CSICon's current format stems from 2011, but similar conferences by CSI (until 2006 known as CSICOP, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal) go back as far as 1983, when the first was held at theState University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY).[3] The second international CSICOP conference, themed "Paranormal Beliefs: Scientific Facts and Fictions", was held atStanford University in 1984. The third, the first European CSICOP conference, was held atUniversity College London in Britain, themed "Investigation and Belief".[4]
Throughout the 1980s, the European readership of theSkeptical Inquirer was increasing, while CSICOP membersJames Randi andPaul Kurtz were visiting several European countries to help found national skeptical organizations with their own magazines. In 1989, the second European CSICOP conference occurred inBad Tölz,Germany, co-organized by theGWUP and also known as the 1stEuropean Skeptics Congress. It was followed by the formation of theEuropean Council of Skeptical Organisations in 1994, that would henceforth host international skeptical conferences in Europe.[5]
Subsequent CSICOP conferences were always held inside the United States. These included the First World Skeptics Congress at SUNY Buffalo (1996), "That’s Entertainment! Hollywood, the Media, and the Supernatural" with the Council for Media Integrity inLos Angeles (1998), "Science Meets 'Alternative Medicine'" inPhiladelphia (1999) and others.[4]
Around 2005, the CSICOP conferences that were on average held every year and a half, usually at a major American university in conjunction with the relevant faculties such as physics, psychology and philosophy, went into a seven-year hiatus. According toKendrick Frazier, the organization struggled with its leadership, focus and future perspective, prompting amongst other things the 2006 renaming from CSICOP to CSI, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. In the meantime, the annual skeptical conference inLas Vegas,The Amaz!ng Meeting run by theJames Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), started to fill the gap and grew larger every year.[6]
Bill Nye received the "In Praise of Reason" Award at CSICon 2011.CSI, CFI and CSH gathered at the joint CFI Summit inTacoma, Washington in 2013.2016 CSICon logo
When CSI stabilized in 2011, it held its first newly styled CSICon inNew Orleans,Louisiana.[6] At this first CSICon,Planetary Society presidentBill Nye was presented with the "In Praise of Reason" Award for his efforts in science communication with shows such as "Bill Nye the Science Guy" and later series and lectures.[7] Bill Nye is a frequent speaker at the conference, with speaking slots in 2011 and 2013. He also attended the conference in a non speaker role in 2018.[8]
In October 2013, CSICon 3 was held as part of a larger CFI conference, including the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH), called the CFI Summit inTacoma, Washington.[6] This combined congress was an experiment, as some people likeRay Hyman andDaniel Loxton feared or argued the goals and focus of skepticism and humanism differed too much from each other to be discussed at a single conference.
On the other hand,Ronald A. Lindsay andEddie Tabash defended the decision of a joint conference, andSusan Gerbic wrote afterwards she was "completely impressed" by how well the two camps overlapped (citing thecreation–evolution controversy as the most important common ground), and "have to work together".[12][13] In June 2015, again a joint CFI conference was organized under the banner "Reason for Change", with almost 500 people attending. Frazier opined that "[s]cientific skepticism and secularism/humanism blended fairly seamlessly" inAmherst, New York, the headquarters of CFI.[1]
After the last installment of The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2015, Las Vegas was chosen as the location for CSICon 2016 to fill the void.[14][15]
There are active efforts to bring more students to CSICon, such as by Oregonians for Science and Reason (O4SR) which in 2016[16] and 2017[17] gave three scholarships that included conference fees, travel, hotel and food costs.
AtThe Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) theIndependent Investigations Group (IIG) organised a tribute toJames Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At CSICon 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organised another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I’m always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I’m in a forgiving mood at the moment. I’m frankly very touched. I’ll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."[18]
Hundreds of new attendees to CSICon from the 650 person audience. CEORobyn Blumner "There were impactful and thoughtful talks but also plenty of humor". According toBarry Karr the highlight for him was watching James Randi in conversation with Ray Hyman, James Alcock and Ken Frazier "discussing the founding of CSICOP (now CSI) and the dawning of the skeptic's movement. I am not sure how you can top a line-up like the one we had,... we certainly going to try next year!"[19]
OneSkeptical Inquirer article covering the 2018 conference profiled volunteer Scott Romanowski, who also volunteered atTAM,[20] while another noted a large number of first-time attendees, and included interviews with several of these people from around the world to gain perspective on what they experienced.[8]
For the 2019 conference an effort was made to lower barriers for younger people to experience CSICon to encourage skeptical inquiry amongst a demographic largely absent from skeptical conferences.[16]Susan Gerbic,Mark Edward,Kenny Biddle, John Anglin, Ron Lee andStuart Vyse visited theCoral Academy of Science to talk to students shortly before and during the conference. The Skeptic community rallied around the cause and more than $4,000 was donated which paid for 16 students and 2 teachers to attend.[21]
The cancellation of the conference in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic led to an online series of lectures entitledSkeptical Inquirer Presents. These sessions included presentations by well known figures in the skeptical community and opportunities for viewers to ask questions.[22]
From 2016 onward, following the end of The Amaz!ng Skeptic conferences where they first took place, CSI started having its own Sunday Morning Papers Session: fifteen-minutes presentations pertaining to a wide range of topics that are typically not otherwise discussed. They are self-described as "an opportunity for anyone with specific expertise to lend their skills to the [skeptical] movement", provided the proposals pass vetting, which requires them to be well researched. For this, they should "contain citations, introduce new data and analysis and discuss successes in media outreach", and all assertions must be rooted in evidence. Grassroots skeptics's credentials are furthermore checked to see that they match the content of their paper proposal.[15][34]
Skeptical Inquirer columnist Rob Palmer wrote an article titled, "So, You Want To Speak At CSICon?" which describes his experience of applying for and being accepted as a speaker for the 2018 Sunday Morning Papers Session. The article is aimed at those who are "considering submitting a proposal for the chance to address the conference – or are even just curious as to what the application experience is like."[35]
^abFrazier, Kendrick (2020). "From Fantasyland America to the Fabric of Space and Time".Skeptical Inquirer.44 (2). Committee for Skeptical Inquirer:8–17.
^"CSICon 2020 Conference Postponed for a Year; Online Lecture Series Replaces It".Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York:Center for Inquiry. September–October 2020.
^Unlike the 2013 CFI Summit that incorporated CSICon 3,[10] "Reason for Change" was not officially named a "CSICon", although CSI again co-organized it.[6] Instead, it was dubbed "A CFI Conference", while the 2016 CSICon in Las Vegas has been ranked the "4th".[25]
