Quotes About Skepticism

matters are far worse: we may have no less of a problem with phony skepticism.

In this world, you should always be suspicious of the knowledge you derive from data.

La persona a quien se atribuye la difusión de esta idea del semiescepticismo tendencioso es sir Doktor Professor Karl Raimund Popper, posiblemente el único filósofo de la ciencia a quien leen y de quien hablan los actores del mundo real (aunque es posible que los filósofos profesionales no lo hagan con tanto entusiasmo).

not accepting other people's wisdom as gospel.

the benefits promised in the book seem grossly overstated.

As much as it is ingrained in our habits and conventional wisdom, confirmation can be a dangerous error.

not to be swayed by well-sounding remarks. I remind myself of Einstein's remark that common sense is nothing but a collection of misconceptions acquired by age eighteen. Furthermore, What sounds intelligent in a conversation or a meeting, or, particularly, in the media, is suspicious.

I remind myself of Einstein's remark that common sense is nothing but a collection of misconceptions acquired by age eighteen. Furthermore, What sounds intelligent in a conversation or a meeting, or, particularly, in the media, is suspicious. Any

Borrowed wisdom can be vicious. I need to make a huge effort not to be swayed by well-sounding remarks. I remind myself of Einstein's remark that common sense is nothing but a collection of misconceptions acquired by age eighteen.

But there are some things I can remain skeptical about, and others I can safely consider certain.

let governments predict (it makes officials feel better about themselves and justifies their existence) but do not set much store by what they say. Remember that the interest of these civil servants is to survive and self-perpetuate—not to get to the truth.

People do not realize that the media is paid to get your attention.

A higher concentration of dopamine appears to lower skepticism and result in greater vulnerability to pattern detection;

one is more likely to be drinking poison in a golden cup than an ordinary one.

Many of them blindly believe in it.

which people, in order to avoid inconsistent beliefs, rationalize that, say, the grapes they can't reach got to be sour).

Journalists can teach us how to not learn.

You are very likely to be fooled about their intentions.

Since one small observation can disprove a statement, while millions can hardly confirm it, disconfirmation is more rigorous than confirmation.

You will never fully convince

What sounds intelligent in a conversation or a meeting, or, particularly, in the media, is suspicious.

except to make fun of them or provide a historical reference.

Realism can be punishing. Probabilistic skepticism is worse. It is difficult to go about life wearing probabilistic glasses, as one starts seeing fools of randomness all around, in a variety of situations—obdurate in their perceptional illusion. To start, it is impossible to read a historian's analysis without questioning the inferences:

withhold judgment in the absence of evidence