The 2018 Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) CSICon conference is in the books. After checking in at Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport and consuming a mediocre breakfast burrito, I found myself next to Burger King with enough solitude and caffeine-based stimulation to process everything I learned. I have been to three consecutive CSICons; this one placed a stronger emphasis on treating others with respect.
I was part of it. In my talk, I discouraged stereotyping pseudoscience supporters as being unintelligent or mentally unwell. The speakers who preceded me discussed leading with caring and having sympathy toward those who insert Goop into their … lives. Massimo Pigliucci discussed the limits of science (Boudry and Pigliucci 2017). Paul Offit shared a longstanding wish that he could relive a previous event and express more caring. The amazing James Randi himself continued the theme. SI Editor Kendrick Frazier recalled a person who asked Randi about helping loved ones who believe in flim-flam. Randi’s advice was to be kind to them, because they have trouble understanding how they have been misled.
Unfortunately, people simply do not recognize the im-portance of behaving respectfully and then change their modus operandi for interacting with others. The challenges associated with creating more respectful behavior are evident at my institution, the United States Air Force Academy. Some might think it odd that an institution would care about respect when its graduates might be asked to kill people. On the contrary, the U.S. Air Force Academy cares a great deal about respect, recognizing that it can reduce unnecessary harm, facilitate a positive workplace climate, and contribute to more effective leadership. I am pleased to say that my department, the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, has played an influential role in this process, allowing me to learn from discussions surrounding this issue. Treating people with respect is also a thread that perceptibly and imperceptibly weaves through the behavioral science courses we teach.