Quotes About Skepticism

A healthy skepticism is good, even God-given. However, a need to cynically dismiss anything we cannot personally verify is arrogance. God

Ben laughed. You think all religions are scams, don't you? Yes, I suppose I do, Epstein said. But the religions are mostly scamming themselves. That they scam others is usually a side-effect.

The reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is they think 'conspiracy' means everybody's on the same program. That's not how it works. Everybody's got a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebody's wife.

Nobody ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public.

Like many my age, I believe people in groups are to be feared and that arguing with others is folly and the knowledge of one generation cannot be passed down to the next.

What had the sheriff said, something to the effect that most people's public roles were pure bullshit? I wondered if he should not be given an endowed chair at the local university.

Administrators don't believe in conspiracies. If they did, they'd have to resign their jobs. That

Cynicism is simply realism with a veneer of irony.

Not so fast, baby – let us pause and examine that idea. Why would he want to take you out? Why do they ever want to take us out? As a compliment to us, say they. To show us a good time, to prove the high regard they have for us. They're a pack of goddam liars. In addition to being dirty bastards, and very dumb clucks, they are also goddam liars. There's practically nothing can be said in favour of them, except they're the only ones we've got.

The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.

All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree

You're lying through your fangs, Iggy accused. Fang tried to play innocent--but innocent Fang is an oxymoron, so it didn't work.

I couldn't leave Total behind." "Total?" Iggy asked. "That's what his card said," Angel explained. "Totally a mutant dog who will probably turn on us and kill us in our sleep," Fang said.

Angel: What's sauerkraut? Max: You don't want it. Trust me.

Maybe he was a good a good whitecoat—like Jeb. And maybe the moon was made of cream cheese.

I wouldn't trust you if you were the last life raft leaving the Titanic."-max

Maybe they were. I don't know. Maybe they weren't. But they felt like the real thing, and the real thing wanted to make money off me.

Assume nothing, question everything.

I mentally reviewed possible responses: 1) Sardonic laughter (always good) 2) Rolled eyes and snort of disbelief 3) Sarcastic "You have got to be kidding me." Any

But even when patients die under totally hinky circumstances, people think doctors are so Godlike, they just accept whatever they're told.

What do you think I am, some kind of idiot?" Attention! Do not answer that question! I repeat, do NOT answer that question!

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. As

Hollis asked me, "How'd the meeting with the editor at the Daily News go?" "About like you'd expect. It's very clear to me that they're only interested in the number of papers they sell or clicks the story gets online, not in helping out our homicide investigation. I swear, sometimes it feels like there are some awfully bloodthirsty people in the media who want more murders so they can have juicier stories that sell more papers.

You know that line from The Art of War, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? Well, only if your enemies aren't holding a knife, ready to plunge it in your back.