Re: Chars. and Behaviors of PseudoSkeptics - a critical rev
Posted: 29 Aug 2010, 10:06
Ok, let's do another one.
3) Carries a fixed set of unchanging beliefs which all data must conform to
I'm guessing this is a code for materialism so I'll wait til I get to that one a bit below.
4) Are not interested in truth, evidence or facts, only in defending the views of establishment
For this one I'll use Penn and Teller:
Here are some topics they've taken on:
1-05: second hand smokeL Critiques concerns on second-hand smoke and attempts to ban it,
1-07: bottled water: challenging claims on the quality of bottled water
2-04: the war on drugs: Questions the constitutionality of the "War on Drugs"
2-05: recycling: Criticizes certain aspects of recycling, including the increased cost of particular forms of recycling and the detrimental effect that certain forms of recycling have on the environment, and debunks numerous myths regarding landfills. Notes that people are generally more than happy to recycle and that it is the system that is flawed.
2-09: death inc): Offers criticisms of many claims made by businesses which offer funeral services, and investigates the validity of cryonics as a method of preserving a human body.
3-02: family values: Argues that the "traditional" husband-and-wife family is a relatively recent creation. Supports gay marriage and polyamory, and also attacks the idea that homosexuals can be "cured".
3-06: College: Opposition to political correctness, speech codes, and diversity requirements, especially on college campuses.
3-09: Gun control: Against gun control laws.
3-11: Endangered Species: Criticism of the U.S. Endangered Species Act and highlights its unintended consequences.
3-13: The best (Criticism of people who engage in the pursuit of needless luxury.)
4-02: Prostitution: Pro-legalization of prostitution. Criticizes various viewpoints on the dangers of the profession, and points to the dangers of it not being legalized.
4-03: the Death Penalty: Argues against capital punishment, from pragmatic and moral viewpoints.
4-05: Ground Zero: About the dragging of feet and design mistakes by the LMDC in rebuilding at the World Trade Center site, the lack of family and public approved memorials to the 9/11 attacks, the impact on local business, and how the whole process has been co-oped by people out to make money.
7-07: Taxes: Penn & Teller attack the tax system of the United States as complex and unfair. The guys visit the halls of Congress in search of a legislator willing to discuss America's tax system.
Full disclosure: I haven't watched most of those episodes (got the descriptions from wiki.) But those topics are all P+T arguing against government or "establishment" policies.
5) Cannot think in terms of possibilities, but views their own fixed viewpoints as constant:
Ok, I've already shown examples against this in other threads. In the Randi video thread I pointed out Randi in the video saying that he accepted that psi might be possible. I've posted Michael Shermer saying similar things about Bigfoot. Both men have explicitly stated that they are open to the possibility of these things, but need reliable evidence to believe it.
6) Are willing to lie and deceive to preserve establishment views, which are their true master:
Well, I don't know what he's getting at here. I know Randi lied about project Alpha, but that was the point. I don't know what examples Scepcop is alluding to here. If they lied, they shouldn't have. I do know that I've seen Randi post corrections to past mistakes. I think in general people are too quick to resort to the "lying" accusation, on both sides. Most of the time, when someone makes a statement that turns out not to be true, when dealing with these types of topics, its a mistake, rather than deliberate deception. There may be examples of pure dishonesty, but I don't know of them off hand. I'd be happy to discuss them if provided with examples.
Ok, that's good for tonight.
3) Carries a fixed set of unchanging beliefs which all data must conform to
I'm guessing this is a code for materialism so I'll wait til I get to that one a bit below.
4) Are not interested in truth, evidence or facts, only in defending the views of establishment
For this one I'll use Penn and Teller:
Here are some topics they've taken on:
1-05: second hand smokeL Critiques concerns on second-hand smoke and attempts to ban it,
1-07: bottled water: challenging claims on the quality of bottled water
2-04: the war on drugs: Questions the constitutionality of the "War on Drugs"
2-05: recycling: Criticizes certain aspects of recycling, including the increased cost of particular forms of recycling and the detrimental effect that certain forms of recycling have on the environment, and debunks numerous myths regarding landfills. Notes that people are generally more than happy to recycle and that it is the system that is flawed.
2-09: death inc): Offers criticisms of many claims made by businesses which offer funeral services, and investigates the validity of cryonics as a method of preserving a human body.
3-02: family values: Argues that the "traditional" husband-and-wife family is a relatively recent creation. Supports gay marriage and polyamory, and also attacks the idea that homosexuals can be "cured".
3-06: College: Opposition to political correctness, speech codes, and diversity requirements, especially on college campuses.
3-09: Gun control: Against gun control laws.
3-11: Endangered Species: Criticism of the U.S. Endangered Species Act and highlights its unintended consequences.
3-13: The best (Criticism of people who engage in the pursuit of needless luxury.)
4-02: Prostitution: Pro-legalization of prostitution. Criticizes various viewpoints on the dangers of the profession, and points to the dangers of it not being legalized.
4-03: the Death Penalty: Argues against capital punishment, from pragmatic and moral viewpoints.
4-05: Ground Zero: About the dragging of feet and design mistakes by the LMDC in rebuilding at the World Trade Center site, the lack of family and public approved memorials to the 9/11 attacks, the impact on local business, and how the whole process has been co-oped by people out to make money.
7-07: Taxes: Penn & Teller attack the tax system of the United States as complex and unfair. The guys visit the halls of Congress in search of a legislator willing to discuss America's tax system.
Full disclosure: I haven't watched most of those episodes (got the descriptions from wiki.) But those topics are all P+T arguing against government or "establishment" policies.
5) Cannot think in terms of possibilities, but views their own fixed viewpoints as constant:
Ok, I've already shown examples against this in other threads. In the Randi video thread I pointed out Randi in the video saying that he accepted that psi might be possible. I've posted Michael Shermer saying similar things about Bigfoot. Both men have explicitly stated that they are open to the possibility of these things, but need reliable evidence to believe it.
6) Are willing to lie and deceive to preserve establishment views, which are their true master:
Well, I don't know what he's getting at here. I know Randi lied about project Alpha, but that was the point. I don't know what examples Scepcop is alluding to here. If they lied, they shouldn't have. I do know that I've seen Randi post corrections to past mistakes. I think in general people are too quick to resort to the "lying" accusation, on both sides. Most of the time, when someone makes a statement that turns out not to be true, when dealing with these types of topics, its a mistake, rather than deliberate deception. There may be examples of pure dishonesty, but I don't know of them off hand. I'd be happy to discuss them if provided with examples.
Ok, that's good for tonight.