Don’t be put off skepticism by the people…

Skepticism isn’t an organization, a religion or a cult. You don’t have to attend a sermon, buy a book, or read this blog.

You don’t have to label yourself an agnostic, an atheist, a freethinker, a humanist, a bright, a rationalist, a libertarian, or even a skeptic.

If you crave some buzzwords and sound bytes, then skepticism is about critical thinking, clear thinking, logic, rationale, science, and keeping an open mind.

If these still sound too stuffy, then skepticism is about about knowledge, understanding, honesty, truth and reality.

If these sound too moralistic, then skepticism is about not getting ripped off, bullshitted to, or fucked over.

Skepticism isn’t only about science, the paranormal and pseudoscience.

You don’t have to join a group, donate cash, sign up, learn a handshake, sleep with the ‘leader’ or drink the Kool-Aid.

Some skeptics even break the stereotypes. We’re not all nerdy, sloppy, bespectacled, intellectually elitist, socially impaired, egotistical sycophants who attend conferences to get some because no one beyond such a hypothetical group would touch them with a barge pole…

You can ‘do’ skepticism within the confines of your own mind, and express it in what you do and say.

Some of the most profound moments of skepticism are those that are rarely acknowledged; when you have a really brilliant teacher, or lecturer, or a friend offers you some solid advice or helps you to think a different way about something.

These illuminatory moments are like mental orgasms. The firing synapses, the light bulb switching on, or Carl Sagan’s candle in the dark.

My point is, try skepticism, whatever you want to call it and however you want to do it.