Phil Plait new president of JREF

[salvorhardin]

For anyone who might have missed it, James Randi announced that the "Bad Astronomer" Phil Plait will be the new president of the James Randi Educational Foundation. This is really exciting news as we all wondered who Randi would pass the torch to. I can't think of a better person for the job than Phil.

I have a big announcement to make:

James Randi has offered me the position of President of the James Randi Educational Foundation. I am extraordinarily honored, and I have accepted this duty.

Wow. Just writing that seems incredible to me.

If you want the official news, you can read our press release. That tells you the facts. It gives you a taste of all this, but I want you to get the flavor.

You see, James "The Amazing" Randi has always been a hero of mine.

I’m not alone there, of course. At every one of Randi’s conferences, I see people approach him rather sheepishly, or in awe, or just, well, amazed. And they say these great things: Randi changed their lives. Randi taught them how to think. Randi showed them what the world is really like.
More at Phil's blog: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/08/04/randis-big-shoes-to-phil

[realisticphish]

1. Phil Plait was my intro to skepticism

not randi, not shermer; i agree, i can't think of anyone better. He's well spoken, funny, smart, and a great balance of hard core skeptic and mediator. Maybe not Carl Sagan, but he's a good one to pass the torch to

[salvorhardin]

2. For me it was Sagan, although a healthy dose of Asimov, Heinlein and other SF greats didn't hurt

But it was Sagan that made me call myself a skeptic. And I see Phil treading (trodding?) close to the path walked by Sagan. He's nowhere near as abrasive and caustic as Randi, plus he has a good deal more patience with people holding un-evidenced beliefs. So I'm really pleased with him taking over as foundation president.

[realisticphish]

3. sagan was before my time

i mean, i was aware of him vaguely, and i had seen a few episodes of cosmos, but it wasn't until college, after his death, that i really got into skepticism (though Demon Haunted World is one of my favorite books).

i'll be interested to see what Phil does with the post, other than make Wil Wheaton a fellow

[salvorhardin]

4. Oh my gosh

I hadn't even thought of that. Wesley Crusher promoting skepticism. Can you see it now? You "sense" the presence of a "loving" life force, Counselor Troi? Oh, please, come off it. John Edward has a better routine than that. What're ya going to say next? That you sense the life force's name begins with "s"?

Of course, then he'd get everybody stuck in a warp bubble, but you can't have everything.

[realisticphish]

5. perhaps ghosts

are caused by faulty dilithium crystals


and, serious note, he already is a skeptic. He has a pretty good blog, actually

[salvorhardin]

6. Oh, I know

I've been reading Wil Wheaton's blog for quite a while.