Ed Clint's recent post on his IncrEDulous blog, Why teaching critical thinking fails, argues that while critical thinking skills can be taught, doing so is not enough to turn people into critical thinkers.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Sinking of the Titanic
We’ve hit an iceberg, and there is confusion, hysteria, and not enough life boats to save us all.
Monday, September 10, 2012
With respect to respect
"Everyone deserves respect!"
"No, respect must be earned!"
Sigh. I get tired of hearing exchanges like this, especially when they are presented as prescriptive moral or ethical guidance. As usual, the reality and the ethics are more complicated than that.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Some much-needed discussion
There has been quite a bit of activity in the blogosphere and on Twitter and Facebook in recent weeks on two subjects that our regular reader(s) know have been topics of concern to Ardent Skeptic and me.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Noteworthy, 08 July 2012
Advice for a 'Freethought' blog, by Notung, has advice that skeptic bloggers should consider as well.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Noteworthy, 17 May 2012
Steve Cuno has a new post up on his personal blog that's worth a look: The Value of Dissent. And while welcoming informed alternative points of view is useful for everyone, it is essential for skeptics.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Noteworthy, 09 May 2012
This is from last week, but in case you missed it, Barbara Drescher has an excellent post about skepticism on her blog: You Can't Judge an Argument by its Conclusion.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
An Open Letter on Disagreement
by Steve Cuno
Author’s note: The inspiration for this article was an angry note from a friend. Any attempt to guess which friend or to point fingers risks missing a great opportunity to see if the shoe fits.
Dear Friend:
Disagreement is inevitable. When it happens, let’s see if we can handle it sans ad hominem attacks.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Noteworthy, 08 Mar 2012
Ben Radford has a new post up on the CFI blog: Rush Limbaugh, Being a Dick, and Skepticism
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Noteworthy, 16 Feb 2012
- Steve Cuno has a new post up on the JREF Swift blog on how easy it is to switch off critical thinking: The Care and Feeding of Homunculi
- This week's episode of Skeptoid covers some common types of reasoning errors.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Delicate Balance
by Steve Cuno
In Why People Believe Weird Things, Michael Shermer describes his experience as the “guest skeptic” on a program for NBC. The other guests claimed to have experienced a close encounter of the third kind. He writes that after the taping, he and they went out for dinner and talked about...
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Noteworthy, 18 Jan 2011
- Steve Cuno has a new post up on the JREF Swift blog: How to Sabotage Skepticism from the Inside: Entwine the Claim with the Cause
- Steve also recently posted this on his personal blog: Denying human nature is no way to fight racism
Friday, January 13, 2012
A picture of Internet wildlife
Thursday, January 5, 2012
In Which I Admit to a Bias
by K.O. Myers
I generally eschew the annual ritual of New Year's resolutions. If I don't have the mental discipline to positively alter my character or behavior in June, I'm not sure how passage from one arbitrarily demarcated solar orbit to another is supposed to provide the necessary willpower. If the psychological signpost of the beginning of a new year affords you sufficient impetus to tack toward a course of self-improvement, you have my sincere congratulations. I've never found it particularly motivating.*