Michael Shermer discusses Carl Sagan, science, pseudoscience, and the paranormal on PBS's Charle Rose, during his book tour for Why People Believe Weird Things.
Yes, it's good to ask questions. However, if you want to E-X-P-A-N-D your mind, you can take a look at the Leslie Flint Education Trust and have many questions answered that Michael is such a skeptic about. Leslie was an amazing medium - AND NO ONE EVER FOUND FRAUD IN HIS WORK- I was priviledged to attend several of Lelsie's sittings and I'm so glad - and that Leslie had the good sense to tape all his sittings gives us answers still today. Thank you Leslie!
I think that having hope for a better tomorrow is a good thing but it should be done without giving people false assurances. I think it is good to have a healthy amount of skepticism.
"It appears to be a metallic object......tremendous in size....directly ahead and slightly above .... I am trying to close for a better look." -Captain Thomas Mantell, USAF--Reporting to the tower at Goodman airforce base on a UFO they had picked up on radar and requested him to investigate. They were his last known words. Mantell's plane was later found strewn across a stretch of ground just southwest of Franklyn, Kentucky.
Got a ton more "In concealing the evidence of UFO operations, the Air Force is making a serious mistake." -Lt. Colonel James McAshan, USAF "There were orders to ship the material from Roswell directly to Wright Field by special plane." Colonel Thomas Jefferson Dubose "We heard the material was coming to Wright Field. It was brought into our material evaluation labs. I don't know how it arrived but the boys who tested it said it was very unusual". Brigadier General Arthur E. Exon
two types of skeptics; skeptics (doubting/rejecting claims unsupported/contradicted by double-blind-tested data) and pseudo skeptics (supplementing accepted claims with unsupported claims to suit their world views) the first variety are actual skeptics.
Separately: sodium and chloride are lethal, but when locked together in a molecular structure they form table salt. All poisons are medicinal as all medicines are poisonous depending on the dosage and application.
@slicingwater That's a mirage which can be photographed - not a illusion of the brain. A better example of an illusion would hearing voices or seeing something move in the corner of your eye when nothing's actually there.
"After the plane from Roswell arrived with the material I asked the base commander to personaly transport it in a B-26 to Major General Mc Mullen in Washington DC. The entire operation was conducted under strictest secrey.The weather balloon explanation for the material was a cover story to divert the attention of the press". Brigadier General Thomas Dubose. Commanding Officer of Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Affadavit 09/16/01
"Look, I have a pension to worry about. I have a family to take care of, and they told me to just back away from this entirely or else." Astronaut James Irwin Apollo 15, to Frank Stranges after backing out of speaking at a 1976 UFO convention where he was going to "inform us of the strange things he saw on the surface of the moon."
@c6gunner This was in 1997. It was even harder to get away with atheism in the public arena. He had the responsibility towards the magazine and the Skeptic Society. I think it was fine he washed his hands of the religion topic. You can watch his more recent debate with Deepac Chopra "Does God have a Future?" where he doesn't have a problem with calling himself atheist :)
To infer a pattern, it's basically a part of us but the pattern can be bigger and more wide spread than our current scope of understanding. The chaos theory. Here's one, we don't have alien visitations but a complex system run by A.I with a myriad amount of machines of all sizes and shapes keeping an eye on the planet and transmitting real time data back to who ever set them up here.
"I don't know if he's ever sided directly with aetheism." I've heared him side with atheism at least once here on YT. However I don't recall the name of the video it was some discussion table and the subject was about Freud and religion. I recall him saying something like: "why am I the atheist here. Seriously you should try it, you'll be fine." to a believer who was more skeptical than the others.
"When the long awaited solution to the UFO problem comes, I believe that it will prove to be not merely the next small step in the march of science, but a mighty and totally unexpected quantum leap." Dr J Allen Hynek Former Director, & Chief Investigator of the US Air Force Project Blue Book. "I know other astronauts share my feelings.... And we know the government is sitting on hard evidence of UFOs." Colonel Gordon Cooper Mercury Nine, Gemini Five Astronaut
@GerryLand2010 a) scientists: there is no evidence for a creator, why no serious scientist would make that claim b) creationists: there is no creationist actually knowing anythign about evolution, so they don't see that possibility. another explanation is, that "god created everything as it is" kinda contradicts evolution. it is possible, that there was a god starting evolution, but it's impossible that it is the judea-christian god, as it demands an "as-is"-creation.
@Atheist603 No, they are not the same. Agnostics believe that there is no way to prove that God does or does not exist. They do not believe in God, yes, but are not closed to the idea - utterly convinced - as atheists are. It is a neutral stance that is most rational because they admit the futility of the matter/question. You're right, I guess agnostics do concern themselves with knowledge. That's a good way of putting it.
@MrXAVIERDB I don't need to respect your opinion, i can respect Freedom of Speech, and you have all the right to say what i said, no matter how illegible it actually was. Micheal Shermer does not take in an active hobby of smoking pot, and he is not Jewish (he is atheist), Micheal Shermer has many friends, (and customers) so, idk what your talking about
Of course it's no proof of ETFO's The reason these quotes rub skeptics and debunkers, is because a lot these people are some of the most highly educated, trained, and respected people on the planet. Some have been around aircraft all their life. And they see something they can not explain. They are careful not to say the word "alien", or ET, most of the time. But what does it all mean? It means when an event happens, we need to have it fully investigated, by all means possible.
Sooooo, I'm trying to understand... are these quotes trying to prove the existence of E.T. or not? What is the purpose of quoting doctors, astronauts and military personnel??
@squidwombat agnostics are by definition atheists, atheist is a person who doesn't believe in god. basically even a person who say that they're not sure about the existence of a god are atheist.agnostics talk about Knowledge, but atheism is all about beliefs.
dahur is confused, here is one of his posts from adifferent thread, "I belief 98% of cases are hoaxes, illusions, and confusion. However, I believe that a very small percent are ETFO's, HARD EVIDENCE or not", which means to me that it's all about faith. I had faith in santa but i was only 8 at the time. He is very handy at quotes, but they are only poor third hand evidence at best. If you check, the quote or the people, you will generally find they are not what they seem.
@Kleinfurkon Atheism isn't rational, since you can't prove a negative. I call myself an Atheist to the gods of religion, I'm agnostic to an intelligence behind the Cosmos (although I believe it's all natural, I can't prove that).
@CheStillFighting Haha! Nice, I didn't think of that possibility. However if that is true then I should correct his grammar rather than spelling. (... morons on bases daily.) :P
Gosh he has to tip toe at the end their, hopefully times are a changing, hopefully people can proudly say "Yes, to be a skeptic you should obviously be skeptical of major religions"
Because skepticism is about certainty; if you can convince me with sufficient evidence a claim that you would otherwise take on faith then you have supplied me with reason to accept that claim. If you say you saw a ghost and don't substantiate that claim then I have no reason to believe you. That means you have not met your burden of proof, if that upsets you then you're a jerk.
@squidwombat u've got to be kidding me. wow look at the words theists are the people who believe in the existance of a god, that's the positive. Atheists are those who do not believe in the existance of a god. Agnostics say they don't know, Gnostic are the one who claim to know. seriously,..you could b a agnostic atheist, or an agnostic theist,, because one is talking about beliefs, and the other is talking about knowledge, which are two different thing.
@Cajunninja65 "Something has to be true or the conspiracy can't be started in the first place" This is clearly dead wrong, anyone with half a brain could make up a conspiracy any time they want. Senator meeting with another senator in a dark alley? What on Earth are you on about?
Science has done it's research, no it hasn't concluded that the universe has perfect order; it follows the laws of physics but most of it is uninhabitable, living matter such as ours can't come close to most of it. Additionally science doesn't say there is no God, it simply concludes from data that the universe does not operate according to any specific deity's plan.
Question is, why should he need to debunk an astrologer? astrology is so laughable, he shouldn't need to debunk it. but then I'm a Taurus, I would say that
Hah! What a joke! The only reason that Islam is considered a a "sword," is because it has been allowed to flourish in a non secular society. If you want to look at when Christianity was the sword, please check out the crusades and the Dark Ages. Attacking secular societies (Im assuming the former Soviet Union and most other communist governments) and not attacking Christianity and Islam on an equal level is a bit dishonest. I do agree with you on the last two sentences though.
"blackadder says: "On? occasion, I am wrong" Check his posts, and you will find this to be true. More than occasionally." You are more confused than I thought, but you are still taking quotes out of context as you well know, but what do you expect from a ufologist, anything but the truth. Anyhow is the record stuck, you just seem to be churning out the same old quotes time and time again! Come on show some imagination at least! But you have, imagining ET traveling billions of miles. LOL
lol, he's skeptical of God because he doesn't see him in a "physical way" that if it doesn't have a material form isn't can't exist? HA! Even science can prove time and material form can change.
I love Michael Shermer, he is an eloquent speaker and bright thinker.
I love this book. Self-reliance, critical thinking and independence of thoughts are the key characters a free-thinker should have.
Yes, it's good to ask questions. However, if you want to E-X-P-A-N-D your mind, you can take a look at the Leslie Flint Education Trust and have many questions answered that Michael is such a skeptic about.
Leslie was an amazing medium - AND NO ONE EVER FOUND FRAUD IN HIS WORK- I was priviledged to attend several of Lelsie's sittings and I'm so glad - and that Leslie had the good sense to tape all his sittings gives us answers still today. Thank you Leslie!
I think that having hope for a better tomorrow is a good thing but it should be done without giving people false assurances. I think it is good to have a healthy amount of skepticism.
"It appears to be a metallic object......tremendous in size....directly ahead and slightly above .... I am trying to close for a better look."
-Captain Thomas Mantell, USAF--Reporting to the tower at Goodman airforce base on a UFO they had picked up on radar and requested him to investigate. They were his last known words. Mantell's plane was later found strewn across a stretch of ground just southwest of Franklyn, Kentucky.
Got a ton more
"In concealing the evidence of UFO operations, the Air Force is making a serious mistake."
-Lt. Colonel James McAshan, USAF
"There were orders to ship the material from Roswell directly to Wright Field by special plane."
Colonel Thomas Jefferson Dubose
"We heard the material was coming to Wright Field. It was brought into our material evaluation labs. I don't know how it arrived but the boys who tested it said it was very unusual".
Brigadier General Arthur E. Exon
two types of skeptics; skeptics (doubting/rejecting claims unsupported/contradicted by double-blind-tested data)
and pseudo skeptics (supplementing accepted claims with unsupported claims to suit their world views) the first variety are actual skeptics.
Separately: sodium and chloride are lethal, but when locked together in a molecular structure they form table salt. All poisons are medicinal as all medicines are poisonous depending on the dosage and application.
whats scary about it is how much sense it all makes right?
so true............Sagan's book " the demon haunted world" is a great read on such things......
@slicingwater That's a mirage which can be photographed - not a illusion of the brain. A better example of an illusion would hearing voices or seeing something move in the corner of your eye when nothing's actually there.
"After the plane from Roswell arrived with the material I asked the base commander to personaly transport it in a B-26 to Major General Mc Mullen in Washington DC.
The entire operation was conducted under strictest secrey.The weather balloon explanation for the material was a cover story to divert the attention of the press".
Brigadier General Thomas Dubose.
Commanding Officer of Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
Affadavit 09/16/01
When has this been broadcasted? Thx!
"Look, I have a pension to worry about. I have a family to take care of, and they told me to just back away from this entirely or else."
Astronaut James Irwin
Apollo 15, to Frank Stranges after backing out of speaking at a 1976 UFO convention where he was going to "inform us of the strange things he saw on the surface of the moon."
@c6gunner
This was in 1997. It was even harder to get away with atheism in the public arena. He had the responsibility towards the magazine and the Skeptic Society. I think it was fine he washed his hands of the religion topic.
You can watch his more recent debate with Deepac Chopra "Does God have a Future?" where he doesn't have a problem with calling himself atheist :)
To infer a pattern, it's basically a part of us but the pattern can be bigger and more wide spread than our current scope of understanding. The chaos theory. Here's one, we don't have alien visitations but a complex system run by A.I with a myriad amount of machines of all sizes and shapes keeping an eye on the planet and transmitting real time data back to who ever set them up here.
I have the latest version of this book, which is great by the way. I'm going to have to do a review on it at some point.
@GermanOperaSinger Good call. Nice one.
"So does that mean you're skeptical of all religions?" How does any skeptic not just go "YES".
"I don't know if he's ever sided directly with aetheism."
I've heared him side with atheism at least once here on YT. However I don't recall the name of the video it was some discussion table and the subject was about Freud and religion.
I recall him saying something like: "why am I the atheist here. Seriously you should try it, you'll be fine." to a believer who was more skeptical than the others.
These things appeal because for a lot of people it beats thinking
@mehashi not necessarily, perhaps he's referring to gym teachers.
His voice is sounds pretty cool for some reason.
"When the long awaited solution to the UFO problem comes, I believe that it will prove to be not merely the next small step in the march of science, but a mighty and totally unexpected quantum leap."
Dr J Allen Hynek
Former Director, & Chief Investigator of the US Air Force Project Blue Book.
"I know other astronauts share my feelings.... And we know the government is sitting on hard evidence of UFOs."
Colonel Gordon Cooper
Mercury Nine, Gemini Five Astronaut
@Cajunninja65 "All conspiracies have at the very least one aspect of truth"
Do you have any evidence for this at all?
@GerryLand2010
a) scientists: there is no evidence for a creator, why no serious scientist would make that claim
b) creationists: there is no creationist actually knowing anythign about evolution, so they don't see that possibility.
another explanation is, that "god created everything as it is" kinda contradicts evolution. it is possible, that there was a god starting evolution, but it's impossible that it is the judea-christian god, as it demands an "as-is"-creation.
@Kleinfurkon
I think being agnostic would be more rational than being theist or atheist.
@Atheist603 No, they are not the same. Agnostics believe that there is no way to prove that God does or does not exist. They do not believe in God, yes, but are not closed to the idea - utterly convinced - as atheists are. It is a neutral stance that is most rational because they admit the futility of the matter/question.
You're right, I guess agnostics do concern themselves with knowledge. That's a good way of putting it.
is astral projection or telekinesis a psudoscience
@simbeau Well said.
@ZenArrow Two types of non-sceptics ...Open Minded and Close Minded.
@MrXAVIERDB I don't need to respect your opinion, i can respect Freedom of Speech, and you have all the right to say what i said, no matter how illegible it actually was. Micheal Shermer does not take in an active hobby of smoking pot, and he is not Jewish (he is atheist), Micheal Shermer has many friends, (and customers) so, idk what your talking about
Great minds think alike! =O
blackadder says:
"On occasion, I am wrong"
Check his posts, and you will find this to be true.
More than occasionally.
Of course it's no proof of ETFO's
The reason these quotes rub skeptics and debunkers, is because a lot these people are some of the most highly educated, trained, and respected people on the planet. Some have been around aircraft all their life. And they see something they can not explain. They are careful not to say the word "alien", or ET, most of the time. But what does it all mean? It means when an event happens, we need to have it fully investigated, by all means possible.
Sooooo, I'm trying to understand... are these quotes trying to prove the existence of E.T. or not? What is the purpose of quoting doctors, astronauts and military personnel??
@squidwombat agnostics are by definition atheists, atheist is a person who doesn't believe in god. basically even a person who say that they're not sure about the existence of a god are atheist.agnostics talk about Knowledge, but atheism is all about beliefs.
Hmmmm? I wonder why they're removing your posts?
@MrXAVIERDB I shall :D
dahur is confused, here is one of his posts from adifferent thread, "I belief 98% of cases are hoaxes, illusions, and confusion. However, I believe that a very small percent are ETFO's, HARD EVIDENCE or not", which means to me that it's all about faith. I had faith in santa but i was only 8 at the time. He is very handy at quotes, but they are only poor third hand evidence at best. If you check, the quote or the people, you will generally find they are not what they seem.
@cmpresents where does he give you the idea that he is a strong capitalist? Whats wrong with capitalism? what the do you mean niche?
@mehashi i like it :D
@Kleinfurkon Atheism isn't rational, since you can't prove a negative. I call myself an Atheist to the gods of religion, I'm agnostic to an intelligence behind the Cosmos (although I believe it's all natural, I can't prove that).
@CheStillFighting Haha! Nice, I didn't think of that possibility.
However if that is true then I should correct his grammar rather than spelling.
(... morons on bases daily.)
:P
Remember; be skeptical of EVERYTHING.
. . . everything except the official 9-11 report of course.
fukk yeah
Gosh he has to tip toe at the end their, hopefully times are a changing, hopefully people can proudly say "Yes, to be a skeptic you should obviously be skeptical of major religions"
Why wouldn't he side with atheism? He is as you all say, rational.
Because skepticism is about certainty; if you can convince me with sufficient evidence a claim that you would otherwise take on faith then you have supplied me with reason to accept that claim. If you say you saw a ghost and don't substantiate that claim then I have no reason to believe you. That means you have not met your burden of proof, if that upsets you then you're a jerk.
And there is no evidence of it, only the word of other people saying there is a God.
but which God is real? Yahway? Zeus? etc etc...
@squidwombat u've got to be kidding me. wow look at the words theists are the people who believe in the existance of a god, that's the positive. Atheists are those who do not believe in the existance of a god. Agnostics say they don't know, Gnostic are the one who claim to know. seriously,..you could b a agnostic atheist, or an agnostic theist,, because one is talking about beliefs, and the other is talking about knowledge, which are two different thing.
@Cajunninja65 "Something has to be true or the conspiracy can't be started in the first place"
This is clearly dead wrong, anyone with half a brain could make up a conspiracy any time they want.
Senator meeting with another senator in a dark alley? What on Earth are you on about?
Science has done it's research, no it hasn't concluded that the universe has perfect order; it follows the laws of physics but most of it is uninhabitable, living matter such as ours can't come close to most of it. Additionally science doesn't say there is no God, it simply concludes from data that the universe does not operate according to any specific deity's plan.
This new age Spirit Science is one of the worst these days.
Question is, why should he need to debunk an astrologer? astrology is so laughable, he shouldn't need to debunk it.
but then I'm a Taurus, I would say that
"purpose of religion is faith" and since faith is a bad thing isn't that just another way of saying religion is, at best useless and at worst harmful?
well i see you dont like him but you have any reason?
Stanleyfunybutt...: something a little less challenging than religion for you: the use of pronoun "its" and its compounds. "Itself" it's spelled.
Tax the theist
yea that was pretty weak
Shermer I am with him inm the agnosticism but he is the worst skeptic in the skeptics society in my opinion. He cant even debunk an astrologer
How about instead of calling names, you tell us what Shermer is lying about. Be specific.
I assume you believe weird things...
Hah! What a joke! The only reason that Islam is considered a a "sword," is because it has been allowed to flourish in a non secular society. If you want to look at when Christianity was the sword, please check out the crusades and the Dark Ages. Attacking secular societies (Im assuming the former Soviet Union and most other communist governments) and not attacking Christianity and Islam on an equal level is a bit dishonest. I do agree with you on the last two sentences though.
"blackadder says:
"On? occasion, I am wrong"
Check his posts, and you will find this to be true.
More than occasionally."
You are more confused than I thought, but you are still taking quotes out of context as you well know, but what do you expect from a ufologist, anything but the truth. Anyhow is the record stuck, you just seem to be churning out the same old quotes time and time again! Come on show some imagination at least! But you have, imagining ET traveling billions of miles. LOL
lol, he's skeptical of God because he doesn't see him in a "physical way" that if it doesn't have a material form isn't can't exist? HA! Even science can prove time and material form can change.
Yeah, the Bible thumping Christian reveals his true character!!!!