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 How many ways to find skepticism (weird thread)?
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Philo
Skeptic Friend

66 Posts

Posted - 01/17/2017 :  14:07:00  Show Profile Send Philo a Private Message  Reply with Quote
We all have our unique skeptic histories, how we found out about the skeptical movement, how we started to identify as skeptics, and so on.

I think the founder of this website found it via Skeptical Inquirer an awful long time ago.

Some of you might remember the first post I made at this forum, which makes me rather embarrassed: http://www.skepticfriends.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13789

Today I am a happy paying member of the national skeptic association of my country.

Have you ever thought about, that what if you didn't find skepticism by the way you did? Do you think you would have found it anyways, or would you never have found it?

I came around identifying as a skeptic while listening to the SGU (a few years after I first signed up here). It was like a lightning bolt struck me: These are my people! And it was not even the first time I listened to the podcast, I had listened to a few episodes before that. And believe me, I so much wish I had had that "lightning bolt" earlier than I did.

Something I have thought a bit about lately is, what if I had not listened to the SGU at that moment? What if the SGU had never existed? Would I ever have come over to the skeptical movement or not? If so, by what other means?

Something else: I read The Demon-Haunted World before identifying as a skeptic, and wasn't particularly impressed with it (even reading that book, widely considered the best skeptical book, didn't bring me over in and of itself). Meh, just a lot of aliens, I thought. I'm currently re-reading that book, and being steeped in the culture of skepticism, I find it a remarkable book, even though it is a bit heavy on aliens. Confusing...

I know this is kinda weird to think about, but I can't get it out of my head.

Edited by - Philo on 01/17/2017 14:07:27

Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13477 Posts

Posted - 01/17/2017 :  23:54:50   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Pilo:
Have you ever thought about, that what if you didn't find skepticism by the way you did? Do you think you would have found it anyways, or would you never have found it?

I really don't know. My guess is yes, given how I felt while reading that first Skeptical Inquirer. I was already a fan of science, which is why I bought the magazine in the first place. So my guess is I'd have found skepticism. But then, how can I know that for sure? I haven't spent time wondering about what might have been if I hadn't found skepticism. There are some what if's in life that I do think about, but becoming a skeptic just isn't one of them.

Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9688 Posts

Posted - 01/23/2017 :  08:59:11   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I have always been curious, and interested in science and technology, and in science fiction. Even during my time in the Pentecostal Church. Which I guess made me the odd man out. It was by questioning my peers in church and my own faith I took the first step out into the Light of Reason(tm). From that point and onward, I was a skeptic even though I didn't have a name for it.

I believe I found Skeptic Friends Network while searching for information on the raving lunatic who called himself "Dr. Dino" who apparently believed Adam & Eve used to ride dinosaurs like The Flintstones. SFN gave me a lot of insight, and I've called this home ever since.


Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

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