?! :/
>I was invited by the Mensa Atheists, who apparently have at least one of my blog readers as a member (hello!).Make that at least 2….
Sorry! I’m sure I’ll be back to Portland many more times
If you like the idea of being at a non-godless conference for a change, why on earth aren’t you doing Dragon*Con? Tons of big name skeptics are there rubbing shoulders with the cast of every geeky piece of media you can name – you’d be in heaven. Hell, I’d donate to the ‘Fly Jen to Georgia’ fund…
You also get to hang out/rest up in the green room before your talk, away from the madding crowd. See you there…
I wasn’t invited, it right when school starts, and the Fly Jen to Georgia fund currently has $0 in it :P
Derek Colanduno (of Skepticality) is in charge of Skeptrack. I’m sure he’d be overjoyed to find you a spot on the agenda if you expressed interest.
Generally not a fan of Mensa, but sounds like a fun occasion.
Jen, I spoke at the Texas Mensa convention last year on The God Virus. I was a bit surprised by how many religious people were there, especially Catholic and Evangelical – of course it was Texas. I found about half the group were critical thinkers, about a quarter were into some kind of Woo Woo and a quarter were into religion – some seriously. It was an interesting group to talk with as the questions after were generally good with some bat shit crazy questions sprinkled in for good measure. Have fun speaking to them. I will be interested to see how they respond to your talk.
If someone’s a member of Mensa, all that means is that they have a high IQ; it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re smart or clever. For example, it was supposedly a member of Mensa who believed that because the Moon’s gravity is one-sixth that of the Earth, the Apollo Lunar Module would need to be at least one-sixth the size of a Saturn V rocket: http://www.bautforum.com/showt…
With regards to all of the feminist, and sexist tone at Blag Hag lately….Please hazard a guess as to the percentage blonds in attendance….
We are very much looking forward to having you! It is a great and interesting mix of people…
Oh, there is wide and diverse range of thoughts in Mensa!