December 29th - Season of Reason Day 5 - Be Skeptical

December 29th 
Season of Reason Day 5
Be Skeptical

Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine truth. A skeptic is a person who bases conclusions on facts and evidence. A skeptic is NOT someone who refuses to change their mind. If there is compelling evidence that supports or refutes a claim, then it is incumbent on the skeptic to align their thinking with the facts and evidence. 

This is where we have a problem in our society today. Many people make outrageous claims like "global warming is not real", "the earth is flat", and "vaccines cause autism" then refuse to accept the science that refutes these claims. In many cases there is a mountain of peer reviewed, testable data that has been vetted by the smartest people in the world and these "skeptics" choose to dismiss them because they refute their strongly held beliefs. This is not science. This is wrong and can cause real world damage. One of the greatest tools a skeptic has is the scientific method. A true skeptic arranges their beliefs to match the facts that are present, not the other way around.

Today's Celebration
Challenge a long held belief that you have.

How to be Skeptic in today's digital world in 10 easy steps (taken from wikihow, full article here)
1) Inspect and critically think about the information. There are lots of people who make up stories for the sake of doing it, but few who are really talented at keeping the manufactured facts straight for any length of time.

2) Ask pointed questions, and expect specific answers. If someone tells you that they heard or read something in the media, ask when, where, and in what context. You can often go directly back to their purported sources and determine the validity of the story.

3) Check other reliable sources of information. If you have access to the Internet, search the topic and look for authentic links like university websites or other institutions.

4) Find the bottom line of what you are being told. In email circles, you will often see people try to lure you into believing information that is completely outrageous. An example would be the proverbial (almost) free laptops. Most people are automatically skeptical of these offers, but enough people fall for the sales pitch.

5) Fact check everything you hear on the news. Many news sources have a reputation for misconstruing information and being biased.
As a news consumer, be sure to write to newspapers, magazines and broadcasters correcting mistakes and demanding that they keep a certain quality of coverage. There are campaigns going on against "copy and paste" journalism and to get newspapers to cite and provide links to the original sources used in their stories.

6) Cultivate a skeptical mindset. Even in the academic world, there have been innumerable instances of accepted facts being exposed over time as ridiculous. We once thought the world was the center of the universe but skeptics disproved this accepted "fact".

7) Frequently test facts against your own reason. This goes back to listening to and thinking about what you are hearing. If someone tells you something and it sticks with you, you are more likely to accept it as fact if you hear it mentioned again somewhere else. If you don't objectively think about and aggressively fact check what everybody tells you, your arguments could be perceived as fallacious by others who have done research.

8) Test statements for yourself when it is practical. If someone tells you driving with the windows down will save gas, try it out. This may not be a good idea when some television pitchman is selling a $79.99 gadget that can be installed in ten seconds and double your mileage, but often there is little risk if no investment or potential for embarrassment exists. This doesn't mean you should believe someone who tells you poison ivy makes an excellent herbal tea.

9) Remember the results of these suggestions. The object of the requested topic is how to be a skeptic. Listening, checking, and testing will probably open your eyes and show you just how much myth and misinformation is being spread in our daily lives, and when you find this out, presto! You will become skeptical.

10) If you think that everything written in steps 1-9 is may not be true and needs to be tested by logic and reason, congratulations! You're already a skeptic!