Skepticism

 

 A friend of mine directed me to someone else’s blog post whereby they discussed “Why being skeptical will make you see life sharply”. It is a good read and I highly recommend it! I note too that that person has a far nicer layout on their blog and maybe, if I feel up to it, I may have to try a new layout for mine inspired by his.

Instead, at least for now, I want to take some time to explore some of the ideas he presents.

“Being under attack rapidly affects our logic. Anyone is guilty until proven innocent — not the other way around, as it should be. That’s how the desire for certainty can cripple our lives.”

How true, especially now! Down south of the border they are “impeaching” a President who is no longer in office and telling him that he is guilty until he proves himself innocent. And if you get accused of child abuse or a man is accused of sexual abuse of a woman? The same thing. In my lifetime never has basic justice been so topsy turvy. When will it end? Likely not until something so grossly bad that people come to their senses. Something like Eugenics (“The study or practice of attempting to improve the human gene pool by encouraging the reproduction of people considered to have desirable traits and discouraging or preventing the reproduction of people considered to have undesirable traits.”) that was a concept gaining ground until Hitler showed the world what it really involved with his gas chambers and death camps. Only then did the proponents of Eugenics quietly move onto other topics of interest.

“When we overreact, things get out of hands. The medicine becomes more dangerous than the disease we are trying to cure.

The opposite to the need for closure is skepticism. Rather than taking the first answer for real, you challenge the truth. You don’t let irrational fear dictate your answers.

Skepticism is not nihilism or being negative; it’s adding an extra filter. Rather than taking anything for granted, you want to validate the truth. You don’t take social constructs as true no matter how strong peer pressure is.”

Much of my writing as you likely have observed is based on skepticism. But I never really appreciated why until I read the above. For sure I have never let irrational fear dictate my actions! Whether it be Y2K, “global warming”, “climate change” or Covid-19. Each attempt to encourage fear in the populace I have met the same way. I can not explain why other than I do not tolerate being bullied and fear mongering in my books is no different. As I have previously written I was subjected to being bullied when a kid. Note that I do not say I was a “victim”. The reason is simple, I always fought back and never backed down. We are genetically predisposed to react by either fight or flight when faced with potential danger. My predisposed reaction is the former.

In similar fashion I was never one to succumb to peer pressure, or at least to a point. I dress in a fashion that is neat, even if not following fashion trends or being over dressed. As a result, I must admit freely I do keep peer pressure in mind in not standing out one way or the other. But for sure I do not let it control me. I do not fall over myself trying to make friends with strangers. That does not mean I am not friendly, but neither can you call me a sycophant.

As the second last line in that quote says, I do not take anything for granted and just want to validate the truth. Whether it be my first impression of others or of anything else that comes along that potentially could be a threat.

“Being skeptical doesn’t mean being rigid, dogmatic, hypercritical, or obtuse. You simply understand that you cannot react to the first answer, you want more evidence before buying into it.”

At the back of your mind always should be “what if they are right”? That is why a skeptical person must be cautious and not dismiss any warning that, while it may be fear mongering, is a real warning. When someone shouts “fire!” I will go as calmly as I can to the nearest exit while continually taking measure to whether to escalate my flight response or not. That is the prudent thing to do because seldom, if ever do you know all the facts. Being a geologist has honed that ability as seldom does one have enough facts to be certain on just about anything. Over time as you do research and observe more your position can most certainly firm, but at the start at least caution is always warranted.

“You can be a skeptic without being a cynic.”

Another truism. While I do find myself cynical at times it is not about issues I am skeptical of. For example, I am a cynic of a lot of human reactions to things. There is no question that as a species we treat each other terribly! We call ourselves “civilised” yet in so many ways act as savages. Again, as I have previously written about, we have attained a level where poverty is rare and that the vast majority live now like kings of old yet too many of us do not see that. Which reminds me, one book I must read from start to finish yet never have, yet I refer to it a lot, is “Don Quixote”!

“The Greek word ‘skeptikos’ means ‘thoughtful.’ “

Learn something every day, even for words one uses often!

“Ulric Neisser, the father of cognitive psychology, conducted the “Challenger study” to question what he called ‘flashbulb memories’ — how shocking, emotional events leave a vivid imprint on the mind.”

Makes sense! A lot of my memories fall into that category, they are like snapshots or photographs of moments in time. For me they are of the world around me. For example, I still have vivid memories of outcrops I have seen in the bush decades ago and often can return to the same spot many years after. Names and faces? Not so much but I am better with faces!

“Turn challenging the truth into a habit.”

Anyone who knows me would attest that is most certainly a habit of mine! Some say it is a “bad” habit, but for one who has been skeptical for so long, I just cannot help it!

“It’s okay to believe something and then, after reviewing the facts, realize that either you were wrong or your memory was playing tricks.”

Another truism! One that comes to mind is when I first arrived in Thompson, I was told that the rocks represented refolded nappe structures (refolded recumbent folds). Having been exposed to isoclinal folds everywhere else I had been I was, “skeptical”! A decade later I did a 3D model using magnetic inversion data combined with surface mapping. The only way those two data sets worked flawlessly together was by using refolded nappe structures! I became a believer! Go where the data leads you, I keep telling others and who was I not to do just that?

As I said at the start, a great essay! The closing line of that essay:

“Life is about discovery, not about being certain. Being skeptical will prevent you from taking things for granted — you will see life sharply.”