From D J Grothe - How To Be A "Perfect" Skeptic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sZZ6J0QkB4
2. Foster the "Mensa effect". ... I'm a skeptic therefore I'm really smart
and therefore I'm right. You're all skeptics therefore you should know that I'm
right. ... The skeptics best and most valuable friend. ...
3. (Use a purity test.) You must constantly be vigilant and on guard
against others not being pure skeptics or letting woowoo creep into their
skepticism. Do not shy away from phrases such as “you are not a true skeptic". ... make
sure that your fellow skeptic is pure and not polluted by any belief that does
not follow necessarily out of your skepticism that you've adopted.
4. Our enemies ... enemies of reason.... To empathise with the
unreasonable, to feel for the unreasonable, to try to figure out why they are
there in that place, why they have that lot in life. lowers your defences and
weakens your arguments. Empathy weakens your skepticism. ... Show little mercy
when it comes to those spouting nonsense. This is especially important when
dealing with claims that are central beliefs and very cherished and personally
deeply felt. ... As we are skeptics we don't really have any good news to
spread.... "Smile. Join our throng. Everything you believe is wrong - and you're
an idiot." ...
5. Eschew marketing.... Skeptics should pay no attention to their audiences
but only pay attention to the facts because the facts are all that matter. ...
facts are a "one size fits all" solution because ... it's the truth at all cost
no matter how painful. ... If you do it long enough and loud enough people will
buy it. ...
6. Become a left libertarian, vegetarian, gay activist, ... stamp out
homophobia ... adopt well-being consequentialism ... like Peter Singer ...
Ethical and social issues. ... Skepticism is the way to arrive at the one true
answer to any of these questions. ... Tell skeptics to stop focussing on trivial
paranormal matters and instead deal with other more important matters like
sexual and racial inequality, poverty, class, economics, all the social issues
that merit our attention much more than whether a ghost exits ... or even God
...
7. The history of the last 30 years of the skeptics movement is irrelevant
and you should really not let it become a distraction to you. ... You don't need
to know why ... skeptics have tried to avoid politics ... social issues which
they said skeptics might get distracted and divided over. ... There's no
meaningful difference, no significant contrast, between skepticism, atheism and
humanism. ... they are one and the same. ...
8. Skepticism leads necessarily to atheism. ... If you are not an atheist
you can't be a proper skeptic. People like Michael Gardner and others in the
history of skepticism who were deists or believed in Spinoza's God or believed
in panentheism or pantheism ... they were an anomaly and should not matter at
all for contemporary skepticism right now.
9. Our movement, our cause, already has all the spokespeople it needs. ... You fit best in skepticism when you are a consumer of our product rather than competing with us and advancing skepticism on your own. ... If you want to advance skepticism on your own you don't need any expertise or training to do so. ... You just need a deep commitment to the truth and you need ambition and that's all. No special training. It does not take any special expertise to advance skepticism just the commitment of telling other people that they are wrong. ...
10. You are a besieged minority. ... Racial and sexual minorities have had
their day in the sun ... now it is our time as skeptics.
11. Skepticism is for us. It is not for everyone. ...
12. Do the exact opposite of every single thing I've said today.
