In science, if an idea is not falsifiable, it is not that it is wrong, it is that we cannot determine if it is wrong, and thus it is not even wrong.
Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons. - Michael Shermer
Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons.
- Michael Shermer
Humans are, by nature, pattern-seeking, storytelling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns whether they exist or not. - Michael Shermer
Humans are, by nature, pattern-seeking, storytelling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns whether they exist or not.
Anecdotal thinking comes naturally; science requires training. - Michael Shermer
Anecdotal thinking comes naturally; science requires training.
Myths are stories that express meaning, morality or motivation. Whether they are true or not is irrelevant. - Michael Shermer
Myths are stories that express meaning, morality or motivation. Whether they are true or not is irrelevant.
The whole point of faith, in fact, is to believe regardless of the evidence, which is the very antithesis of science. - Michael Shermer
The whole point of faith, in fact, is to believe regardless of the evidence, which is the very antithesis of science.
In science , all conclusions are provisional, subject to new evidence and better arguments, the very antithesis of religious faith. - Michael Shermer
In science , all conclusions are provisional, subject to new evidence and better arguments, the very antithesis of religious faith.
Skepticism is not a position; skepticism is an approach to claims, in the same way that science is not a subject but a method. - Michael Shermer
Skepticism is not a position; skepticism is an approach to claims, in the same way that science is not a subject but a method.
... In a free society, skeptics are the watchdogs against irrationalism - the consumer advocates of ideas. Debunking is not simply the divestment of … - Michael Shermer
... In a free society, skeptics are the watchdogs against irrationalism - the consumer advocates of ideas. Debunking is not simply the divestment of …
Religious faith depends on a host of social, psychological and emotional factors that have little or nothing to do with probabilities, evidence and l… - Michael Shermer
Religious faith depends on a host of social, psychological and emotional factors that have little or nothing to do with probabilities, evidence and l…
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