Thursday 30 August 2007

Skeptical of skepticism

Biological Research Institute for Theoretical Evolution Studies (Brites) interview skeptic Stan Scanton,
Dr. Stan Scanton, skeptic of all things spiritual for the last four decades, has announced that for the last three years he has been secretly skeptical of skepticism.

...

Should a skeptical scientist be skeptical of skepticism?

"Certainly," said Stanton. "Otherwise you are not a true skeptic. You are, at best, a selective skeptic. Scientists skeptical of only spiritual matters are selectively skeptical. Most people who call themselves skeptic are selective skeptics. People of faith who are totally skeptical of all science are also selectively skeptical. Pure selective skeptics learn nothing."

How is it that pure selective skeptics learn nothing?

"I'm a statistician, and it's like Type I and Type II errors in statistics. There is a tradeoff. If you want to learn nothing, be 100% skeptical. If you want to believe everything, be 100% gullible. True learning comes from an intelligent judicious tradeoff between the two."
The article is hilarious including the before and after photos. In fact many of the photos on the site are priceless.

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