Yesterday I spoke at the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, NECSS, a celebration of science and critical thinking held May 12-15 in New York City. Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci, whom I met recently, got me invited, and he might regret that, because I decided to treat the skeptics skeptically. I originally titled my talk Skepticism: Hard Versus Soft Targets. The references to Bigfoot in the headline above and text below were inspired by a conversation I had with conference Emcee Jamy Ian Swiss before I went on stage. He asked what I planned to say, and I told him, and he furiously defended his opposition to belief in Bigfoot. He wasnt kidding. I hadnt brought up Bigfoot, but I decided to mention him in my talk. Swiss didnt let me take questions, so I promised the audience that I would post the talk here (slightly edited) and would welcome skeptical comments or emails. -John Horgan
I hate preaching to the converted. If you were Buddhists, Id bash Buddhism. But youre skeptics, so I have to bash skepticism.
Im a science journalist. I dont celebrate science, I criticize it, because science needs critics more than cheerleaders. I point out gaps between scientific hype and reality. That keeps me busy, because, as you know, most peer-reviewed scientific claims are wrong.
So Im a skeptic, but with a small S, not capital S. I dont belong to skeptical societies. I dont hang out with people who self-identify as capital-S Skeptics. Or Atheists. Or Rationalists.
When people like this get together, they become tribal. They pat each other on the back and tell each other how smart they are compared to those outside the tribe. But belonging to a tribe often makes you dumber.
Heres an example involving two idols of Capital-S Skepticism: biologist Richard Dawkins and physicist Lawrence Krauss. Krauss recently wrote a book, A Universe from Nothing. He claims that physics is answering the old question, Why is there something rather than nothing?
Krausss book doesnt come close to fulfilling the promise of its title, but Dawkins loved it. He writes in the books afterword: "If On the Origin of Species was biology's deadliest blow to supernaturalism, we may come to see A Universe From Nothing as the equivalent from cosmology."
Just to be clear: Dawkins is comparing Lawrence Krauss to Charles Darwin. Why would Dawkins say something so foolish? Because he hates religion so much that it impairs his scientific judgment. He succumbs to what you might call The Science Delusion.
The Science Delusion is common among Capital-S Skeptics. You dont apply your skepticism equally. You are extremely critical of belief in God, ghosts, heaven, ESP, astrology, homeopathy and Bigfoot. You also attack disbelief in global warming, vaccines and genetically modified food.
These beliefs and disbeliefs deserve criticism, but they are what I call soft targets. Thats because, for the most part, youre bashing people outside your tribe, who ignore you. You end up preaching to the converted.
Meanwhile, you neglect what I call hard targets. These are dubious and even harmful claims promoted by major scientists and institutions. In the rest of this talk, Ill give you examples of hard targets from physics, medicine and biology. Ill wrap up with a rant about war, the hardest target of all.
