Earlier, when a reader had sent me a news article about psychics, I privately thought to myself, "That seems like such old-fashioned skepticism." I'm not sure where I got this notion, but certain kinds of nonsense just strike me as pertaining more to the previous generation. This includes: psychics, clairvoyants, bigfoot, UFOs, ghosts, water dowsing, etc. Sure, some people still believe in these things, but they have largely fallen out of favor when compared to, say, the 70s. Skeptics feel like they're beating a dead horse; I feel like they're beating a dead horse.
On this note, I'd like to link to an an essay featured on Skepticality, the official podcast of the Skeptic's Society (also in pdf form). Skeptic Magazine editor Daniel Loxton talks about the goals and future of the skeptical movement. I found it both sad and inspiring, though people with a more normal sense of emotion might not feel the same way. I highly recommend listening to or reading it. (Thanks to Aardvarchaeology for the link.)
In brief, Daniel thinks that we should stick to the basic goals of skepticism, though the individual topics may change as different kinds of bunk go in and out of fashion. Of particular interest is that he thinks we should not link skepticism with libertarianism, humanism, or atheism. On this point, I agree. There may be noticeable overlaps, particularly with atheism, and there's no hiding that fact, but skepticism is a distinct concept from the others. I would hate to see anyone barred from skepticism just because they don't agree with a particular viewpoint that is common among the movement.
The essay also inspires me to debunk homeopathy in the future (however few readers I have). Daniel points out that this is one piece of bunk that has come into favor, despite being one of the most egregious examples of nonsense out there. Damn it, that makes even me angry.
Friday, November 2, 2007
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