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Skeptics in 1986 - Video

Richard

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Richard
Joined
Aug 1, 2001
Messages
960
Odd.. I posted this a few hours back and it seems to have gone?

anyway....

Blast from the Past. Who is the strange looking, youthful skeptic?
None other than Barry Williams. Yes, before he applied for the role of
Mr. S. Claus, Barry appeared on radio and TV in the 1980s. Here is a
classic video clip from the 'TODAY' show from 1986. Barry talks about
the Australian Skeptics Journalist prize, the aims of the organization
and other fun and games. What were the skeptics talking about 20 years
ago? Click here and find out!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QQaEAZuGyg
 
Will we ever make progress, or are we just patching the damn with bubblegum? :(
 
Without people like Randi, Sagan etc., many of us would not now be skeptics and maybe in some sort of religious cult or giving our money to Hinn or going to see a quack. Yes, it's a hard road, but it's worth it.
 
Richard said:
Without people like Randi, Sagan etc., many of us would not now be skeptics and maybe in some sort of religious cult or giving our money to Hinn or going to see a quack.
Click to expand...

You've got to be kidding.
 
Richard said:
Without people like Randi, Sagan etc., many of us would not now be skeptics and maybe in some sort of religious cult or giving our money to Hinn or going to see a quack. Yes, it's a hard road, but it's worth it.
Click to expand...

T'ai Chi said:
You've got to be kidding.
Click to expand...

Well, I wouldn't go that far. But I will say that forums like this has helped me understand the weakness of anecdotal evidence and has also given me a better understanding of some of the logical fallacies.
 
T'ai Chi said:
You've got to be kidding.
Click to expand...

Nope. Not even kinda sorta.

I'll fight the temptation to give a long life story and personal testimonial, but suffice to say, without James Randi and people like him, I would be lost.

Sorry Richard, I lost perspective for a second. I thank you for putting things back in context for me. :D
 
Shera said:
But I will say that forums like this has helped me understand the weakness of anecdotal evidence and has also given me a better understanding of some of the logical fallacies.
Click to expand...

I find that much more realistic.
 
T'ai Chi said:
I find that much more realistic.
Click to expand...
Why is it unrealistic that people would be in a cult or going to psychic surgeons or Benny Hinn if not for people like Randi?

You have just been told that you are wrong. Do you still maintain that you are right?

Come on, T'ai. Join in. Contribute to the debate.
 
T'ai Chi said:
I find that much more realistic.
Click to expand...

More realistic than.....? Than the idea that some of us would be buying into Benny Hinn and all the crap Richard named? Can you explain that a little? Are you saying that no one sends Benny Hinn money, uses quackery, or believes in psychics? Or are you just saying that those people have never changed, and will never change? What are you saying, exactly?
 
Richard said:
Without people like Randi, Sagan etc., many of us would not now be skeptics and maybe in some sort of religious cult or giving our money to Hinn or going to see a quack. Yes, it's a hard road, but it's worth it.
Click to expand...

I had fallen off of the religious wagon a few years before I "became" a skeptic. Perhaps I was lucky.

I do owe a personal "thank you" to Micheal Shermer and Carl Sagan for sending me down the right roads though.
 
Rustle said:
More realistic than.....? Than the idea that some of us would be buying into Benny Hinn and all the crap Richard named? Can you explain that a little? Are you saying that no one sends Benny Hinn money, uses quackery, or believes in psychics? Or are you just saying that those people have never changed, and will never change? What are you saying, exactly?
Click to expand...

The "many of us" in

Without people like Randi, Sagan etc., many of us would not now be skeptics and maybe in some sort of religious cult or giving our money to Hinn or going to see a quack.
Click to expand...

is interesting. Any actual numbers?
 
Well, I could talk about myself and the people I have met, but that would be a testimonial. You're probably highly skeptical of testimonial evidence, as well you should be!

So you would agree with the statement, "Without people like Randi, Sagan etc., some of us would not now be skeptics and maybe in some sort of religious cult or giving our money to Hinn or going to see a quack." ? That seems to be what you're saying.

I guess I would have to say no, I do not have any good polls that would help me distinguish between "many of us" and "some of us" in this sentence.

In regards to your line of questioning, I have to ask: are you a lawyer, or is trifling dispute just a hobby for you?
 
Rustle said:
I guess I would have to say no, I do not have any good polls that would help me distinguish between "many of us" and "some of us" in this sentence.
Click to expand...

OK.

I find it odd how some people get their hair up over someone asking for numbers, especially around these parts.

Thanks.
 
Many of us... some of us. Some of us also = many of us. Yeah, OK 'some' might be a better word. The point is we rely on history and the efforts of others and the lessons we learn form those efforts. I did not wake up one morning knowing how to bend a spoon or explain fire-walking. I needed to learn critical thinking and I needed teachers. Without Carl Sagan, Randi etc., I just don’t know if I would be a skeptic. I mean it. Would I have been a skeptic if I was born in another time? I come from a long line of religious preachers (Christian). You all know of my own efforts in spreading ‘the word’ of scepticism, that energy and drive may well have been channelled into spreading ‘the word’ of the one true God or becoming a homeopath if not for the inspiration and hard work and lessons of others. Skeptical and critical thinking do not came natural to most I would say, they have to be learnt.
 
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