Tiffany Day Tells All – The Skeptic Zone Interview!

I’m going to tell you a little behind-the-scenes info about this blog. I’ve been getting at least five searches every day for:

“Tiffany Day”

“Tiffany Day Skeptic Zone”

I suspect this has something to do with the mention of ‘the world’s hottest skeptic‘ (which, if you listened to the New Year’s episode, is in fact revealed to be Dave The Happy Singer).

Therefore, there is clearly some misunderstanding going on and it is best to clear up exactly who Tiffany is and why people are so interested in her.

She’s on the right of the picture, by the way. I know this, because there are t-shirts for sale featuring her at the Skeptic Zone Zazzle shop. Which is what Richard Saunders is wearing, on the left of the picture. Just in case you’re confused…

So – without further ado, I contacted Ms Tiffany Day, busy over in Sydney with her classes in astronomy and sessions intellectualising for the ‘Think Tank‘ – and got the low-down on her views about education, astronomy, podcasting, contributing to skepticism and its future.

What role did astronomy play in your teen years (before entering uni)?

I was always fascinated by the stars and space as a young girl, and as a teenager I started reading up on it a lot more. Dad subscribes to so many different science magazines, that there was always a sound supply of reading material lying around the house. I guess I’d have to blame dad, as he’s always been quite interested in astronomy himself, and really encouraged my interest in the subject while I was growing up.

I used to watch a lot of space documentaries on cable TV as well, and the mystery involved in exploring and understanding the universe always appealed to me. I remember when I’d start discussing astronomy with my friends in high school, they never really seemed as interested in it or amazed by it as I was, so it was always something that I kind of kept to myself.

Drinking skeptically in the Think Tank for sure! Richard Saunders and Dr. Rachael Dunlop are always so much fun to be around, and I love getting together with them at the club to record the Tank over a drink or two. I feel really lucky to have been given this opportunity to get involved in the podcast; I’ve met so many interesting people as a result of it, and I’ve been learning a lot about skepticism and how to respond to pseudoscience and the paranormal etc. It’s just a lot of fun, and so refreshing to spend time in a crowd of like-minded people. That’s the best part of all.

Well I’d have to admit that Richard Dawkins is a great hero of mine. I only started reading his books and watching his films/lectures a couple of years ago or so, but he really inspired my love for science, just in general. There are a lot of people out there who love to attack and dispute evidence and critical thinking, and I think it’s really important to speak out against that – which is also why I enjoy contributing to the Skeptic Zone so much. Dawkins really motivated my passion for science, which ultimately contributed to my decision to act on what I felt passionate about – astronomy.

I only decided to drop what I was doing and go to university last year, and it’s the best decision I’ve probably ever made in my life. Learning is a worthwhile gamble; it’s never too late to study something that you’re passionate about, and something that you feel is important. I feel science is absolutely vital to our future evolution as a species, and I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be doing with my life than contributing to that in some way. I also love Carl Sagan and Dr Phil Plait a whole bunch.

I just hope that it keeps growing in popularity, especially with the younger generation. Like I said before, there are a lot of people out there who are attacking critical thinking, which only works to the detriment of everyone. If skepticism can become popular with the younger generation, then anti-science can only become increasingly unpopular as time goes on – and that would be a wonderful thing. I don’t know that many young kids are exposed to skepticism as much as they might be to, say, psychics and the paranormal, so I hope that changes.

I think the best way to start getting involved (for adults) would be to come along to some skeptics social events. It’s a great way to meet people and chat, and there’s always something interesting going on! At the last Skeptics in the Pub in Sydney, we had a bunch of people bending spoons with their minds – and tearing phone books in half with their bare hands! Or, of course, you could just start listening to the Skeptic Zone (www.skepticzone.tv) to find out more about what’s going on in the skeptic world.

I’d love to play a vampire! Any vampire. I absolutely love vampire movies, such as Queen Of The Damned, Interview With A Vampire, the Blade series, Twilight, the Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series… everything!

Actually, if I had to pick one, I’d probably have to say I’d love to play the vampire Lestat in Queen Of The Damned the most. Granted it’s a male role, but I’m a pretty big fan of heavy metal music (although not solely), and I couldn’t think of a more awesome combination than being able to be a vampire and a famous rock musician. Although, the vampires in Twilight are pretty damn awesome as well – I wouldn’t mind playing one of them either.

Vampires are the coolest science fiction characters of all, in my opinion. Imagine all the things you would see, if you could live forever? And fly. And run really fast. And be really strong. Ah, if only I could be a real vampire… *sigh*.

Tiffany Day has also provided some additional footage of herself, when filming at the beach for the Skeptic Zone.

Tagged as: astronomy, Education, gender, interview, picture of Tiffany Day, Podcasting, Queen of the Damned, Richard Dawkins, Science, skeptic, skeptic zone, Skepticism, Sydney, Tiffany Day, Tiffany Day Skeptic Zone, Twilight, vampires, video of Tiffany Day, women, women and skepticism