Originally posted by Ridhya
Extraordinary claims requiring evidence and all that...

The fact is there ARE mafiosos and there ARE Muslim extremists so it is a very tangible thing to believe. Are there aliens/God/demons/NWO/sasquatch/matrix... who knows, certainly not anyone who claims to...

Originally posted by masonicon

Originally posted by Ridhya
Extraordinary claims requiring evidence and all that...

The fact is there ARE mafiosos and there ARE Muslim extremists so it is a very tangible thing to believe. Are there aliens/God/demons/NWO/sasquatch/matrix... who knows, certainly not anyone who claims to...

All the evidence of Extraordinary Claims are Simply Ignored even when they Plentiful

Originally posted by Amagnon
If I understand your post correctly (which is something of a challenge, I assume English is not your first language) - you are asking why are people becoming MORE skeptical?

I do not see any such trend, the world is still full of superstitions - whether its Christianity, or Islam or whatever - I don't see a trend, either increasing or decreasing.

Additionally, many of the things you put on your list tend to be either exclusive, or inclusive.

For example those who believe in god tend to believe in the devil, demons, angels and so on, and exclude aliens.

Alien believers may exclude god from their beliefs.

While personally I entertain the possibility of everything listed, I am skeptical of all of it - I look only at evidence, and even personal experience is not proof.

For example, if I saw a spacecraft land, and an ET got out and shook my hand, that would not prove to me that ET's exist - but its extremely strong evidence in support of the theory.

To put that example in perspective, I should note that I consider the existence of humanity and the universe in general to be a theory only - my life experiences and observations don't prove that even I myself exist.

If more people are becoming skeptical, then I think it is a good thing - but I don't see it.

Originally posted by Solasis
Two primary options:

1) We're becoming, on average, a lot smarter and a lot more resistant to unfounded concepts

2) We're becoming a lot more easily dupable by TPTB and Satan and all them folk.

My preferred option:

Human dogma changes over time, and we're entering a period of what Charles Fort would've called "The New Dominant" -- as all replacing dogmas should be called -- where we doubt and skepticise everything. Robert Anton Wilson would've agreed; homo neophile is becoming homo neophobe again, and a new New Dominant will arise after this one becomes universal. It's cyclical.

Originally posted by masonicon
There's skeptics that unlike other skeptics skeptical to both Gods and Aliens

Originally posted by masonicon

Originally posted by Solasis
Two primary options:

1) We're becoming, on average, a lot smarter and a lot more resistant to unfounded concepts

2) We're becoming a lot more easily dupable by TPTB and Satan and all them folk.

My preferred option:

Human dogma changes over time, and we're entering a period of what Charles Fort would've called "The New Dominant" -- as all replacing dogmas should be called -- where we doubt and skepticise everything. Robert Anton Wilson would've agreed; homo neophile is becoming homo neophobe again, and a new New Dominant will arise after this one becomes universal. It's cyclical.

There's expense when we become smarter: our ability to think for ourselves