austroscepticus

Really, I am.

There are dozens of excellent blogs about skepticism and critical thinking out there. Why another?

Do we need yet another skeptic to be critical of know-nothing politicians and celebrities, UFO sightings, conspiracies, uncritical journalism, homoeopathy, so-called psychics, astrology, New Age medicine, anti-science and Creationism?

To be honest, I think we do. Although, like I said, there are already many fine Skeptics doing Amazing (pun intended) work, but it should not be their burden alone. Critical thinking needs promoting. Especially in these times where the people are swamped continuously with fear mongering, alarmist propaganda and plain false information. Not that this were something new but teh Internets and television, great sources of information they may be, make it very easy for frauds and snake oil salesmen to prey on the weak and needy and allow hoaxers and conspiracy theorists to spread their misinformation.

By running this blog I hope to achieve a few things. I wish to improve my own thinking by re-evaluating my own beliefs (not in the religious sense) and preconceptions, and I am sure there is much to do there. Although I am not really prone to falling into the numerous woo-woo traps, there are some things I should examine from a different angle. And of course I hope to get some satisfaction by helping others, I’m not entirely unselfish you know?

This is not about debunking. This is not about saying that the supernatural does not exist. This is not about proving that God doesn’t exist. This is about looking at the claims from every angle and make conclusions based on evidence. Hard evidence. Real evidence. Scientific evidence.

One more thing: I am not a particularly big proponent of political correctness. I’ll adhere to it by and large, but in some cases I find it a limitation having to tip-toe around a topic because it might offend someone. If some white supremist in a talkshow says African American instead of using the N-word it surely is PC, but only in pretence. Everybody knows what he really wants to say. Not that I endorse this kind of racist talk, but I hope you get my point

Plus, how far could you go with political correctness and similar models? How about, say, sacrificing free speech by making it illegal to criticise religion, no matter how offensive or violent that particular belief system might be? Do I think I should respect that system? Hell NO!