As a skeptic, whenever I see an article on something science-y that looks a little too good to be true, my radar goes up. More often than not, what I’ve read isn’t true, or at the very least, none of the findings have been independently verified.
Skepticism
No, It’s Not Religious Discrimination
I thought I would continue the discussion, via blog with Gretchen over at Skeptic Review on our perspectives of the incident that occurred in Houston at a Hilton Hotel Starbucks and the Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA).
Religious Discrimination Toward Non-Believers?
I saw a tweet over the weekend in my timeline that had me start asking some questions about civil rights. The tweet concerned the ex-Muslims in Houston that were asked to remove the t-shirts they were wearing or leave the premises of a Starbucks located in a Hilton hotel.
What is a “Freethinker”?
I’m fairly certain that as an atheist, I’ve met very few that declare themselves as Freethinkers that actually are. Its a popular term with those declaring themselves atheists and humanists, and of course, it makes anyone declaring that one of the Kool Kids, but how many out there making that declaration actually are freethinkers?
The Supreme Court and Judicial Temperment
I’ve been hearing and reading a lot about Judge Bret Kavanaugh since President Trump nominated him last evening to replace Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. I’ve seen a lot of the here we go again types of articles, focusing on his religious belief and that he would be the 5th vote on the court to overturn Row v. Wade if it ever came up before the court.
Knowing Who Your Friends Are
Imagine this: You and a group of friends go out to dinner at a nice restaurant, on your dime. The dinner seems to go well, but you notice that during the dinner each of these people politely excuse themselves from the table for a moment. The next day, you discover that each of these friends during their brief absence from the table were tweeting horrible things about you. How would you react? Would you ever invite these same people to dinner again? Would you be able to trust them in any situation not to stab you in the back?
Vaccination: If You Love Your Children, You Will
Do you ensure that your children are properly vaccinated? Do you have friends or family members that either don’t vaccinate or that don’t place a priority on having their children vaccinated? I’ve been thinking about this the last few days based upon a post from my friend Damion.
Would You Ever Again Trust a Liar?
Would you ever trust a liar again once that person was exposed? I’m not referring to a white lie where someone says something that is harmless, but a lie that has consequences for another person or group of people?
(Don’t) Listen and Believe
There’s been a lot of blogging recently on the Redford/Stollznow agreement taking a look at those that perpetuated the allegations against Radford and their sudden silence over the apparent fact of Stollznow retracting those same allegations.
Skepticism and Ideological Purity
Skepticisim has a problem. It’s become ideologically polarized. Ideology is not necessirly a bad attribute, but when it affects a person to the point where they refuse to even listen to a dissenting point of view, then it is toxic, especially to those claiming to be skeptics.
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