I remember when the Skeptiko forum used to promote critical discussions among proponents and skeptics! Those were really exciting times. Now with all the skeptics chased off, this forum is dead as a door nail!
Hey brooke, speaking for myself, I'm still around, been lurking, but I've been pretty busy with other things so haven't been posting.
I think the last big debate was about QM interpretations - that doesn't seem too long ago? Didn't have much on actual math but really that's about the level I think a layperson can discuss, and the people really involved in that one had to read through papers on science & philosophy of science and flip through books.
There's only so much time and money anyone can put into something like that.
I hope to get back to that discussion - it was extremely time consuming though! I hope to come back to that topic - when I have more time.
Personally I'm not sure how useful the data debates were...maybe just awareness of what papers are out there? Seems like examining data is something you do on your own or via some actual course work?
I completely disagree here. Well, not that doing a course isn't great, but its not practical for many of us (work, kids, etc.). Reading on one's own is better than not reading, but especially for lay people there is a great chance of not fully understanding a lot of it, or having suitable background knowledge to really evaluate it.
Maybe some people can do it, but personally, to really understand these concepts and papers I find it very helpful to talk about it with others. Preferably with at least one person in the group who knows their stuff, but even in absence of that I think you can make more progress in really getting into it with an in depth discussion.
I'm talking about serious, detailed discussion here though, getting into the finer details of the papers, working through the various sections with arguments and analysis, asking questions, challenging each other, putting their interpretations to the test and being willing to stick with it. Benefiting from each other's ideas.
That's not everyone's cup of tea - and as you've pointed out, those kind of discussions take a lot of work, and most members either aren't interested or don't have the time for it. That said, you only need a handful who do want to put in that time and effort to have regular, stimulating discussions!