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Old 28th January 2013, 03:25 PM   #1
rustypouch
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Why I am no longer a skeptic

http://subversivethinking.blogspot.c...no-longer.html

A friend's grilfriend posted this on facebook, so I thought I'd share.

I could probably spend a week trying to address all the strawmen and other fallacies...
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Old 28th January 2013, 03:31 PM   #2
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Why I am no longer a skeptic I'm having a mid-life crisis. Fixed that for him.
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Old 28th January 2013, 03:34 PM   #3
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Why I decided being simple-minded is easier.
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Old 28th January 2013, 04:06 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by rustypouch View Post
Quote:
All skeptics are neoliberals: if you do not consider yourself a neoliberal, you should not consider yourself a skeptic.

Wow, what a neojerk.

I for one did not realize "skeptic" was a permanent label, rather than just a situational way to act. When I ponder a likelihood, I am being a skeptic; when I'm reading an argument, I am being a skeptic; but when I am sleeping, I am not being a skeptic. It is a cloak I don at particular moments, not my skin.

When I am playing baseball, I am a baseball player. When I am watching television, I am a television viewer. When I am faced with puzzling evidence, I am a skeptic. I am, at times, each of these things; but at no time am I all three.

And never, ever, have I been a neoliberal.
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Old 28th January 2013, 04:14 PM   #5
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I believe the author makes a common mistake, namely categorizing skepticism as a philosophy. But it's not; it's a technique for learning things upon which to build a philosophy. As such, it's not sexist nor neoliberal nor anything else.
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Old 28th January 2013, 04:17 PM   #6
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Which one of you appointed Elevator Guy to be the spokesman for all skeptics? I have a bone to pick with you. Fess up.
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Old 28th January 2013, 04:32 PM   #7
FrederickEason
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Originally Posted by Resume View Post
Why I decided being simple-minded is easier.
To be fair, the author did not abandon skeptical thinking, he abandoned the skeptic community, which are two separate entities.
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Old 28th January 2013, 04:46 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by FrederickEason View Post
To be fair, the author did not abandon skeptical thinking, he abandoned the skeptic community, which are two separate entities.
"All skeptics are neoliberals . . . " is not an example of critical thinking. "Neoliberal thugs like Christopher Hitchens . . . " isn't either.

"What's so bad about fortune tellers . . . " is an example of simplistic thought however. It is certainly true that some see psychics and their lot as a form of entertainment, but if this fellow doesn't think these charlatans have a darker side, he hasn't done much investigation into these phonies at all.

Like I said, simple-minded.
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Old 28th January 2013, 04:47 PM   #9
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I sort of see what he's doing. He isn't stopping being a skeptic, he's just rejecting the label. In other words, this:

http://xkcd.com/774/

ETA there are a few tropes trotted out here. First there's a reference to "old white men" which means that... Rebecca Watson isn't far behind...

Sure enough there's a link a few paragraphs in to a blog article repeated her "rape threats from skeptical community" line.

I wonder if the term "skeptic" as a label is being deliberately discredited as an out-group.

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Old 28th January 2013, 04:50 PM   #10
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So, he's no longer a skeptic...

Quote:
I still have no faith in anything supernatural, mystical, psychical or spiritual. I still regard the scientific method as the best way to model reality, and reason as the best way to uncover truth. I'm no longer a skeptic, but not one of my core beliefs has changed.


So, he is in fact, a skeptic!
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Old 28th January 2013, 05:01 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by smartcooky View Post
So, he is in fact, a skeptic!
NO!!! That means by his own logic, he's also a neoliberal. That's the worst insult ever!
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Old 28th January 2013, 05:01 PM   #12
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At about the halfway point of the article I thought to myself "Is he still going?"

What did I learn? Anyone who calls themselves a skeptic is a bore (though not too boring to write over 7000 words complaining about), is white and old and male, is racist, is bogus, hates women and is a "neoliberal thug" whatever that means.

I don't know who Stephen Bond is nor do I know what his username on the Atheism Plus forum is.

ETA I took a browse of the blog. Posted items include a documentary claiming the Turin Shroud is authentic and some study suggesting intercessory prayer helps chimpanzees recover from illness, each without any commentary from the blogger. A few items suggesting that groups like Centre for Inquiry are pseudoskeptical groups of monstrous human beings. A short eulogy of Christopher Hitchens claiming that he was an "unsophisticated thinker" together with a video of him "handily losing" a debate with William Lane Craig. A claim that Richard Dawkins is a hypocrite because he states that "good" and"evil" are subjective but he called a documentary about religion "The Root of All Evil" (sic - the documentary was called "The Root of All Evil?" and the question mark changes the meaning of the title).

I still don't know who Stephen Bond is but I'm beginning to think he never was a skeptic.

Last edited by squealpiggy; 28th January 2013 at 05:12 PM.
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Old 28th January 2013, 06:08 PM   #13
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I have a feeling this guy is a political ideologue who lost one too many arguments.
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Old 28th January 2013, 06:16 PM   #14
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I was gonna be a neoliberal once, but there's a membership fee.
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Old 28th January 2013, 06:18 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by squealpiggy View Post
At about the halfway point of the article I thought to myself "Is he still going?"

What did I learn? Anyone who calls themselves a skeptic is a bore (though not too boring to write over 7000 words complaining about), is white and old and male, is racist, is bogus, hates women and is a "neoliberal thug" whatever that means.

I don't know who Stephen Bond is nor do I know what his username on the Atheism Plus forum is.

ETA I took a browse of the blog. Posted items include a documentary claiming the Turin Shroud is authentic and some study suggesting intercessory prayer helps chimpanzees recover from illness, each without any commentary from the blogger. A few items suggesting that groups like Centre for Inquiry are pseudoskeptical groups of monstrous human beings. A short eulogy of Christopher Hitchens claiming that he was an "unsophisticated thinker" together with a video of him "handily losing" a debate with William Lane Craig. A claim that Richard Dawkins is a hypocrite because he states that "good" and"evil" are subjective but he called a documentary about religion "The Root of All Evil" (sic - the documentary was called "The Root of All Evil?" and the question mark changes the meaning of the title).

I still don't know who Stephen Bond is but I'm beginning to think he never was a skeptic.
Being old, white and male I resemble that remark. But I have to laugh at the idea of grey haired men in wheel chairs being thugs.
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Old 28th January 2013, 07:44 PM   #16
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Me..Well, i just dont believe in bollox..

Sorry if i haven't got any 'intelligent debate' on this subject..

It's still all just total garbage..

Why even bother discussing this?

DB
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Old 28th January 2013, 07:48 PM   #17
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meh... that's *so* 2011... (the article in the link is a cut-and-paste from the August 2011 original in the author's blog)
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Old 28th January 2013, 07:54 PM   #18
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A lot of mischaracterization of the skeptic movement not to mention a whole lot of absurd thinking we all have the same agenda and act accordingly. Clearly he doesn't like/approve of some individuals who call themselves skeptics. D'uh, what skeptic likes what every other skeptic is doing?

Or, maybe he's just looking for attention.
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Old 28th January 2013, 08:11 PM   #19
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I think he has a crush in Rebecca
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Old 28th January 2013, 09:41 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by StankApe View Post
I think he has a crush in Rebecca
You're half right - but I suspect the crush is on himself.

Thank god there are heroes like him around to tear the scab of the sordid underbelly of Teh Skepticismssss!!!

I read the article. It's pure Sancho Panza gloriously killing a pinata of his own creation.
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Old 28th January 2013, 10:10 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Kid Eager View Post

I read the article. It's pure Sancho Panza gloriously killing a pinata of his own creation.
WOW... I read the first paragraph... then started scrolling down for what seemed like forever............................. I said **** this.
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Old 29th January 2013, 01:02 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by squealpiggy View Post
At about the halfway point of the article I thought to myself "Is he still going?"
I didn't even get that far. I thought it was starting to get tedious, scrolled down to the bottom of the page, and decided that I had better things to do with my life.
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Old 29th January 2013, 02:22 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by squealpiggy View Post
What did I learn? Anyone who calls themselves a skeptic is a bore (though not too boring to write over 7000 words complaining about), is white and old and male, is racist, is bogus, hates women and is a "neoliberal thug" whatever that means.
Oh crap. I'm 46. How many years till I can call myself a skeptic?
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Old 29th January 2013, 02:27 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by squealpiggy View Post
...some study suggesting intercessory prayer helps chimpanzees recover from illness....

How can they tell when the chimpanzees are praying intercessorarily?
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Old 29th January 2013, 02:37 AM   #25
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I didn't know I was part of a skeptic community until I read that. Yikes!

Hey, and 'we' are sexists too. No one picked that up yet. Must say I don't have that general impression of the folks round these parts but maybe there are better informed opinions about it.
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Old 29th January 2013, 02:51 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by anglolawyer View Post
Hey, and 'we' are sexists too. No one picked that up yet. Must say I don't have that general impression of the folks round these parts but maybe there are better informed opinions about it.
You chicks are always the last ones to notice.
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Old 29th January 2013, 05:34 AM   #27
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Unfortunately there is no comments section. I was going to accuse him of "mansplaining".
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Old 29th January 2013, 05:39 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by timhau View Post
You chicks are always the last ones to notice.
As is obvious from my avatar - I'm a guy.
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Old 29th January 2013, 05:54 AM   #29
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Originally Posted by Kid Eager View Post
You're half right - but I suspect the crush is on himself.

Thank god there are heroes like him around to tear the scab of the sordid underbelly of Teh Skepticismssss!!!

I read the article. It's pure Sancho Panza gloriously killing a pinata of his own creation.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s....1.5v41O4Jee1o

I've never succeeded in reading _Don Quixote_, so I'm not sure I get it, but it's not important.
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Old 29th January 2013, 06:17 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by anglolawyer View Post
Must say I don't have that general impression of the folks round these parts but maybe there are better informed opinions about it.
Don't worry your pretty little head about it, sweetie.
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Old 29th January 2013, 08:01 AM   #31
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Originally Posted by timhau View Post
Oh crap. I'm 46. How many years till I can call myself a skeptic?
Skeptics are produced in childhood. You might already be a skeptic without realizing it.

I posted a study done in Australia on how skeptics are produced.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com...248789&page=34
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Old 29th January 2013, 08:59 AM   #32
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Originally Posted by Baffled View Post
Wow, what a neojerk.

I for one did not realize "skeptic" was a permanent label, rather than just a situational way to act. When I ponder a likelihood, I am being a skeptic; when I'm reading an argument, I am being a skeptic; but when I am sleeping, I am not being a skeptic. It is a cloak I don at particular moments, not my skin.

When I am playing baseball, I am a baseball player. When I am watching television, I am a television viewer. When I am faced with puzzling evidence, I am a skeptic. I am, at times, each of these things; but at no time am I all three.

And never, ever, have I been a neoliberal.
But if you just shag one goat...
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Old 29th January 2013, 10:28 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by justintime View Post
Skeptics are produced in childhood. You might already be a skeptic without realizing it.

I posted a study done in Australia on how skeptics are produced.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com...248789&page=34
I was born old and white??? I never had a chance...
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Old 29th January 2013, 03:00 PM   #34
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Could we fix the "politicized group-think label versus reasonable way-of-thinking" issue by coming up with a term for a skeptic who is not politicized?

Perhaps paleo-skeptic?

~~ Paul
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Old 29th January 2013, 03:05 PM   #35
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Originally Posted by Paul C. Anagnostopoulos View Post
Could we fix the "politicized group-think label versus reasonable way-of-thinking" issue by coming up with a term for a skeptic who is not politicized?

Perhaps paleo-skeptic?

~~ Paul
Prove-its

Proofers?
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Old 29th January 2013, 03:29 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by Caper View Post
WOW... I read the first paragraph... then started scrolling down for what seemed like forever............................. I said **** this.
So glad I wasn't the only one. I could barely understand the first paragraph and thought maybe I was losing my mind.
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Old 29th January 2013, 04:09 PM   #37
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Originally Posted by justintime View Post
Skeptics are produced in childhood. You might already be a skeptic without realizing it.

I posted a study done in Australia on how skeptics are produced.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com...248789&page=34
WOW! I always thought that stork story was a myth!
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Old 29th January 2013, 09:06 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by tsig View Post
WOW! I always thought that stork story was a myth!

It is!
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Old 30th January 2013, 01:13 AM   #39
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Originally Posted by Baffled View Post
Wow, what a neojerk.

I for one did not realize "skeptic" was a permanent label, rather than just a situational way to act. When I ponder a likelihood, I am being a skeptic; when I'm reading an argument, I am being a skeptic; but when I am sleeping, I am not being a skeptic. It is a cloak I don at particular moments, not my skin.

When I am playing baseball, I am a baseball player. When I am watching television, I am a television viewer. When I am faced with puzzling evidence, I am a skeptic. I am, at times, each of these things; but at no time am I all three.

And never, ever, have I been a neoliberal.



...what are you, right now?

An indoor elephant breeder.
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Old 30th January 2013, 01:15 AM   #40
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I thought you was purdy cool, hitherto that baseball playing comment.
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