Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what. Michael Shermer More Quotes by Michael Shermer More Quotes From Michael Shermer The actual atoms and molecules that make up my brain and body today are not the same ones that I was born with on September 8, 1954, a half-century ago this month. Michael Shermer moleculesatomsbrain The concept of God is generated by a brain designed by evolution to find design in nature (a very recursive idea). Michael Shermer designbrainideas Remember always that we are pattern-seeking primates who are especially adept at finding patterns with emotional meaning. Michael Shermer atheismemotionalreligion Science is a set of methods designed to describe and interpret observed or inferred phenomenon, past or present, and aimed at building a testable body of knowledge open to rejection or confirmation. Michael Shermer rejectionpastreligion In principle, skeptics are neither closed-minded nor cynical. We are curious but cautious. Michael Shermer curiouscynicalprinciples We know evolution happened not because of transitional fossils such as A. natans but because of the convergence of evidence from such diverse fields as geology, paleontology, biogeography, comparative anatomy and physiology, molecular biology, genetics, and many more. Michael Shermer paleontologyanatomy-and-physiologymolecular-biology As Karl Marx once noted: 'Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.' William Jennings Bryan and the Scopes trial was a tragedy. The creationists and intelligent design theorists are a farce. Michael Shermer intelligentsciencehistory Flawed as they may be, science and the secular Enlightenment values expressed in Western democracies are our best hope for survival. Michael Shermer enlightenmentdemocracysurvival Conspiracies are a perennial favorite for television producers because there is always a receptive audience. Michael Shermer conspiracyproducerstelevision People believe in God because we are pattern-seeking, storytelling, mythmaking, religious, moral animals. Michael Shermer atheistreligiousbelieve How can we find spiritual meaning in a scientific worldview? Spirituality is a way of being in the world, a sense of one’s place in the cosmos, a relationship to that which extends beyond oneself. . . . Does scientific explanation of the world diminish its spiritual beauty? I think not. Science and spirituality are complementary, not conflicting; additive, not detractive. Anything that generates a sense of awe may be a source of spirituality. Science does this in spades. (158-159) Michael Shermer spiritualdoethinking Providentially, learned habits can be unlearned, especially in the context of moral groups. Michael Shermer moralgroupshabit In comparison, Google is brilliant because it uses an algorithm that ranks Web pages by the number of links to them, with those links themselves valued by the number of links to their page of origin. Michael Shermer googleusenumbers A Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the universe evokes far more awe for creation than light streaming through a stained glass window in a cathedral. Michael Shermer glassesspacelight Anecdotal thinking comes naturally; science requires training. Michael Shermer trainingsciencethinking Dualists hold that body and soul are separate entities and that the soul will continue beyond the existence of the physical body. Michael Shermer entitybodysoul One, I am skeptical of the effectiveness of nutritional supplements. Michael Shermer supplementsskepticaleffectiveness Plato wove historical fact into literary myth. Michael Shermer historicalplatofacts But there is only one surefire method of proper pattern recognition, and that is science. Michael Shermer recognitionpatternsscience Human history is highly nonlinear and unpredictable. Michael Shermer nonlinearunpredictablehumans
