Quotes About Skepticism

Politics bores you?" Bronsen said. Julien smiled. "It does. Apologies, sir, and it is not that I haven't tried to be fascinated. But careful and meticulous research has suggested the hypothesis that all politicians are liars, fools, and tricksters, and I have as yet come across no evidence to the contrary. They can do great damage, and rarely any good. It is the job of the sensible man to try and protect civilization from their depradations.

I am skeptical about the idea that we can learn much from history, at least in the sense that knowledge of past follies will prevent us from making similar blunders in the future... And yet it is important to know what happened before, and to try and make sense of it. For if we don't, we cannot understand our own times.

But, at the end of the day, the problem isn't money, lies, propaganda, negative ads, dirty tricks, decentralized news, talking points, or trumped up investigations. The problem is that they work on us. And they work because we're uncritical, uneducated, and uninformed. A smarter electorate would be more skeptical of the lies. In fact, the incendiary tone and hyperbolic rhetoric in the message would instantly lead one to question the content. And

Do you think it's a conspiracy?' 'Mr Durukan, if God is dead then everything is conspiracy.

Everyone has a camera on their phone and no one sees UFOs anymore.

When we stop believing in God, we don't suddenly believe in "nothing" … we believe anything.

What do you call a conspiracy theory that's backed up by evidence? Oh yes, a conspiracy

All conspiracy-spotting should start from the assumption that even an almighty cock-up is always more likely than a complex conspiracy.

Learn to be as analytical about things of which you are credulous as you are of those which you criticise.

You call me an unbeliever. I shall therefore call you a True Believer since a lie is best met with one of similar magnitude.

Definitions from Mulla Do-Piaza Truthful man: He who is, secretly, regarded by everyone as an enemy.

It is not always a question of the Emperor having no clothes on. Sometimes it is, 'Is that an Emperor at all?

If a Manx cat tells you that it is trying to preserve its long, beautiful tail, you don't have to believe it - especially if you have eyes.

Debating whether one trusts or not is a sign that one does not want to trust at all, and therefore is still incapable of it.

Me llamas descreído (...) te llamaré verdadero creyente, pues el mejor contrapunto de una mentira es otra de igual magnitud.

Definiciones de Mulla Do-Piaza Hombre veraz: aquel que, secretamente, es considerado por todos como un enemigo.

Definiciones de Mulla Do-Piaza Adepto: alguien que creerá cualquier cosa excepto lo que debería.

Unbelief itself is a religion with its own form of belief.

La incredulidad misma es una religión con su propia forma de creencia.

I never believed that U2 wanted to save the whales. I don't believe that The Beastie Boys are ready to lay it down for Tibet.

fucking flattery, success, money. I just sit back and suck my thumb.

People seem to be awfully gullible. They'll believe anything. ~in The NPR Interviews, 1996, edited by Robert Siegel

Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

Certains ont l'air honnête, mais quand ils te serrent la main, tu as intérêt à recompter tes doigts. Some may look honest, but when you shake their hand, you had better count your fingers.