Boobquake and "Skeptics"
Jen McCreight compares her Boobquake action to the homeopathy overdose by the Merseyside Skeptics Society.
First, taking an "overdose" of homeopathic remedies to protest their sale is like defiantly eating vegetables to protest PETA. It just doesn't make sense. Any homeopath will tell you that you can't overdose on homeopathic remedies, unless you are a diabetic.
Second, a "skeptic" is a person who has doubts. Someone who is certain is a fundamentalist. The Merseyside Skeptics Society are not skeptical about homeopathy, they are certain about it. They have the faith of fundamentalists.
I support the Boobquake because I support freedom against tyranny.
By demanding that women "dress modestly" to prevent earthquakes Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi wants to force his beliefs on others. By protesting the sale of homeopathic remedies the The Merseyside Skeptics Society are trying to force their beliefs on others. If you don't believe in homeopathy don't do it. No one is forcing you.
First, taking an "overdose" of homeopathic remedies to protest their sale is like defiantly eating vegetables to protest PETA. It just doesn't make sense. Any homeopath will tell you that you can't overdose on homeopathic remedies, unless you are a diabetic.
Second, a "skeptic" is a person who has doubts. Someone who is certain is a fundamentalist. The Merseyside Skeptics Society are not skeptical about homeopathy, they are certain about it. They have the faith of fundamentalists.
I support the Boobquake because I support freedom against tyranny.
By demanding that women "dress modestly" to prevent earthquakes Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi wants to force his beliefs on others. By protesting the sale of homeopathic remedies the The Merseyside Skeptics Society are trying to force their beliefs on others. If you don't believe in homeopathy don't do it. No one is forcing you.
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society
I still disagree. You don't have "doubts", you have certainty of the rightness of your position. Your going to great lengths to convince me that you are right does not convince me that you are uncertain.
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society
I think it's OK to be *relatively* certain once the evidence is in - in fact, it's not just OK, it's essential to progress. We once had doubts about the shape of the earth, but now we're *relatively* certain the earth is round, we have evidence of it. We have similar evidence on the ineffectiveness of homeopathy.
But as I say, we're not trying to convince people we're right, we're trying to convince them to look at the evidence, and read up on what homeopathy actually is. Based on the evidence, most people agree that homeopathy is bunk - it's the equivalent of sending people up to space in order to have them decide if the earth is round or not. Give people access to the information and the evidence, and most people will side with the science.
Cheers
Marsh
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society
No. I'm certain there is no connection between women's clothing and earthquakes. Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi is certain there is. I have no problem with that.
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society
(And by certainty, just to clarify, I mean based on current evidence - if someone produced reliable evidence that clothing and earthquakes were linked, or that homeopathy worked, I'd change my mind on either or both. That's the skeptical position - follow the evidence).
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society
"Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a practical, epistemological position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism
Doubt is often a good thing, but where a claim is factual in nature ('the world is flat', 'water has memory') then continued doubt is irrational. I still have doubt as to whether life exists elsewhere in the universe - we don't have the evidence to come to a reliable conclusion on that one. But with homeopathy, the evidence is in, so continual doubt would be irrational at this point.
Re: The Merseyside Skeptics Society