#QEDCON is coming up soon and they still have a few tickets available

CDgYSFRWEAErQTcOn 14-16th Oct the grassroots skeptic conference, QEDCon, is taking place in Manchester, UK.

Initially started in 2011 by the Merseyside Skeptics Society, in conjunction with the Greater Manchester Skeptics Society, it has been running each and every year. It is a quite mind-expanding weekend, I can personally vouch for that.

To attend, it costs £99 for the weekend and they still have a few tickets available. If interested in finding out what will be happening, then …

  • Click here for a quick overview of the schedule
  • Click here for a list of who is speaking.

To also get a feel for the buzz that is building up, you can also checkout …

Biggest and best will be this year

In addition to the 49 speakers lined up they also have the following as well …

  • Team Spirit: Investigating the Paranormal presented by Hayley Stevens, Deborah Hyde, Caroline Watt and Susan Blackmore
  • Skeptics with a K podcast LIVE presented by Alice Howarth, Mike Hall and Michael Marshall
  • Cognitive Dissonance podcast LIVE presented by Cecil Cicirello, Tom Curry and Cognitive Dissonance podcast
  • God Awful Movies podcast LIVE
  • “Say Aaargh”: Dental Pseudoscience presented by Laura Thomason, Sarah Farmer, Martin Law, Grant Ritchey Jr. and Shaun Sellars
  • InKredulous podcast LIVE presented by Andy Wilson and InKredulous podcast
  • Workshop: Investigative Journalism techniques presented by Meirion Jones
  • Skeptics in the Pub Forum
  • Talk Nerdy podcast LIVE presented by Susan Blackmore and Cara Santa Maria
  • Screening: UK Film Premiere of “Nuts!”
  • Engaging Kids With the Wonder of Science presented by Ginny Smith, Sally Le Page, Matt Parker, Dr Karl and Trent Burton
  • Ask Dr Karl! presented by Nicola Throp and Dr Karl
  • Workshop: Learn Magic at QED presented by David Alnwick
  • The Ethics of Magic presented by David Alnwick, Eli Bosnick and Richard Wiseman
  • Screening: The Quest for Wonder presented by Trent Burton
  • Skeptical Activism Under the Microscope presented by Salima Budhani, Jamie Potter, Andy Lewis, Michael Marshall and Simon Singh
  • The March of Unreason? presented by Geoff Whelan, Max Goldman, Michael Dougan, Hugo Dixon and Michael Blastland
  • Workshop: Ask an Archaeologist presented by Paul Duncan McGarrity

If that is still not enough, then remember that it is not just about all the formal talks, it is also all about hanging out with lots of fascinating people informally as well.

Some Tips

If you are going, then here are a few tips

  • Each and every year a group of fanatical Christians hang out just outside the hotel doing their street evangelism thing. If they turn up again, wish them well, be polite, and don’t be abusive or obnoxious to them. Remember that they are being sincere. It might also be tempting to engage them in conversation, but I guarantee that it will not be productive, you will have far more fun hanging out inside.
  • While attending QED, don’t hang back, go up to complete strangers, introduce yourself and get to know people. You might feel a bit shy about doing that, but remember that they probably feel exactly the same.
  • There is a formal dinner with a limited number of tickets, so if you are going to QED but don’t have a ticket for the dinner on Sat, don’t worry, many others also do not – I don’t. Most others head off to the nearby all-you-can-eat buffet, then afterwards head back for the evening entertainment. Look out for a signup sheet.

I did once simply wander up to some folks hanging out in the lobby and asked them where they were going for dinner. When they told me, I said “Great, I’ll come with you”. Later, as we chatted over dinner, I asked which talks they had gone to and got blank looks. Apparently they were nothing to do with the conference, I have invited myself out to dinner with a few folks on a city break in the hotel.

Notes & Pictures from Previous Years

Tweets

A slightly out of date tweet, then are now down to just 6 tickets left.

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