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I'm not trying to be facetious, but: Skepticism is a core quality of being a scientist. Is something I'm skeptical about (if we all end up learning somethi

by Verdex 11y ago

I'm not trying to be facetious, but: Skepticism is a core quality of being a scientist. Is something I'm skeptical about (if we all end up learning something here, I'll definitely appreciate the irony ... also I'm happier with your "a core" than I would be if you had said "the core"). Anyway, I just got done reading [1] and found it interesting that Galileo's biggest advantages as a scientist were that he could grind a lens and being trained as an artist (so he had a good idea what he was looking at when he looked at the moon). [And probably also being really witty so he could make friends at parties and impress his financial backers.] Also: Believing in something without proof is contrary to being skeptical. This is something I would love a proof for (being a little bit facetious this time, but a proof for this would actually be really useful for some of my purposes). I took several history of science and technology courses at university and the impression I got was that the most important aspects of being a scientist was messing around with technology, taking notes, and having a lot of time to sit around and think. [Having some sort of rival who was also doing teh science whom you really wanted to show up seems to be a bonus.] Being willing to be disappointed when you're proved wrong seems a lot more useful than only believing things you have proof for. In fact believing something without proof seems like a great way to get started on something very important as long as you're willing to do a lot of additional work. [1] - http://tofspot.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-great-ptolemaic-smackdown.html http://tofspot.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-great-ptolemaic-smac...

druddha 11y ago
I apologize for not being more clear. I'm speaking specifically of scientific skepticism [1]. Without practicing scientific skepticism, Galileo would not have been motivated to grind lenses in the first place. I also failed to differentiate "belief" from its use in common vernacular, so I'll rephrase my previous statement: A scientist practices scientific skepticism. Accepting an unsubstantiated hypothesis without empirical evidence is contrary to scientific skepticism. Belief in a higher power is accepting an unsubstantiated hypothesis without empirical evidence. Thus, belief in a higher power is contrary to scientific skepticism. Therefore, belief in a higher power is contrary to being a scientist. Of course it's human nature to become emotionally attached to a hypothesis of one's own design. And perhaps scientists would not so rigorously pursue empirical evidence to support their claims if they didn't "believe" them. But the difference between a scientist and a theist is that a scientist will back off their hypothesis when evidence to the contrary is presented, whereas a theist will not. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism
- Verdex 11y ago
  No, I understood your point the first time. I'm saying that there's no empirical evidence that "scientific skepticism" is necessary or even useful for increasing the whole of human knowledge. If I accept your point without evidence, then by your own words I'm being anti-scientific. Everything I've seen of Galileo leads me to believe that he was't a scientific skeptic (the dude still had epicycles when all he had to do was pay a bit more attention to Kepler). I'm interested in what evidence you use to believe that he was practicing any form of skepticism.

by Verdex 11y ago

druddha 11y ago

I apologize for not being more clear. I'm speaking specifically of scientific skepticism [1]. Without practicing scientific skepticism, Galileo would not have been motivated to grind lenses in the first place. I also failed to differentiate "belief" from its use in common vernacular, so I'll rephrase my previous statement: A scientist practices scientific skepticism. Accepting an unsubstantiated hypothesis without empirical evidence is contrary to scientific skepticism. Belief in a higher power is accepting an unsubstantiated hypothesis without empirical evidence. Thus, belief in a higher power is contrary to scientific skepticism. Therefore, belief in a higher power is contrary to being a scientist. Of course it's human nature to become emotionally attached to a hypothesis of one's own design. And perhaps scientists would not so rigorously pursue empirical evidence to support their claims if they didn't "believe" them. But the difference between a scientist and a theist is that a scientist will back off their hypothesis when evidence to the contrary is presented, whereas a theist will not. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism

Verdex 11y ago
No, I understood your point the first time. I'm saying that there's no empirical evidence that "scientific skepticism" is necessary or even useful for increasing the whole of human knowledge. If I accept your point without evidence, then by your own words I'm being anti-scientific. Everything I've seen of Galileo leads me to believe that he was't a scientific skeptic (the dude still had epicycles when all he had to do was pay a bit more attention to Kepler). I'm interested in what evidence you use to believe that he was practicing any form of skepticism.