Anyway, I think part of skepticism lends at least myself to enjoy a bit of sci-fi escapism, where I can stop thinking rationally and just enjoy a good nerdy story.

Anyways, I will be there! Hope to make as many of the skeptic track panels as possible, however I have class on Thursday night and a wedding reception on Friday night so I will inevitably miss some.

What if it was a skeptic speaker (The Amazing Randi or someone) invited to give a talk at the Wochestershire Ladies Tea and English Literature Brunch?

Those ladies sitting around drinking their tea and discussing English (fictional) Literature are engaged in fantasy and fiction, but he have invited a skeptic.

I’m sure some of the attendeeds of both the Worchesterchire Tea and the Convergence Convention live in “another world” as it were, but most are engaged in recreational fiction and fantasy.

I actually know a lot of people who have that “spiritual” labele, are druids, witches, whatever whatever, but who are hard core when it comes to climate, evolution, various aspects of science, even medicine as long as homeopathy is included along side the actual medicine.

I sometimes wonder if the bigger problem is the large scale organized versions of Christianity. Not that being a druid is even a tiny bit more reality based, but it may well be less harmfull.

Anyway, allmost the people I now who participate in The Con are atheists, if I know their “belief system” at all.

So, in the end, you opening question may be kint of a dumb question. But, since it is the very first thing I thought last year when I was asked to participate, I can totally relate!

(As an aside, that’s clearly not Ducttapeman – it could be a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle, but due to the absence of a mask, I conclude it’s actually Gamera! Gamera vs. King Kong! Now that movie would be an instant classic.)

My definition of skepticism would have to include my grandmother’s advice to not believe anything you hear and only half of what you see. That is far too pithy, so I would add a few things. Be aware of common logical fallacies and the classic propaganda techniques. They got noticed and written down in books because they work. Learn how look out for them.

It is common for people to believe the first thing they hear about a subject and filter everything else they hear through that. Be disbelieving and look for additional knowledge. Try to understand the whole situation well before believing what anybody has to say about it.

Read widely and have enough general worldly knowledge to be able to guess when a given story does not cover the whole story and where supposed facts might be wrong. Do not believe that any of your assumptions about the story are true, either.

Understand historiography and the qualities of evidence. The original source who first said something is a superior reference for information than later people who quote the source in a different way. Even if the later interpretation sounds better to you, it is worthless if the original source does not support it. Physical evidence trumps opinion unless the evidence or its interpretation is questionable. People are biased and always have been.