| The Amaz!ng Meeting | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | science, skepticism, and atheism |
| First held | 2003 |
| Organizer | James Randi Educational Foundation |
| Official website | amazingmeeting.com |
The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM) is an annual conference that focuses on science, skepticism, and atheism. It was started in 2003 by the James Randi Educational Foundation. Perennial speakers include Christopher Hitchens, Penn & Teller, Phil Plait, Michael Shermer and Julia Sweeney.
Richard Dawkins and Joe Nickell appeared at the 2005 TAM 3.
TAM 4 in 2006 saw ACLU president Nadine Strossen, planetary scientist with the Voyager program Carolyn Porco, MythBusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage,[1] The Skeptic's Dictionary author Robert Todd Carroll and Nobel laureate Murray Gell-Mann.
TAM 5, held January 18, 2007 – January 21, 2007, included regulars Michael Shermer, Penn & Teller, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Wiseman, MythBuster Adam Savage, and Phil Plait. Also presenting were Eugenie Scott, Peter Sagal, Neil Gershenfeld, Nick Gillespie, John Rennie, Lori Lipman Brown and Margaret Downey. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone also made an appearance.
The 2008 TAM 6 meeting was held at The Flamingo in Las Vegas from June 19 to 22. Speakers included Neil DeGrasse Tyson (the keynote speaker), PZ Myers and Richard Saunders, all of whom debuted at this TAM, and regulars such as Phil Plait, Penn & Teller and the cast of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast.
On February 2, 2009, JREF President Phil Plait announced that TAM 7 would take place from July 9 to 12 of that year. He also announced TAM London, the first ever TAM held outside the US, which took place on October 3–4 of 2009.[2]
On November 28, 2009, Australian Skeptics in conjunction with JREF announced "TAM Australia" would take place from November 26 to 28, 2010 at the Sydney Masonic Centre, Sydney, Australia.[3]
TAM 8 took place from July 8 to 11, 2010 at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In addition giving the keynote address, Richard Dawkins hosted a private dinner for James Randi and 20 guests. Other speakers included the hosts of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Roy Zimmerman, Phil Plait, Simon Singh, evolutionary scientist and contrarian Massimo Pigliucci.[4]
The second London meeting, TAM London 2010, took place from 16 to 17 October 2010.[5]
TAM 9 from Outer Space took place July 14 to 17, 2011 at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The keynote presentation on July 15 by Neil DeGrasse Tyson was preceded by a popular panel discussion "Our Future in Space" featuring Tyson, Bill Nye, Pamela Gay, Lawrence Krauss and moderator Phil Plait.