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When I wake up I go through an abbreviated process of mourning all over again. Plainly, there’s something within me that’s ready to believe in life af...more

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Nevertheless, (Jefferson) believed that the habit of skepticism is an essential prerequisite for responsible citizenship. He argued that the cost of e...more

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Why do we put up with it? Do we like to be criticized? No, no scientist enjoys it. Every scientist feels a proprietary affection for his or her ideas ...more

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At the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes--an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or coun...more

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It is certainly true that all beliefs and all myths are worthy of a respectful hearing. It is not true that all folk beliefs are equally valid - if we...more

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The chief deficiency I see in the skeptical movement is its polarization: Us vs. Them — the sense that we have a monopoly on the truth; that those oth...more

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But in introducing me simultaneously to skepticism and to wonder, they taught me the two uneasily cohabiting modes of thought that are central to the ...more

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If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens a...more

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All science asks is to employ the same levels of skepticism we use in buying a used car or in judging the quality of analgesics or beer from their tel...more

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deluded or not, supporters of superstition and pseudoscience are human beings with real feelings, who, like the skeptics, are trying to figure out how...more

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You could just as well say that an agnostic is a deeply religious person with at least a rudimentary knowledge of human fallibility.

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Some information is classified legitimately; as with military hardware, secrecy sometimes really is in the national interest. Further, military, polit...more

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Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

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The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be ...more

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It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served...more