A Beginner's Guide to Skeptical Dickery
Just how far has the illness spread in Skepticism? When any group becomes infected with Groupthink, then self-criticism from within the group becomes a major taboo (witness Phil Plait's emotional response after daring to 'out' the continuing dickery problem during TAM.) To be healthy, Skepticism needs way more traitors like Plait and Burnett, insiders who decide to ignore the taboo and actually try to shift Skeptics en mass away from their slow downward spiral into twisted self-serving "reasoning."
But perhaps Skepticism has improved over the years though. In the past, talk like this was censored, as when D. Rawlins had to publish his CSICOP-rejected 'Starbaby' whistleblowing article in Fate magazine.
I often wonder what CSICOP and JREF would be like if their current boards had a majority of working scientists. Or, what would skepticism itself have been like if, decades ago, Carl Sagan had pulled rank and really thrown his weight around to put a stop to all the flagrant 'dick' behavior. Or ...what if Marcello Truzzi, rather than resigning in a huff, had stayed and fought? Imagine if skeptic groups today were such that any scientist would be proud to join one? (rather than staying away in droves?)
Ah, also from that blog:
Skeptic now too disgusted to call himself "skeptic"
http://ratherfriendlyskeptic.wordpress. ... mmunity-i/
'A critique of skepticism' podcast
http://poddelusion.co.uk/blog/2010/08/0 ... ence-punk/
Opposite of "dick" ...Socratic Questioning
http://arkadychenko-theblog.blogspot.co ... oblem.htmlStatistics: Posted by wjbeaty — 07 Sep 2010, 15:37
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