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Did you know that tea partiers sometimes use that quote to refer to atheism? Being able to look past having deities is a mind too-open 8)

This is simultaneously the most hilarious and painful thing I've endured for months.

I'm actually planning on making a thread about it tonight (possibly tomorrow if I'm too far behind with this work).

:D
Why is the dichotomy [which is false - it is a genetic thing as much as we chose to find hot women hot] false iyo? is it for my reason and thus you agree with me and I am awesome?

Thanks

I'm skeptical that most people recognize the value of skeptical inquiry. I'll have to think on that. I think you'd have to define it more for me. Anti-vacc people are skeptical in sense (a conspiratorial one). They have a type of skepticism that leads them to not believe any evidence as they are skeptical of anything that isn't their preconception.

In reality, they are the type of "skeptics" that the major of people think actually skeptics are. They blindly follow a dogma and question everything else. People would view someone like me as being dogmatically against eastern medicine or religious belief, but the reality is that I just follow the evidence.

I've been embarrassingly unskeptical pretty much my entire life. I was a deep believer in various bits of the paranormal even years after I'd lost my faith. I was skeptical in non-religious areas, but I'd not learned to apply my skepticism to everything. It's too easy to be selective and even skeptics usually have a pet non-scientific thing they get attached to.

I've grown much more skeptical and independent in the last few years. Pretty much everything throws red flags to me. I love Bullsh*t! as a skeptical show, but man does it ever send off alarm bells not only due to their libertarian bias, but just the way they will sometimes appeal to emotion (low tactic) or other logically fallacious things where they are playing by the same (crappy) rules of the opposing side. Sometimes I personally feel like they've weakened their argument by resorting to such methods, but realistically they are being smart to appeal to an audience that normally wouldn't listen to a skeptical message with their nudity, vulgarity and humor.

I feel confident only when I'm seeing red flags in things that I agree with. Sure a lot of paranormal and pseudoscientific stuff makes me sick, but I feel reassured with myself personally that even listening to detractors (SGU and the like) I feel personal red flags popping up. I think that's the hardest thing for skeptics... to keep it turned on when they are hearing what they want to hear.

Yearg: definitely! I was not trying to argue that skepticism is easy or that everyone can readily do it. I know you weren't arguing against me, but my point is that, intellectually, almost everyone recognizes the value of skeptical inquiry. But because most people don't do it (because it is so counter to our desires), they instead simply pay it lip-service while just sticking to their whims.

And yeah, supernatural stuff is cool. When I was a kid I really wanted to believe ghosts were real, just because ghosts and paranormal stuff are so damn cool (this was when I was like 8-12, when I was already skeptical about god and religion, but I was ok with that as they were much more boring).

The problem for skepticism is how counterintuitive it is to us. Our brain learns to recognize patterns which leads to paraedolia. We think we can believe what we see. We also tend to lock in on something we believe and continue to believe it even if the face of overwhelming evidence. Not just "some scientist said", but real, personal evidence. People can't shake their conceptions. Then you've got confirmation bias... etc. Our brain is just "made" to rage against skeptical inquiry.

I know I'm not telling you anything new, but it's even hard for those who are skeptics to be skeptics. It is a skill based on a broad toolset and you have to actively employ it constantly not to fall into the traps of how our brains are wired. So with it difficult even for those who try... how much harder is it for those who couldn't possibly give a sh*t any less?

Socially skeptics appear ostensibly to be curmudgeons who want to debunk and are hideously closed-minded. I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it either. People like to romanticize ideas about paranormal crap or ancient, mystic medicines. They don't want to be told not to and they view it as an attack from people who either are douchey or they turn into conspiracy theorists who assume there's someone trying to cork the bottle for monetary gain.

:D
I should rant about my parents' obsession over Chinese medicine. Drives me crazy. Just eat right and exercise like I am doing; gosh.

I saw this guy on The Colbert Report a while ago, where he was on the "for" side of marijuana legalization. Wow, this guy is great... and not because of his pro-pot stance, but because he's just so damn... honest. I guess that's a bad thing in a politician.

smurfing miracles how do they work

What do you mean you can't tell what I'm doing? We're laughing at a mind-bogglingly random and stupid statements. I doubt it was a market plot; I think they really are this dumb.

And an interview which came out the day I made this entry is not old news.

:D
I can't tell what you are doing in your post, but i stopped caring about ICP after um...turning 20 (which is far older than you'd expect but whatever). So when I found out about miracles I was pretty shocked but intrigued. Then I realized it was a marketing ploy (likely) and went on my merry way.

ps: old news

I'm pretty sure a university's healthcare counts as healthcare. So this shouldn't change anything, though it's not going into effect until 2014, anyway.

I wonder what my situation (no personal insurance, but pay a health fee to university, and effectively have all doctor's visits paid for) would be in the current scenario.

YouTube - Insane Clown Posse: not fans of ZJ

So on topic.

I think I've read the "smurf the mom" quote at least 20 times now, and it still makes me laugh.

Shlup: speechless in awe at the utter brilliance, right?

I throw myself overboard for 1) being the captain of a smurfing yacht 2) inviting those two douchebags.

I smurfing love ICP. :')
Their words of wisdom never cease to amaze.

My brain is now full of f**k. Thanks...