Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Critical Thinking/The six rules of evidential reasoning /was pet communicators

Best resource for critical thinking tools is good ol' Carl Sagan's "The Fine
Art of Baloney Detection". You can find it here:
http://www.sff.net/people/MBourne/Weirdnessbaloney.htp

And just for the record, the James Randi Foundation has a one million dollar
prize for anyone who can provide concrete reliable evidence of esp, or any
psychic or paranormal abilities. Funny thing, no one has been able to
collect it, even though there are only the most basic evidence rules one
must follow, as with any scientific data collection....details on this can
be seen at:
www.randi.org

~Shere
(unrepentant skeptic - show me the evidence!)


----- Original Message -----
From: Tamara Woodcock <plasmatica@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 9:14 AM
Subject: [RC] Critical Thinking/The six rules of evidential reasoning /was
pet communicators


> >You have nothing to lose except a little bit
> >of money.
> >
> >Karla
>
>
> Hmm..  That would be the key wouldn't it?  Nothing to lose but money
indeed!
>   Pay someone $90 to sit on a phone in their home, gleefully balancing
their
> now-bulging checkbooks, pretending to channel/commune with/feel the vibes
of
> my lost cat/horse/dog/parrot?  This is why "psychics" drive nice cars and
I
> drive a near-junker.  If I was just a bit less honest and able to keep a
> straight face while telling hilarious lies...
>
> What's up with critical thinking?  Pet communicators?  I mourn the loss of
> reason in America today...  As a refresher of what we should have learned
in
> high school, here is a quick guide to critical thinking:
>
> The Six Rules of Evidential Reasoning (admittedly stolen from somehwere,
but
> I can't find from where it was stolen)
>
> 1)  Falsifiability:  It must be possible to conceive of evidence that
would
> prove the claim false.
> 2)  Logic:  Any argument offered as evidence in support of any claim must
be
> sound.
> 3)  Comprehensiveness:  The evidence offered in support of any claim must
be
> exhaustive -- that is all of the available evidence must be considered.
> 4)  Honesty:  The evidence offered in support of any claim must be
evaluated
> without self-deception.
> 5)  Replicability:  If the evidence for any claim is based upon an
> experimental result, or if the evidence offered in support of any claim
> could logically be explained as coincidental, then it is necessary for the
> evidence to be repeated in subsequent experiments or trials.
> 6)  Sufficiency:  The evidence offered in support of any claim must be
> adequate to establish the truth of that claim, with these stipulations:
the
> burden of proof for any claim rests on the claimant, extraordinary claims
> demand extraordinary evidence, and evidence based upon authority and/or
> testimony is always inadequate for any paranormal claim.
>
> The evidence for belief in pet communicators cannot, has not, (and IMO,
will
> never, pass these tests...  $90 better spent on bridle id tags and
> microchipping.
>
> -Tamara, (who actually does waste a tiny bit of time worrying about the
fact
> that a a wire service report telling of a psychic who located a cat lost
in
> an airplane baggage compartment is actually considered "news" and goes
> unchallenged by either the reporters of said story or the
readers/believers)
>
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 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
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