Session Topics

Given the breadth of skepticism (and science and medicine as well!) there should be no shortage of topics, covering not only introductory material, but also niche and cutting-edge subjects as well. But most importantly, do a talk on a topic that is important to you!

= Collections of topics =

Here you will find hundreds (if not thousands) of topics, each of which can be approached from many different angles.


 * Thousands of interesting questions to explore on the Skeptics Stack Exchange
 * Bob Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
 * The Rational Wiki and Skeptic Wiki
 * Wikipedia categories: Cryptids, Conspiracy, Paranormal, Pseudoscience, Superstitions, UFO Culture, Hypothesis Testing, Logical Fallacies, and Cognitive Biases.
 * James Randi's An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
 * Snopes Urban Legends
 * BarCamp's Recommended Sessions
 * The Skeptic Report covers a spectrum of material
 * See also Skeptical Inquirer Online, 29 years of Skeptical Inquirer DVD, CSI's Skeptical Briefs newsletter and Skeptic Magazine's Reading Room
 * Jim Lippard's collection of Critiques of Skepticism


 * Wikipedia's list of unusual articles
 * Bent Spoon Magazine - a skeptical magazine for the true believer
 * The Skeptoid podcast has explored hundreds of topics of interest to skeptics
 * Fortean Times magazine has explored the weird since 1973

= Miscellaneous topics =

Each region has its own unique phenomena and strange claims. These should be on the short list of anyone looking to tackle a challenging topic for a skepticamp presentation. But as can be seen below, topics can stretch far and wide...


 * Investigations of local paranormal or cryptozoological claims
 * The Filter Bubble - as a bias that we skeptics must be aware
 * Cognitive Biases A Visual Study Guide
 * A Code of Conduct for Effective Rational Discussion
 * An introduction to the user-driven conference
 * Basics of Modern Skepticism
 * Pareidolia
 * Skepticism vs Denialism
 * Methodologies of denial
 * Conspiracy Theories
 * A Tour of Logical Fallacies
 * A Tour of Cognitive Biases
 * The positive side of cognitive biases
 * Detailed exploration of a specific fallacy or bias
 * The Paradox of the False Positive
 * Critiques of Skepticism
 * Pseudoscientific products at your local drugstore and supermarket
 * Consumer scams against senior citizens
 * Pseudoscience in High-end Audio products
 * How to lie with Statistics/Charts/Graphs
 * Anti-vaccination and anti-fluoridation activities in your region
 * Creative Commons Licensing and how it can give skeptic lit and media greater reach
 * Magical thinking in the martial arts
 * Deconstructing an Urban Legend
 * Baseless fads in public education (Brain Gym, etc.)
 * Woo in veterinary medicine (pet acupuncture, etc.)
 * Demonstrate a dowsing test protocol
 * Image processing artifacts and techniques of photomanipulation
 * Travel scams
 * A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
 * Shame Them versus Try and Win Them Over
 * The Monty Hall Problem
 * Skepticism is not atheism
 * Exploiting a cognitive blind spot
 * The Crackpot Index
 * How to combat the negative effects of your cognitive biases
 * Poe's Law
 * Look to your own profession or your favorite hobby for ideas where you employ the tools of skepticism
 * Propose a regional auto tour of skeptic and woo-oriented sites, describing the itinerary
 * Investigate and present upon the different ways that people stumble upon the value of critical thinking and skepticism
 * The value and limitations of Occam's/Ockham's Razor
 * A visit to your local metaphysical fair
 * The Baloney Detection Kit
 * The Null Hypothesis and UFO claims
 * Skeptical Inquiry versus Debunking
 * The value and limitations of an informed consensus
 * At what point does a maverick researcher become a crank?
 * An examination of ghost-detection tools
 * An examination of energy-based healing claims
 * Claims about 'Orbs' and how to reproduce them
 * Drake's Plate of Brass
 * Principles of the American Cargo Cult -- the beliefs that make bad argument
 * Bigger numbers trick your mind into buying
 * What does randomness look like?
 * What's the difference between skepticism and critical thinking?
 * Benford's Law
 * Death by Powerpoint - on the limitations and abuses of presentation slides
 * The Wason Card Problem
 * Hume's Maxim
 * Spinoza's Dictum
 * The Backfire Effect in Debunking
 * The Royal Touch
 * Einstellung effect - predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner
 * Morgan Robertson and Titanic; Kennedy/Lincoln assassination similarities; Texas Sharpshooter fallacy
 * Apophenia - bad things come in threes, law of large numbers, etc.
 * Devil's Advocate - attempt to persuasively argue a position with which you disagree. Don't do it half-hearted. Go all in.
 * Why Augustine thought that astrology was nonsense
 * Dissect argumentation style. People usually stick to what works. Ask what's right and wrong.
 * How the philosophy of science has evolved in past few decades
 * A taxonomy of high pressure sales techniques
 * The use and abuse of the Null Hypothesis - does it apply to nebulous, ill-defined claims?
 * Are some numbers illegal? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo19Y4tw0l8
 * Base Rate Fallacy - it's prevalance and damage http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/06/finding_sociopa.html
 * How thought-terminating cliches propagate cognitive dissonance
 * The "Invited Inference" - where people believe magicians to be "truly psychic"
 * How do rumors start, propagate and morph into what people accept as fact?
 * Regression towards the mean & regression fallacies - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_toward_the_mean
 * When the lottery reaches a prize of $X million, is it worth playing when compared to other investments?
 * Toulmin Model of Argumentation
 * The peril of justifying belief in miracles and test results for rare diseases - http://www.aeonmagazine.com/altered-states/dont-believe-in-miracles/
 * Coincidences and the Baader-Meinhof phenonmenon
 * Falsehoods programmers believe about: gender names addresses time more time geography
 * Abilene paradox
 * Gell-Mann Amnesia effect
 * (add new ones here)

= Non-traditional presentations =

Note that the skepticamp format supports non-traditional talks as well. We've seen demonstrations of Therapeutic Touch, skeptic trivia contests, collaborative talks, presentations by paranormal investigators and skeptic-themed music performances.

Sessions on non-skeptic topics might work, provided that they are well thought-out and adapted to the audience. If you are unsure, talk to the organizers of your event to see if they think it'd fit.

= Reaching out =

Don't hesitate to look outside the skeptic community for presentations that would be of interest. See the Nine Steps to Organizing document for more details on this important topic.