Skeptics - Not Just Your Friendly Neighborhood Debunkers
As a young skeptic, it had been my dubious pleasure, at times, to discuss my skeptical approach to knowledge, life, and belief systems. These encounters, though varied in their social settings, would usually peak in a similar way: My non-skeptical companion would utilize popular pseudo-scientific mechanisms to justify her/his argument, while I would attempt to provide empirical evidence to debunk the proposed claims and expose their logical flaws. Such seems to be the popular understanding of modern skepticism, by skeptics and non-skeptics alike. We are debunkers, self-described revealers of truth who must continually search for weakness and fault. The result? Skeptics are perceived as cynical, closed minded elitists, with nothing to add other than critique and denial. The burden of this mantle is as heavy as it is important. In such moments of distress, where skeptisicm feels more like a burden than a candle in the dark, I would draw the attention of my fellow skep...