The Skeptic FAQ

reply to post by EsSeeEye


This thread is mistitled. It is not the skeptic faq, it is the believers' faq. You are not a skeptic and probably never were. But like another thread with skeptic on the title, he isn't a skeptic either. But I'm sure you use that title to gain more attention and to possibly start flame wars.

I'm a real skeptic. If I was to start a skeptic faq thread, it would be 180 degrees from yours and would address real skeptic topics and questions.

You are a believer and your alleged faq proves this.

Ever hear of truth in advertising?

You can be a skeptic and still believe, you know. I believe in UFOs, but still discount a ton of sightings, 99.95% of crop circles, and 90% of abduction cases.

You are a debunker - someone that doesn't believe no matter what proof is provided. You go into any new sighting with the mindset that it's impossible, and start to find reasons for why it's impossible. That's different.

reply to post by EsSeeEye


EXCELLENT POST!

At the risk of sounding obvious. We need skeptics I myself have been guilty of letting my passion get the better of me and choosing to believe what I want to be true. Hey, passion is good but for the sake of balance skeptics are a must and we have a common goal, the persuit of truth so what if our paths are different.

S&F to you

Originally posted by FoxBenBen
reply to post by jclmavg

 

Im kind of put off that you have insinuated that one needs a phd or degree in order to discuss the possibility of alien life... just because someone hasn't gotten a piece of paper from a school ...doesn't mean they can't read the same books or have the same ability to understand what you took in school....jesus most universities are over packed and its up to the individual to make something of what they are taught...there are alot of people in the world that can keep up qwith whatever ( insert education here). the only difference is that they didnt pay thousand of dollars to learn it...but the phd bs away cause its sounds liek your saying...i have a phd and i know more than you... when in all reality its was the educated who proposed the earth was falt in the past...its was a guy with a phd who stated that life can only exists with carbon....and tehn low and behold someone makes a discovery that blows all that hogwash out of the water...please don't go here...cause the guy who cleans your plumbing could also be smarter than you

Hello friend,

This was not directed at me, but I feel the need to reply before I meander on to another thread.

On the surface your idea has merit. Certainly, anyone with the ability to read can read 'A Brief History of Time', but to get anything out of it on your own, you need to have studied for quite some time. You will need to have not only taught yourself advanced sciences, but also how to apply that knowledge to the raw information being read in the book. University helps with that.

University teaches people how to think BEFORE it puts you on a path of study.

There are a lot of smart people on ATS that do not know how to think critically. Almost without fail they do not have an advanced degree.

As for all of Science's missteps I have to point out that its ability to be proven wrong is Science's single greatest safeguards. Unlike other ways man has decided to try to go about figuring out his surroundings, Science demands that every explanation be mathematically proven as to be repeatable or repeatably verified.

Who are making the largest percentage of scientific discoveries?

Classically trained academics.

This is verifiable data.

Also, about the person that cleans my plumbing..

She is far more educated than I am.. in cleaning plumbing. I wouldnt have hired her if she didn't know about plumbing. Is this to say she doesn't know anything about anything else? Nope. But if she isn't a classically trained academic with years of experience, I don't really care about her opinion all that much. I will chat with her if she has an interest, but that doesnt mean I am going to be citing her as a reference.

Warm regards,
Furbs