Quick! To the pub!

Happy sceptics enjoying the not-quite-sunshine.

What do you call a bunch of sceptics in the pub?
Actually, that’s exactly what you call them. Last Saturday, the 12th of November, was the very first gathering of the Hamilton Skeptics in the Pub group, at Scotts Epicurean on Victoria St. Yes – technically a cafe, not a pub, but an assortment of sceptical beings did head to a pub for drinks afterwards.

SitP is an informal social event which is springing up worldwide. They provide a place for sceptical, like-minded, rational-thinking individuals to meet up, share ideas and have a good ol’ chat. At least, that’s what it says on the Wikipedia page. The New Zealand incarnation (see what I did there?) was kicked off in Christchurch in May 2009 by Gold, chair-entity of the New Zealand Skeptics.

There are now SitP gatherings in most of New Zealand’s biggest city centres – Christchurch, Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington, and Palmerston North – and Hamilton’s absence from that list was a sore point for me. I raised it with Gold at the latest NZ Skeptics Conference, to which he mildly asked “Why don’t you start one?”.

Fine! I will!

Fortunately, at about the same time, a fellow Hamiltonian skeptic, Leela Moses, was also champing at the bit to set up a group, so we swapped numbers and arranged a time to meet. We set a time and a place and put them on our Meetup site, and Gold arranged a road-trip from Wellington – he has attended the first SitP meeting for every group so far. We managed to get something published in the local rag, the Hamilton Press:

WARNING: the sceptics are coming to a pub near you. A radical cohort of the type of people who like to ask questions, don’t take popular explanations for granted and defend their opinions on the basis of rational inquiry supported by evidence, is to launch its first public gathering.

On the day, Leela and I turned up to Scotts bursting with anticipation. How many would we get? We wandered through the cafe to the garden bar out back that we’d asked to use for the event – there were already two sceptics, milling around waiting for us. As we pulled up chairs and tables, two more arrived. Then one. Then another two. Then Gold, with a couple of people in tow from Wellington. All up, we had about 16 people attend our first get-together, most of whom I didn’t know. I had some wonderful conversations and discovered some real sceptic-y gems, for instance, the Skeptics’ Annotated Bible, which is well worth a look.

The first meeting was a real success, I’d say. Leela and I have decided to have the next one at a local bar called The Bank, and it will be on the 3rd of December. We’re toying with the idea of a theme and adding a bit more structure, but more on that when we get to it.

It feels good to be doing something for scepticism in Hamilton.