tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530800266151376.post6873539321425115060..comments2024-01-31T07:34:16.455-08:00Comments on Mad Science Writer: The Ultimate Skeptic's Head Trip (Part 2)Spoony Quinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10730057249256927206noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530800266151376.post-28899140107171625002024-01-31T07:34:16.455-08:002024-01-31T07:34:16.455-08:00Thank you ffor being youThank you ffor being youGerard De Kleinehttps://rimpels-gerarddekleine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530800266151376.post-20371756671341280072015-05-16T03:43:26.454-07:002015-05-16T03:43:26.454-07:00I love this and all your other posts, at least the...I love this and all your other posts, at least the ones I've read so far! I can't find psychedelics here in Kenya so I want to start growing mushrooms myself. Any resources on how to start?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11511430937498654799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530800266151376.post-82143821844089698582014-08-26T11:50:42.327-07:002014-08-26T11:50:42.327-07:00I just remembered why that one guy (who has a PhD ...I just remembered why that one guy (who has a PhD in biology) didn't want to look at psychedelics research: He claimed that it didn't exist.<br /><br />However, I also remember someone telling me that there was a post about psychedelics research on his facebook page, so maybe he decided it exists after all.Spoony Quinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730057249256927206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530800266151376.post-5546544106147982212014-08-23T10:55:45.827-07:002014-08-23T10:55:45.827-07:00Thank you Harry, for pointing out the shades of gr...Thank you Harry, for pointing out the shades of gray. Everyone has their sacred cow, but a "real" skeptic is defined by the willingness to change their belief.<br /><br />I have actually asked a few such people if they would be willing to consider evidence to the contrary, and they said that of course they would -- but then gave some excuse or other why the evidence was not worth their attention.<br /><br />One such person, when informed that the mushrooms on his salad contain carcinogens when uncooked, actually *yelled* that Amanita muscaria contains lethal amatoxins like its pale cousin the death cap.<br /><br />He didn't seem to realize that although amatoxins are impossible to survive, there are millions of people who eat this mushroom on a regular basis, for food and for mind-altering purposes.<br /><br />There is absolutely no amatoxin in Amanita muscaria, and death reports from it are almost unheard of -- which makes sense, otherwise the Christians and Mayans wouldn't have used it in their religious rituals.<br /><br />When he heard this, instead of accepting the living proof before him, he changed the subject. He does the same thing with other topics he doesn't like -- yet he's the head of a local skeptic's group!<br /><br />I've encountered this very same phenomenon with other "skeptics", so I get the idea that they aren't so skeptical as they profess. Asking them about what evidence they would need to consider, rather then just trying to tell them that there is evidence, seems a better approach for them.Spoony Quinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730057249256927206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8090530800266151376.post-70788813617485755432014-08-21T20:48:46.343-07:002014-08-21T20:48:46.343-07:00Scepticism, like sexuality, is a continuum, there ...Scepticism, like sexuality, is a continuum, there is no hard defining line that if you are on one side you are a sceptic, on the other you are a believer. We are all sceptics, we are all believers.<br /><br />Next time ask them if their thoughts on the subject are set in stone or if they are willing to consider the evidence and be wrong. Ask them in front of as many people as possible. If they say yes then ask them what level of evidence would be required for them to change their mind and would they be willing to look at the evidence and research you have.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02374644553544994420noreply@blogger.com