"It is indeed. Also frustrating because so many people seem to have theirs skewed toward one end of the spectrum or the other."
My skew is obvious, but posting here reminds me of my bias and that helps me stay conscious of it. I went from desiring unbounded awareness to just staying conscious of my cognitive limits! That said I also react to people who claim to "know" things certainly beyond just asserting their beliefs and reasons. As a natural advocate of my beliefs I have to keep an eye on myself as well! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > Judy, > > > > I finally got through your suggested exchange on the skeptic board. > > Oh, man, that should get you some kind of medal. > > > That very interesting and brought out many important points about > > testing, objectivity and bias. > > It was fun to be able to hash it out in that > kind of detail. > > > This is a great topic for self-discovery. Most people are skewed > > by financial gain, but not always. I spent a fair amount of my > > mortgage banking career counseling people NOT to buy a home at > > that particular time, which went against my own financial > > interest. But in many cases as a mortgage professional, I was > > the only person in the transaction willing to be objective about > > it. The home buyers were on home-ownership drugs, and the Realtors > > wanted their commissions. But my years of seeing people getting > > financially demolished by buying a home too soon put me in the best > > position to help home buyers understand what the reality would be > > after I got them a loan. This ethical code helped me sleep at > > night but the loan meltdown we see today is evidence that my style > > was in the extreme minority in the industry. > > Boy, I'll say. But you made a decent living anyway, > right? You ought to think about writing an op-ed > piece on your experiences. > > > In my life I am trying to find my own balance of enjoying the > > benifits of age and having been around the block a bit. I don't > > have the same "anything is possible" stars in my eyes of my youth, > > but I have also lived long enough to have experienced amazing and > > unexpected things in life. It is a tricky balance to set one's own > > BS meter isn't it? > > It is indeed. Also frustrating because so many people > seem to have theirs skewed toward one end of the > spectrum or the other. > > > Regarding the crop circles: I found that my ability to assess the > > claims of unusual findings at some sites is severely limited. > > Although I am skeptical of claims that people know what any of this > > means (i.e. UFOs), I understand my limits in evaluating their > > reporting truthfulness, or accuracy, and what any of it may mean. I > > am willing to move the whole topic of unusual findings at circle > > sites into the "I don't have a clue" bin > > That's *precisely* where it belongs, IMHO. Anything > else is either skeptopathic or credulous. > > rather than some attempt to judge > > it with zero tools or training, or even an ability to assess the > > sincerity of the reporters. But someone's financial interest in > > something doesn't exclude their information right away outside of > > serious scientific studies. For this kind of topic those people > > may be the only ones really paying full attention to the question. > > Yes, that's a hard point to get across. And it may > not even be *financial* interest, the TM researchers > being a good example. They may have an interest in > making money for the TMO, but it's also their belief > system at stake. > > > It is an interesting question blending what we know about using the > > scientific method combined with the half-assed application we end up > > with in our personal lives when evaluating claims. > > <grin> Yes, indeed. Too many of us don't even try. > Kudos to you for making the attempt. > > I appreciate the > > thought you have given the topic and your directing me to the > > discussion. It was helpful, and for a philosophy hack like myself, > > a lot of fun to read. > > You're more than welcome. Glad you enjoyed it, > and many thanks for the feedback. > > BTW, I realized I have a copy of the book that > one guy published on crop circles, "Vital Signs." > It has really stunning photos, aerial and closeup, > and a lot of good discussion of the ins and outs > of the whole thing. It's in paperback, $15, if > you're interested; Amazon has it: > > http://tinyurl.com/32tkbt >
