| What exactly is skepticism? Is it a closed mind that rejects any and every idea as being either preposterous and without merit? Is a skeptic just an old cynic bent on shutting out and shouting down anyone that might dare to have a different point of view? The answer is, of course, NO. In today's society where psychics and astrologers and alien abductees abound; one must know how to filter out the truth from the hoax and that is the goal of skepticism; to seek out the truth. Show me. Where is the evidence? These are the calling cards of the skeptic. Skepticism is not a belief system. It is a method of determing fact from fraud. The use of science and reason are the tools of the skeptic and they should be employed in a completely objective manner without any regard to the subject being tested. With an open mind and these tools it is truly possible to know what is fact and what is fancy and surely we will all be better off knowing the truth. |