Skepticism Test

[Heisenberg]

can you provide evidence for this qupte please? i don't want to fail the test. those are nice glasses though this guy must definitely know his shit! he's like the obama of science, and we all know how great obama is he's the first fucking black president bitches!!

There is no evidence, you have passed the test!

What up with insulting the glasses? What does it mean to be the Obama of science? Is NDT the first black scientist?

 

[Heisenberg]

An even bigger problem with the world today is that some people think that accepted scientific models are somehow reality. Can you believe there are actually people in this world that believe that time is relative?? What a bunch of whack jobs, eh?

Did I fail the test? More importantly, was the test constructed properly with no bias towards one belief over others?

Well Seedling, I do agree that we can not put too much trust in science. Only the trust that is due. I would not drive my car into a tree because the GPS said to go that way. As for the relativity comment, I'll leave that for the science section.

 

[Heisenberg]

Here is a better example.



I've seen someone share this on FB every couple weeks for about a year now, including during summer months when it wouldn't make much sense to have special education week. It is not simply an artifact left over from some well intentioned person posting during the real awareness month, as autism awareness month is April and ADHD awareness month is September. Should we check out stuff like this before sharing? When should our skepticism be expected to kick in?

I used to correct people when they would post this, after all, if they are passionate about autism or ADHD you would think they would want to know which month is set aside to raise consciousness. I have cousins who are autistic and a best friend with ADHD. It just doesn't seem right to disingenuously use the disorders to get your pic shared around. But when I spoke out I would get accused of not supporting the handicapped, or of suggesting that neither of these disorders was worthy of promotion. I would have to spend time defending and clarifying what I was trying to say. No one ever noted the mistake and took down the pic. Now days I just remove the person from my feed.

 

[ArcticGranite]

http://sensuouscurmudgeon.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/neil-degrasse-tyson-on-intelligent-design/

I was trying to speak to NDT being a skeptic of ID. I've read that one of the reasons he argues against the concept of ID thwarting scientific knowledge is because belief in ID runs contrary to the taught notion that ID is benevolent. That point I can't document. I don't know if its factual and I can't back it up with anything. But, he does argue against ID. And he does claim our habitat isn't benevolent. I think it could be argued that because one's designed intelligently, he has the wherewithall to further scientific knowledge, benevolence or not aside. I agree with him that our habitat isn't benevolent. I also don't believe the idea that ID is benevolent. Maybe I'm missing something or being circular.

 

[cannabineer]

http://sensuouscurmudgeon.wordpress.com/2012/09/22/neil-degrasse-tyson-on-intelligent-design/

I was trying to speak to NDT being a skeptic of ID. I've read that one of the reasons he argues against the concept of ID thwarting scientific knowledge is because belief in ID runs contrary to the taught notion that ID is benevolent. That point I can't document. I don't know if its factual and I can't back it up with anything. But, he does argue against ID. And he does claim our habitat isn't benevolent. I think it could be argued that because one's designed intelligently, he has the wherewithall to further scientific knowledge, benevolence or not aside. I agree with him that our habitat isn't benevolent. I also don't believe the idea that ID is benevolent. Maybe I'm missing something or being circular.

My two questions would be:
1) your phrase "because one's designed intelligently" suggests that you consider ID to be fact. Is this accurate?
2) Have there been instances of ID thwarting scientific knowledge? What exactly do you mean by that? cn

 

[Heisenberg]

"Many Justin Bieber fans are learning the hard way this week that just because you read it on Twitter, doesn’t mean it’s true. For a teenage fan of the “Baby” singer, it’s hard to know what would be worse – reading reports (later proven to be false) that your idol has cancer, or else discovering that you just shaved your head for nothing."

"Believed to be started by pranksters on the image-based bulletin board 4chan on Monday, photoshopped screenshots made it appear as if a tweet from a verified Entertainment Tonight account confirmed the news that Justin had been diagnosed with cancer and that his fans were shaving their heads in solidarity with the pop star, spreading the news via the hashtag #baldforbieber"

"Even today, five days after the original posting, tweets offering their condolences to Justin and vowing to shave their heads are still appearing, although now it’s impossible to tell who is still in the dark and who is just taking the opportunity to keep the prank going."




"No verified cases of bald Bieber fans have emerged yet, however one would expect that they would be keeping a very low profile for a while."

So there is no indication that anyone actually fell for this and shaved their heads, yet.

 

[Padawanbater2]

That ^^^ would be hilarious!

 

[ArcticGranite]

My two questions would be:
1) your phrase "because one's designed intelligently" suggests that you consider ID to be fact. Is this accurate?
2) Have there been instances of ID thwarting scientific knowledge? What exactly do you mean by that? cn

1) I don't consider ID fact- innacurate
2) Supposedly this is one of NDT's arguments.

 

[Heisenberg]

Here is a better example.

View attachment 2388074

I've seen someone share this on FB every couple weeks for about a year now, including during summer months when it wouldn't make much sense to have special education week. It is not simply an artifact left over from some well intentioned person posting during the real awareness month, as autism awareness month is April and ADHD awareness month is September. Should we check out stuff like this before sharing? When should our skepticism be expected to kick in?

No opinions? Is this just a pet peeve of mine or should we expect others to be skeptical before sharing stuff like this?

 

[Padawanbater2]

Here is a better example.

View attachment 2388074

I've seen someone share this on FB every couple weeks for about a year now, including during summer months when it wouldn't make much sense to have special education week. It is not simply an artifact left over from some well intentioned person posting during the real awareness month, as autism awareness month is April and ADHD awareness month is September. Should we check out stuff like this before sharing? When should our skepticism be expected to kick in?

I used to correct people when they would post this, after all, if they are passionate about autism or ADHD you would think they would want to know which month is set aside to raise consciousness. I have cousins who are autistic and a best friend with ADHD. It just doesn't seem right to disingenuously use the disorders to get your pic shared around. But when I spoke out I would get accused of not supporting the handicapped, or of suggesting that neither of these disorders was worthy of promotion. I would have to spend time defending and clarifying what I was trying to say. No one ever noted the mistake and took down the pic. Now days I just remove the person from my feed.

This example to me seems like something most people probably wouldn't check first. I don't think I would necessarily hold it against someone. What were the reactions to your correction like? Hostile? (wrote this before I read the second part)

On the other hand, if it was something like your blood type before you got a transfusion, most people would probably check first.

Personally, I become skeptical about something if it triggers my bullshit meter, whether it's dangerous or not, or if I'm trying to make a point about something I don't have the full facts about. Also the things that are generally accepted as truth, like mainstream news, political opinions, that type of stuff.

edit: I think I may have used the wrong word, 'verified' probably works better than 'skeptical'..

I think we should expect people to be skeptical about everything, but we both know everyone won't, and we'll be called (even have been) close minded for thinking it.

 

[Heisenberg]

This example to me seems like something most people probably wouldn't check first. I don't think I would necessarily hold it against someone. What were the reactions to your correction like? Hostile? (wrote this before I read the second part)

On the other hand, if it was something like your blood type before you got a transfusion, most people would probably check first.

Personally, I become skeptical about something if it triggers my bullshit meter, whether it's dangerous or not, or if I'm trying to make a point about something I don't have the full facts about. Also the things that are generally accepted as truth, like mainstream news, political opinions, that type of stuff.

edit: I think I may have used the wrong word, 'verified' probably works better than 'skeptical'..

I think we should expect people to be skeptical about everything, but we both know everyone won't, and we'll be called (even have been) close minded for thinking it.

Thanks for the feedback. It feels to me like many people have a knee-jerk reaction to discount skepticism when you point out their failure to utilize it. They create red herrings (like saying I don't support autistic people) to distract from their fault. To me, this lessens their intentions to begin with. IOW, how much does their sharing of the pic really mean, how supportive are they really being, if when the pic is wrong, it's no big deal. If it doesn't mean anything to share disinformation, it doesn't mean anything to share real information. I sense a pretense of caring that dissolves when it interferes with ego. It's like saying "I care about and support autistic people enough that I feel it is important to promote awareness...oh, I got it wrong?..I don't care..it's not important anyway".

 

[cannabineer]

No opinions? Is this just a pet peeve of mine or should we expect others to be skeptical before sharing stuff like this?

You'll laugh. Before I even read your post, I looked at the quote in the thumbnail and went a-Googlin'. I could find no instance of Special Education Week. I also looked up the other two, and found that they were real, but in April and September. I was all hot to post my results, but wisely read your post first. cn

 

[Heisenberg]

You'll laugh. Before I even read your post, I looked at the quote in the thumbnail and went a-Googlin'. I could find no instance of Special Education Week. I also looked up the other two, and found that they were real, but in April and September. I was all hot to post my results, but wisely read your post first. cn

Ha, well done Bear, I wish I had more friends like you IRL.

Incidentally, did the NDT pic set off any alarms when you first viewed it?

 

[cannabineer]

Ha, well done Bear, I wish I had more friends like you IRL.

Incidentally, did the NDT pic set off any alarms when you first viewed it?

I was too conditioned. I was, like, waiting for the question. Thus my first, confessional post earlier. cn

 

[tyler.durden]

No opinions? Is this just a pet peeve of mine or should we expect others to be skeptical before sharing stuff like this?

IME, anytime people have the warm fuzzies going on, they do not want rationality to come in a harsh their mellow. It doesn't matter if what they're feeling fuzzy about is completely erroneous, you'll be considered a scrooge for pointing it out. Most people place very little importance on facts or reality, and they don't choose their beliefs based on evidence as much as what makes them feel good. I usually just let the fools prattle on unless it's something very important...

 

[guy incognito]

No opinions? Is this just a pet peeve of mine or should we expect others to be skeptical before sharing stuff like this?

Just like people sending me emails about the great gas out. We are really going to stick it to em by not buying gas for a day! even though we are not reducing consumption at all, just shifting our purchases by a day. I questioned people who sent it to me, and was never offered a logical thought in return. This is why I don't use facebook or deal with people.

 

[Trolling]

Ha, well done Bear, I wish I had more friends like you IRL.

Incidentally, did the NDT pic set off any alarms when you first viewed it?

It didn't for me, I know for a fact that Neil does believe in this, it just sounds like something he would say.

 

[Hepheastus420]

... there was a test? Dude wait what? cn

My thoughts exactly.. Can I retake the test?

 

[Hepheastus420]

I'm not sure if I passed or failed. I was a bit confused. At first I read his quote and thought it was interesting. I didn't decide whether or not he was wrong or right. I just took it as his view. So to get a better understanding on his view, I decided to see what our fellow stoners here had to say about it.. Next thing you know, I'm told I failed the test lol.

I'm willing to bet money I failed since I didn't question what he said.. Or did I? I DID look for more explanations, so maybe I was a bit skeptic of what he had to say? But for what? I wonder if I would have just accepted it as truth if one of you intelligent minds agreed with him. I have brought dishonor to RIU Pshh IDK. Awesome thread heis.

And cool shades.

 

[Zaehet Strife]

I was just like.... sweet quote.

Scroll down...

Awww sweet idea!