Should Skeptics Be Certified?

[Craig Browning]

[Kevin Kane]

I don't think skeptics are thinking critically.

What sort of employment possibilities exist in the field of skepticism?
Corporate Shill ... Stage Magician ... Fluffer.

What sort of social possibilities can result from skepticism?
Same as Klingon speakers .. but less interesting.

Why would anyone persue a hobby such as skepticism?
Because Quilting was taken.

When will skepticism be taught in College?
When public masturbation is legal.

[ProfWag]

[ProfWag]

[Kevin Kane]

'Corporate Shill' is probably not a high paying job for skeptics. Why pay for a shill when you can get a dupe, an unwitting stooge for free?

But skeptics can always write books about how skeptical they are.

[ProfWag]

[Kevin Kane]

IHOP: Good morning Michael, and welcome to the International House of Pancakes.

MS: Thank you, I'll have the blueberry waffles.

IHOP: Michael, you call yourself a skeptic, just how skeptical are you?

MS: I think I'm very skeptical!

IHOP: Would you say you're more skeptical than say, Richard Dawkins?

MS: I'd say we're both very skeptical but Richard is religiously skeptical.

IHOP: How about James Randi, are you more skeptical than him?

MS: I like James, but I think I'm more skeptical than he is. Don't get me wrong, Randi is very, very skeptical. But he's an old skool skeptic, and I'm a modern skeptic.

IHOP: What about the new age skeptics, the new online guys?

MS: I dunno, name some.

IHOP: Like Steven Novella of ScienceBasedMedicine?

MS: Sorry, never heard of him. Anyone else?

IHOP: Alex Tsakiris of Skeptiko?

MS: Oh, you mean the guy who talks to psychics? I'm skeptikal about him.

IHOP: It sounds like you're very skeptical.

MS: I am!

IHOP: Just one more question. Can you prove that you're skeptical?

MS: What?

IHOP: Can you scientically prove that you're a skeptic?

MS: What!?

IHOP: That's what I thought. Michael Shermer is not really a skeptic, he's just a fraud.

MS: What!!!???

IHOP: Enjoy your blueberry waffles.


.

[ciscop]

wow...
another joke that fell flat

really dude.. retire from comedy
that was really bad..

[Kevin Kane]

Haha skeptic defender doesn't understand point of anything.

[ProfWag]

Cute Kevin. Now, since you're not a skeptic, I thought I'd brag about how I spent last weekend with Elvis hanging out in a shack next to Graceland. Pretty cool huh! What? You need proof? Sorry, don't have any but you should just believe me. Really. I wouldn't lie to you...

[Kevin Kane]

Hey ... I took these OKcupid tests for so-called "skeptic powers", but they depend entirely upon rote learning and can easily be fooled.

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testi ... 9423402995
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-are-you-a-skeptic-test


We need to find some way of testing skeptics. Real tests that show skeptics are capable of intelligent thinking.

[ProfWag]

[Kevin Kane]

[ProfWag]

[Kevin Kane]

The test would have to differentiate from a standard IQ test, and focus on the elements that skeptics claim about themselves, critical thinking, non-superstitious, not gullible, etc. Eliminate the rote memorization tasks, including standard word association tests and those that use basic math skills. Nor should it be a smarter-than-standard IQ test, because that wouldn't be fair, nor is it the point of the test.

The point is to test whether skeptics have some reasoning skill, fraud detection or perception beyond the average person. Or if those claims are merely based on a belief. Alledged or magical thinking skills that only skeptics possess.