Skepticism for Dummies

Published on 2019-01-01 by Mohd

I love skepticism. I am a skeptic. I value critical thinking. Lately, it seems people conflate skepticism with just being argumentative.

Being skeptical of vaccinations for instance just makes you look like an idiot. Skepticism is almost a negative term, I think in today's society. I think skeptics are looked down on, and viewed somewhat as nutjobs. I think the number of flat-earthers and moon landing hoaxers and 9/11 hoaxers and deep state believers really give skepticism a bad reputation. When in reality, skepticism is just a fancy term for critical and rational thinking. Not taking everything said by granted and tracing facts back to verifiable, corroborated sources is critical thinking, rational thinking, and skepticism.

Skepticism is not merely the denial of widely held beliefs.

A lot of YouTube commenters think that they are somehow on a superior grounding because they hold a contrary position. Believing that the Earth is flat for instance may give some the illusion of uniqueness and superior intellect. Whereas everyone else blindly and sheepishly follow the mainstream norms, these enlightened individuals have ascended to the real truth. It becomes an integral part of their identity.