Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this lecture from the Las Vegas Society of Skeptics' 2025 SkeptiCamp, Celestia Ward explores the deep connection between creativity and skepticism. Ward argues that creative observation is not a distraction from scientific thinking—but a core part of it.
Understanding how perception can be shaped, distorted, and guided helps us become better skeptics—more aware of our assumptions, more curious about the world, and better equipped to question what we think we see.
About the speaker: Celestia Ward is a public relations coordinator and a longtime editor, writer, caricature artist,
illustrator and skeptic. Since 2017, she has produced and cohosted "Squaring the Strange" a
podcast examining the mysterious and mundane. Her illustrations and articles have appeared in
Skeptical Inquirer and other skeptical and freethought publications, and she has spoken at
conferences and skeptical gatherings across the country.
In this lecture from the Las Vegas Society of Skeptics' 2025 SkeptiCamp, Celestia Ward explores the deep connection between creativity and skepticism. Ward argues that creative observation is not a distraction from scientific thinking—but a core part of it.
Understanding how perception can be shaped, distorted, and guided helps us become better skeptics—more aware of our assumptions, more curious about the world, and better equipped to question what we think we see.
About the speaker: Celestia Ward is a public relations coordinator and a longtime editor, writer, caricature artist,
illustrator and skeptic. Since 2017, she has produced and cohosted "Squaring the Strange" a
podcast examining the mysterious and mundane. Her illustrations and articles have appeared in
Skeptical Inquirer and other skeptical and freethought publications, and she has spoken at
conferences and skeptical gatherings across the country.
