To All Skeptics of Any Subject at Any Time - Something To Ponder

So the grand date has come and passed and of course, nothing happened. Now to preface, this is not a thread about 2012, nor is about pointing the finger to believers or non believers. Please do not bring the school yard fighting into this .

As human beings we have developped technology and theories of science. Ideas and concepts to help explain to present, research the past and predict the future.

Although our advances are great, and no longer few and far between as they were prior to the industrial revolution, they remain only as ' our best guess at the time'.

Therefore I make the following declarative statement:

Anything could happen, at any time, any place, any where.

The sun could explode tomorrow.
The earth's crust could shift.
The poles could reverse.
Yellow Stone could erupt.
California could fall into the ocean.

Now of course does it mean it will happen? The statistical probability that we calculate is far from being close enough for us to worry. That however, does not mean we aren't wrong.

What we must do as a community and as humans in general is weigh the pros and cons of outcomes. We must look at the data presented to us, figure out what is plausible, what is likely and what isn't. However no scenario ( barring events we don't understand in any capacity ) is straight up impossible.

Not only must we hold this for disasters scenarios, but also in our research and development for science. Where would we be had we decided that a trip to the moon was simply out of reach and again ' impossible '?

In essence, what I'm saying is that skepticism is good, but too much of it, along with a defeatist attitude about human capabilities can and will effect the outcome of our future.

So keep an open mind, challenge each other's beliefs, but always remember that anything can and everything does happen at some point or another.

ETA: I'd like to add for believers of any given theory, please do not get upset when somebody provides you with evidence, or data suggesting you are wrong. Absorb the data and actually change your perception and belief accordingly. Blind faith in anything will always lead you to be un-satisfied with the end result.

~Tenth

Not only CAN anything happen, but, statistically speaking, over a long enough timeline, anything WILL happen. We must never forget this.

Too much skepticism results in a denial of empirical evidence, denial of history, denial of probability, denial of logic and, consequently, denial of skepticism. Too much skepticism is indeed the problem.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Thanks Tenth!! Let Common Sense Prevail!! For some it is easy to say anything can happen, the answer lies in the details. Peace!!

Science, to me, is not about skepticism.

It is about keeping an open mind to any possibility of anything at any time..

It's about eliminating probabilities of a "thing" AT THIS MOMENT.

Not about "this is X and that's all it will ever be."

The knee-jerk skeptic is NOT a scientist. He is an almost hyper-religious person dedicated to the gospel of "this is all that things are, and nothing else is possible. And if you think otherwise, you're an idiot."

Yet, then marvel when new discoveries come along, done by people that are TRUE scientists, that did not allow themselves to be subjected to the idea that "X is all there is."

reply to post by Jomina


I think science and skepticism go hand in hand.

Not only must you ask the correct questions, but you must be willing to ignore the ones that do not lead anywhere.

Neil Degrass Tyson explains it best, and I'm paraphrasing here, but questions like:

What is the square root of a dog for example, is not a valid question we should be spending our time exploring.

That's an exagerrated question I know, but you can understand where I'm coming from.

I do agree that you must be open minded enough to at least entertain any question or idea put forth.

~Tenth

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by Jomina

 

I think science and skepticism go hand in hand.............................

I do agree that you must be open minded enough to at least entertain any question or idea put forth.

~Tenth

I agree being 'open minded' is critical to learning and advancing new ideas. Science allows for debate, and also verifiable testing in order to corraborate a theory or fact. Skepticism is having doubt or nonbelief in a particular viewpoint. Denying Ignorance should require facts to be presented that refute an altering belief or viewpoint.

But that's the advantage in being a skeptic. Yeah, the world may end in some horrible fashion at any time, but if that happens, the doomsday folk won't get the satisfaction of being right and getting to say "I told you so." Everybody will be dead. If it doesn't, skeptics get to point and laugh and mock.

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
Too much skepticism results in a denial of empirical evidence, denial of history, denial of probability, denial of logic and, consequently, denial of skepticism. Too much skepticism is indeed the problem.

I have to agree with this.
For example, I've long noticed how belief in the approach of "Nibiru" was being sustained by scepticism towards the astronomical critics of Nibiru.
This was partly on the grounds that science was tainted by association with TPTB, who would seek to conceal the truth.
Thus the distrust of authority, arising out of scepticism, was dragging along with it a distrust of rationalism, which leads to gulliibility.

There are too many closed minded people, who are blatantly ignorant and refuse to even ponder that they might be wrong when presented with new information. Not everyone but some people even a lot of people simply I refuse to believe facts and evidence that might change their viewpoint. Deep down they are scared and even if they say they consider the other than they really don't, and since we react by calling other person an idiot or that they are stupid. It really is high school behavior. You see it all the time in any subject. Best thing you can be is open minded.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


I agree with you dear ToTheTenth, and disasters seldom send a calling card. Its more of a "twinkling of an eye" event. I remember the blizzard of 78 in Ohio. People were trapped in the offices or workplace for days. We all went to bed one night and woke up to 4 feet of snow and everything blowing sideways. You just never know..........

Its not a matter of if but when. I live each day as if its my FIRST and last.