Skepticism and Credence About Non-Religious Things.

I believe in body english. I’m with you, Bad.

The existence of intelligent alien life seems like a viable possibility to me.

I have to say that I waffle on Feng Shui. Especially considering that we were always having little emergencies that popped up in our old house that required us opening our wallets. These emergencies always had to do with water (water damage, broken sewer, clogged drains, leaky pipes, etc), and in Feng Shui water represents money. Could be coincidence, and probably is, but it didnt’ keep me from trying to redirect the energy in the house. Don’t know if it worked because we moved. And the new owners promptly had the basement flood from a ruptured pipe.

When I was applying to colleges in days of old, I got into the habit of giving the letters a good luck kiss. As time went by any letter where something important was at stake got the same ritual. In recent years as (ahem) “being rational” has become more important to me, I found myself glancing furtively around to make sure nobody saw me doing this absurd thing, and trying to break the habit has been surprisingly difficult. Gritting my teeth as I let the letter go without the good luck ritual, I feel anxiety that the outcome will not be good.

It’s clear that it’s about anxiety and the desire to magically influence the outcome of something that literally is out of my hands once I slip the letter into the mailbox, but as I found during years of practicing (and receiving) psychotherapy, being able to analyze the cause of a behavior does not automatically make that behavior stop.

I can see how professional sports athletes get the elaborate superstitious rituals that they’re famous for. Once the habit is set, rational thought isn’t that effective in uprooting it.

No, I don’t kiss the monitor when I click “send” on an email. Only a superstitious goofball would do that. 🙂

I tend to be a pretty ‘good’ skeptic, so none of those you listed or any other traditional ones I can think of (beyond some of the underlying things Russell discusses in The Value of Scepticism), but I’ll admit that I wish some of them were true. Astrology, faked moon landings, Feng Shui, and most of the urban legends seem pretty boring to me, but I’d absolutely love living in a world where any of the others really existed. And you left out FSL travel, PM machines, parallel universes, time travel, and large quantities of vacuum energy; those would all be fun too.

And on the technical side of things, I believe that the Axiom of Choice is true but have “doubts” about some of the results that follow logically from it. This disturbs me greatly.

I don’t know. I sort of ascribe to the idea that a full moon (lunar) increasing adverse behaviours in people. There were always higher admissions rates to the adult psych unit when the moon was full. Or at least it seem like it to us- the staff. I don’t think anyone actually did a statistical analysis of it.

I also have a strong sense of empathy for others, esp with my sons. ie I have mirror empathy pain when my older son is in pain. I often know when he has an earache because the opposite ear from his hurts- but I’m not the one with the infection. He is and quite often doesn’t say a word. I quit ignoring my discomfort after he had two perferated eardrums. 🙁 Now I ask him if he’s in pain when I’m having potentially mirror image pain- esp if it’s an earache. 😆 He usually is in pain and the one with the ear infection or what have you- not me. 🙁 My sons’ pain/illness is real during those times and mind is not. I also have a tendency to know when someone is feeling bad, nervous, happy etc too and it’s not always family.

It’s weird I know. I guess I’m just sensitive to people or something. However, it is not something I want to put to the test with the guys at CFI-CSI. It would probably be the time it failed me because I’d be too engrossed in my own nervousness. I do think a lot of it is the psychology training I’ve had too, thereby I learned to read people’s body language. Except I can’t explain why I feel ill/in pain when my sons are ill/in pain before they even say a word to me. Mother’s intuition? Almost the same thing. So, who knows why I have the “sense of empathy”.

However, a pediatritian and an ER dr said the deal I have with my sons, is not uncommon with mothers. So that’s not uncommon, but what’s the deal with other people? I don’t know and I seriously doubt there is anything scientific about it, as of yet at least, but at least, when it comes to my sons, there has been a couple drs who have varified it’s not insane, odd, or unusual.

BTW, I freaked out my second ex-husband before we were married. There had been no contact for an usual length of time. We lived 5 hours apart, so emails and letters were not unusual and noticed when not forth coming. I wrote him and asked him if there had been a death in the family. Sad to say, I was right. It was his father who died and he had not yet told me during that lenthy time of no communication. He was shocked that I some how knew. I don’t know how I knew. No, I never met he father.

My sons call me a banchee, because I did something similar (only I was in hysterics) when a great aunt died. I didn’t know she had died at the time I was so unusually upset without any known reason. My mother called the next day that the great aunt died the day before, considently about the time I had the hysterics. Unfortunately, odd things like this doesn’t seem unusual- thus why my sons say I’m a banchee. I’m not though. 😕

I think nearly all conspiracy theories are BS, esp the 9/11 truth movement, but the Warren Commission report of the official story of the JFK assassination has too many holes in it for me.

I’m only claiming skepticism of the official story, not claiming that any specific speculation or other alternative theory is true.

Mike –
Believing in intelligent life on the other planets is definitely not in the realm of superstition or supernatural. It’s perfectly reasonable to postulate that life can begin and then evolve on planets besides our own, especially given the vastness of the universe.

I do however find it somewhat odd and contradictory considering your belief in salvation through Jesus. But oh well.

I came to atheism specifically through the skeptical movement. I actually have more sympathy for the skeptical movement than for the atheist movement.

I’m skeptical about every single thing you mentioned. But some of the claims have more merit than others. A full moon might increase crime because it provides natural light. Herbal and traditional medicines can plausibly have medical effects, which may plausibly be good effects. Acupuncture (which you forgot to mention) seems to reduce pain, though for entirely different reasons than the ones acupuncturists give. Vitamin supplements do have some effects, though it’s usually exaggerated. Alien life (mentioned by Mike) is considered legitimate science, so my thoughts on that consist entirely of normal scientific skepticism.

I’m not saying that I have no superstitious beliefs, just none that I know of. If I knew about them, they’d be gone by now!

I would agree with your discouraging of homogeneity. But it’s not like being skeptical makes everyone homogeneous. To the contrary, skepticism encourages questioning everything. When I read skeptical magazines, I still end up disagreeing with about half of it.

I have prescience dreams. Nothing life-changing. I just used to know if we were going to have a substitute at school and what they would look like or if someone is going to visit. Also, anytime I get a stomach thing and start throwing up, the battery dies in my watch. It can be an old battery or a new battery, but somehow I can suck it dry if I’m puking. I have to take it off right away to save it. Those 2 things shouldn’t happen, but they do. Those aren’t airy-fairy beliefs though, they just shouldn’t be happening but they do.
Some friends of mine convinced me to let them try acupuncture on me when I was a month past term. I didn’t believe in it though and they said I didn’t have to believe for it to work. It didn’t work.
It’s probable that there are aliens from outer space and even slightly possible that they visit and fly around for a laugh, but I don’t believe any of the chowderheads in The Enquirer.
The cycle makes me laugh. Anyone remember the 70s? It was Bigfoot, Nessie, UFOs, and The Bermuda Triangle. That all was replaced by crystals and all the 80s new age nonsense. Now it’s coming back again. I haven’t heard about The Bermuda Triangle yet, but give it a little more time.

I still try to get the number 19 whenever I play for an organized sports team. But if someone gets it before me, or the numbers don’t go that high, it really doesn’t bother me. Then I just get the number 8 🙂

Or the currently trendy atheists’ rantings about “Islamofascism.”

Atheist rantings? Please. Christian conservatives own the franchise on Islamofascism paranoia.

I think you might like to meet Olvi. Or maybe – is that you, Olvi?!

I can believe in alien life forms on other planets, but I don’t believe that if they exist, that they have contacted our planet in any form. But, I think that given how large the universe is, there is a possibilty out there.

I don’t believe in ghosts. Except, of course, sometimes, when I kind of do. And I realize it makes no sense whatsoever, because I honestly and truly believe that our ‘souls’ (or whatever makes us us) disappear when we die, so I have no reason to believe some people’s stick around. Hasn’t stopped me from reading Haunted Chicago and its sequel and um… maybe goingtolookforafewoftheghosts don’t judge me!

I watched way too much Unsolved Mysteries as a kid to become the full-on skeptic I want to be.

To add another belief to the list… I’ve always been fascinated by the possible existence of Atlantis. I did a bunch of research into it back in high school and was pretty nearly convinced, though now I’m not so sure. I think it’s still a possibility though.

I like to think that eventually science will discover a real cause behind some paranormal events, ESP, Ghosts, Poltergeists etc. like they’re the result of magnetic fields or something. Which would mean that I think that sometimes there are events which can’t be explained by science (yet), but they’re just not what we think they are i.e. Ghosts. It’s really wishfull thinking on my part though.

What if they are what we think they are, there is a scientific explanation, and we just haven’t discovered it yet? For example, what if psychic powers do exist and there is a scientific explanation?

I’m still waiting and I’m the “empathic” one here! There’s a problem though… I know I’m over the chart with empathy, drs have heard of it and seen it many times over, psychologist have even seen it too and try hard NOT to get emeshed with patients because of it, neither group denies it real, but… there is no scientific evidence for it or even explaining it.

There lies the problem. I want an explanation and others unaccustom to such things want scientific evidence. There is neither forthcoming at this time.

Now Ramachandran MIGHT be on to something with his empathy neuro-studies though. In his article, some people do have an unusually high amount of empathy neurons in their brains. I have a link to it somewhere as well as the video he talks about this. It’s only a beginning of a possible explanation, but that’s it. It’s not conclusive though. I do know, that is probably where the explanation lies though: neuro-psychology.

Richard, that is what I was talking about, but I’m talking about knowing before being told. You are talking about something one sees and knows during/afterwards. I physically feel an earache or what have you when my sons’ have earaches or alike, I feel when others are sad and what have you- before anyone tells me. I had no clue that my older son had an ear infection, but I had ear pain, but his eardrum perferated in the middle of the night while he was asleep. Needless to say, I ran him to the ER in the middle of the night. He never complained, said a word, or tugged etc at it before then. He gave me no clue- most middle schoolers don’t.

When the dr asked him why he never told me, he said, “It was just clogged, so I didn’t worry about it.” Yet I had the ear pain all that time and went away when my son was on antibiotics.

Psychological yes, but by your definition, I cannot empathize unless I know or see it. I’m talking about not knowing and not seeing, yet still having the same pain, feeling, etc. I still call that empathy.

I don’t think it’s that amazing- esp when it involves pain or something distressing. It’s rare when I feel such things with strangers though. I also don’t like it when my sons call me a “banshee” either.

I don’t blame anyone for being skeptical. The problem is, telepathy or empathy is not something one can turn on and off at will. Thus, I don’t believe it can be tested in a controlled situation. It’s not like someone can ask, “OK, what am I thinking?” It doesn’t work that way and it’s not like Deanna Troi’s empathy where you can ask her if she senses anything. Personally, I don’t think what I’m wanting an explanation for is telepathy either. If anything I would say it’s empathy.

1. Yes, he had a history of ear infection, but even when he was a baby I had the ear ache first, but nothing wrong with me. It wasn’t long that I would be taking him to Urgent Care in the middle of the night because he was crying about something- which turned out to be an ear infection. Before his ear infection he was fine and playing.

Not that I discount non-verbal cues in this case, it just doesn’t seem quite on target because it been all their lives, plus when I was a child there were other odd things that had nothing to do with illness.

2. As for my behaviour with my great aunt- I have never had hysterics before. This was not just a bad mood. I was out of sorts even to my sons- who were teenagers then too.

Well, no, I know your assumption are not quite right. I think someone who works in the field- psychologist or alike, would have to be there at the time to know for sure, but it can’t be turned off and on in a lab. It’s like one night you are struck with awe and wonder of the night sky, but the next night you don’t feel that same experience and probably won’t feel it again for months or years.

Regardless of any explanation, it remains that your sons are lucky to have so attentive and intuitive a mom.

I won’t disagree with that.

Mriana, I would like to second what Richard said, that you are probably perceiving very subtle cues from your son without realizing it. There is, for example, a phenomenon known as a “microexpression” — a very fleeting change in facial expression that a person does not even know they are making, and that others do not consciously see, but that can be seen clearly on videotape that has been slowed down. We were taught in nursing school that nurses tend to score very highly on tests of the ability to perceive microexpressions. I’m willing to bet that mothers would do even better when observing them in their own children. We are social beings, and human young are unusually helpless — no doubt this ability has helped us to survive as a species. Give yourself some credit — you have an important skill that clearly makes you an excellent mother.

(P.S. I’m not entirely sure how much science there is to back up these claims about microexpressions — I couldn’t find the study about nurses, for example. It just makes a lot of intuitive sense to me, and doesn’t seem to invoke any woo as far as I can tell. I know that criminologists are very interested in them for potential lie detection purposes. If any of you are aware of any evidence to the contrary, please let me know!)

I’m afraid of the monster under the bed. I always have to keep my feet under the covers. I think the monster is waiting to devour my feet.

Um… That sounds like one of my girls! So that is where Scarlette is hiding tonight. Say, Linda, could you send my little black furball back home ASAP? She looks like a black Persian with a red diamond coller. 😀 Don’t be afraid. She’s not a panther looking for lunch.