What is an Ardent Skpetic?

So what exactly is an ardent skeptic? It is simply someone who has a very strong belief in practicality and utility of skepticism. Of course skepticism is not an absolute by any means. It is usually measured by the how remarkable or implausible the claim is. That is balanced with the evidence presented in support of the claim and a probability of truthfulness can then be determined. For instance, if my coworker tells me he had a taco salad for lunch, the claim is most certainly quite plausible and therefore very little evidence would be necessary to believe it. (And he would probably look at me funny if I demanded a receipt.) If, however, my coworker claims that his prophet flew to Mercury on a winged horse and delivered a diamond encrusted book that told of how the earth was formed in the belly of an interstellar ogre, I would require a remarkable amount of supporting evidence before I believed it.

Ardent skepticism is not always an easy way of going about your life. Like any pattern seeking mammal, I am sometimes prone to wish-thinking and see evidence for things when no such evidence exists. However, it seems to be the best means available for determining truth we humans possess. While I may veer into some other topics of interest, this blog will focus mostly on skeptical topics and will probably rant on the lunacy of religious and superstitious thought. The easily offended should probably stop here.......