Mainstream skepticism is for the most part what could be called cargo cult skepticism. The term comes from the practice of ritualistic acts by indigenous peoples. These acts involved the mimicking of the behaviors of colonizers in the hope that […]
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“Principles of Curiosity”[1] is a documentary by Brian Dunning and Ryan Johnson. Brian Dunning is the “skeptic” who was sentenced to 15 months in prison for committing wire fraud[2]. Fraud in this context involves stealing from others by way of […]
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A few years ago the great “skeptic” Michael Shermer publicly committed a hasty generalization fallacy[1]. In his tweet he said: ‘Sandy Hook truthers (as bad as 9/11 truthers) vandalize memorial, taunt victim mother claiming it was a “hoax.”‘ What he […]
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This April I was excited to finally be contacted by a mainstream skeptic podcast inviting me to be on their show. I had contacted just about every such podcast and radio show I could find. The rest either ignored me […]
Continue reading »A good way to understand the difference between pathological skepticism and healthy skepticism is to look at it in terms of how the skepticism is based. Pathological skepticism is based on faith. Healthy skepticism is based on evidence. Evidence in […]
Continue reading »On November 12 Steven Novella wrote an article on what he believes pseudo-science involves.[1] In the simplest terms though, pseudo-science is anything presented as science when it is not. Here is the single actual characteristics of pseudo-science: 1 – Pseudo-science […]
Continue reading »Imagine a violent neo-nazi skinhead spewing profanity-laced anti-Jewish statements on a Jewish Holocaust remembrance forum. Internet trolls are a serious problem. Putting it simply, Internet trolls are people that deliberately post offensive comments on-line with the sole intention of upsetting […]
Continue reading »Several months ago I’ve had a very disturbing revelation. I used to think I was a true skeptic but now I know that I’m not. I’m not sure it’s even possible for anyone to really be a true skeptic. This […]
Continue reading »If you’ve ever wondered if there is something fundamentally wrong with mainstream skepticism, the mainstream media and society in general you only have to look at how the term “conspiracy theory” is used. This phrase is composed of two terms […]
Continue reading »On November 12 Steven Novella published a review of Deepak Chopra’s follow up article about what Chopra calls “The Rise and Fall of Militant Skepticism”.[1] Novella characterized Chopra as “intellectually superficial and careless, more interested in propping up his particular […]
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