Program

Find out about the talks, have a look at the bios of the speakers, read their abstracts and learn about the evening entertainment program. This section also includes information on the pre-conference "Publikumstag" on May 17th (in German), including a magic performance and a "science slam", and recommended sightseeing tours.

Program 6th World Skeptics Congress, Berlin 2012

Promoting Science in an Age of Uncertainty

Guided tours and entertainment program before the congress (optional)

Wednesday, May 16 th

11:00 a.m.	Museum für Naturkunde (Natural History Museum, 15 persons)
12:00 a.m.	Museum für Naturkunde (Natural History Museum, 15 persons)
05:00 p.m.	Underworlds of Berlin: From Flak Towers to Mountains of Debris (20 persons, 90 min) Information: http://berliner-unterwelten.de/tour-2.14.0.html http://berlinskeptics.wordpress.com/berlin-bunker-tours Meeting information: How to get there
07:00 p.m.	Underworlds of Berlin: Breaching the Berlin Wall (20 persons, 90 min) Information: http://berliner-unterwelten.de/tour-m.675.0.html http://berlinskeptics.wordpress.com/berlin-bunker-tours Meeting information: How to get there

Thursday, May 17 th

08:00 a.m.

Underworlds of Berlin: Subways, Bunkers, Cold War (20 persons, 120 min) Information: http://berliner-unterwelten.de/tour-3.15.0.html http://berlinskeptics.wordpress.com/berlin-bunker-tours Meeting information: How to get there

Publikumstag

(in German; Hörsaal der Kaiserin-Friedrich-Stiftung)

13:00 – 13:15	Begrüßung (Kathrin Goldammer)
13:15 – 14:00	Bernd Harder, Florian Freistetter: Weltuntergang 2012
14:00 – 14:15	Pause
14:15 – 15:00	Wolfgang Hund: Skeptische Zaubershow
15:00 - 15:15	Pause
15:15 – 16:00	Massimo Polidoro: Paul McCartney is dead (Vortrag in engl. Sprache)
16:00 – 16:30	Pause
16:30 – 18:00	Mark Benecke: Skeptisches mit Mark

Science Slam

(in German; Hörsaal der Kaiserin-Friedrich-Stiftung)

20:00 – 22:00

Moderation: Julia Offe

Main program (Hotel Crowne Plaza)

Talks 30 min + 15 min discussion. All presentations will be simultaneously translated into German.

Friday, May 18 th

08:30 – 10:30 a.m.	Registration Welcome Coffee and Snacks Magic Shop, Bookstore (open during all breaks)
09:30 – 10:30 a.m.	Meet Leaders of the Skeptical Movement from Around the World
10:30 – 11:00 a.m.	Opening (CSI, ECSO, GWUP)

Session 1: Creationism – A Challenge to Science (Chair: Martin Mahner)

11:00 – 11:45 a.m.	Eugenie Scott: Creationism In and Outside the US
11:45 – 12:30 p.m.	Dittmar Graf: Attitudes and Knowledge About Evolution - A Comparison Between Germany and Turkey
12:30 – 02:00 p.m.	Lunch

Session 2: Creationism in Islam (Chair: Eugenie Scott)

02:00 – 02:45 p.m.	Johan Braeckman: Creationism in Europe: Facts, Figures and Questions
02:45 – 03:30 p.m.	Anila Asghar: Islam and Evolutionary Science: Contemporary Responses in Muslim Communities and Cultures
03:30 – 04:00 p.m.	Coffee Break

Session 3: Pseudoscience in Education (Chair: Gábor Hraskó)

04:00 – 04:45 p.m.	Gita Sahgal: Myths of Origin in the Classroom
04:45 – 05:30 p.m.	Kylie Sturgess: Why Can't a Teacher Be More Like a Scientist? - Pseudoscience In Education
05:30 – 06:15 p.m.	Samantha Stein: Engaging Children in Science
06:30 – 08:00 p.m.	Pre-Award Buffet (optional)

Award Session (Chairs: Barry Karr and Amardeo Sarma)

08:15 – 10:00 p.m.

Edzard Ernst, Simon Singh, Wim Betz, Luigi Garlaschelli

Saturday, May 19 th

08:30 – 09:00 a.m.

Registration

Session 4: Alternative Medicine 1 (Chair: Julia Offe)

09:00 – 09:45 a.m.	Jürgen Windeler: No Difference in Methods - Evaluating the Benefits of 'Conventional' and 'Complementary' Medicine
09:45 – 10:30 a.m.	Gerd Antes: Interventions in Science-based Medicine - Requirements on Transparency and Standardized Methods
10:30 – 11:00 a.m.	Coffee Break

Session 5: Alternative Medicine 2 (Chair: Wim Betz)

11:00 – 11:45 a.m.	Harriet Hall: CAM: Fairy Tale Science and Placebo Medicine
11:45 – 12:30 p.m.	Benedikt Matenaer: Acupuncture: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
12:30 – 02:00 p.m.	Lunch

Session 6: (Ir)rationality and Risk Assessment (Chair: Amardeo Sarma)

02:00 – 02:45 p.m.	Walter Krämer: Irrational Behaviour Towards Risk
02:45 – 03:30 p.m.	Holm Hümmler: Risk Perception and Risk Management in Companies and in Management Science
03:30 – 04:00 p.m.	Coffee Break

Session 7: Psychology and Pseudoscience (Chair: James Alcock)

04:00 – 04:45 p.m.	Ray Hyman: Psychics and Scientists - Why Competent Scientists Become Completely Incompetent When Testing Psychic Claims
04:45 – 05:30 p.m.	Chris French: Meaning and Randomness - On Seeing Things That Are Not There
05:30 – 06:15 p.m.	Tomasz Witkowski: Pseudoscience in the Teaching of Psychology
07:30 – 11:00 p.m.	Sightseeing boat trip through the city of Berlin, with dinner buffet (optional)

Sunday, May 20 th

08:45 – 09.15

Registration

Session 8: Keynote (Moderation: Massimo Polidoro)

09:15 – 10:30 a.m.	James Randi: Randi - An Amazing Life!
10:30 – 11:00 a.m.	Coffee Break

Session 9: (Pseudo)Science and Society 1 (Chair: Barry Karr)

11:00 – 11:45 a.m.	Sven Ove Hansson: Risks, skeptics and the paid pseudoskeptics
11:45 – 12:30 p.m.	Chris Mooney: Understanding Politically Motivated Denial of Reality – the Global Warming Debate and Beyond.
12:30 – 02:00 p.m.	Lunch

Session 10: (Pseudo)Science and Society 2 (Chair: Simon Singh)

02:00 – 02:45 p.m.	Simon Perry: Fighting Nonsense with Technology: A Guide to Highly Productive Skeptical Activism.
02:45 – 03:30 p.m.	Rebecca Watson: How Girls Evolved to Shop, and Other Ways to Insult Women with "Science".
03:30 – 04:00 p.m.	Coffee Break

Session 11: Magical Good-bye

04:00 – 05:30 p.m.	Massimo Polidoro (with J. Randi, R. Hyman): Houdini-Séance
05:30 - 05:45 p.m.	Closing

Congress venue

Friday - Sunday: Hotel Crowne Plaza, Nürnberger Straße 65, 10787 Berlin (directions)

Thursday: Kaiserin-Friedrich-Haus (Hörsaal), Robert-Koch-Platz 7, 10115 Berlin (directions)