Skeptic Test

williamgrogan

I was thinking that maybe we could draw up a question and answer "test" to determine how much a Skeptic one is. Those dropping in from other boards and maybe unsure of what a Skeptic is can take the test. I could build it as a clickable web page and stick it on the ISS site?

Now before anyone has a fit, this is just a light hearted attempt to allow someone to see if they are a Skeptic.

For example…….

#1 When someone tells you something that happened to them that sounds extraordinary, do you A) Always believe them because they have no reason to lie quiz them a bit C) doubt them D) Fall around the place laughing.

#2 If you read of a new Scientific discovery that, “undermines all known laws of Physics”, on Sky News just before the hour, do you A) say, “I knew it!” Decide to keep an eye out for any reference to this in your usual reading materials C) Switch channels D) Wonder why you subscribe to Sky.

Etc..


At the bottom we would have

0 points for every A, 2 points for every B, 5 points for every C and 10 points for every D.

ecksor

Why is it considered more sceptical to immediately dismiss than to question or investigate? Your test rewards cynicism rather than scepticism I think.

williamgrogan

OK point taken, how about this then?

Like all these tests it is important that you answer the question truthfully and not try and second guess what the “correct” answer is if you wish to get an accurate score.

#1 When someone tells you something that happened to them that sounds extraordinary, do you A) Always believe them because they have no reason to lie Fall around the place laughing C) Quiz them for more details D) Doubt them

#2 If you read of a new Scientific discovery that, “undermines all known laws of Physics”, on Sky News just before the hour, do you A) say, “I knew it!” Switch channels C) Wonder why you subscribe to Sky. D) Decide to keep an eye out for any reference to this in your usual reading materials

Etc..


At the bottom we would have

0 points for every A, 2 points for every B, 5 points for every C and 10 points for every D.

PS

Its easy to criticise, how about a test or two?

ecksor

No harm in a bit of honest criticism surely.

I'm not sure of the value of such a test. It's easy to think "Hm, what is the sceptical mindset?" when doing such a test and frame your answers that way. How sceptical someone is in general is a different matter.

I would say that the challenging of certain "widely held views or facts", as I think you like to put it, could be done in the way that John Allen Paulos does it in his column A mathematician reads the newspaper. Not in quiz format, but the material he comments on could be put in quiz format with a bit of thought.

GuanYin

Quite frankly I'm surprised and amused that WG holds any faith in such quizes.

If you like I'll do one up. I'll try not to load the questions (like the examples above) and withhold the scoring scheme until its time to mark up.

williamgrogan

You two did see the "light hearted" phrase? Yes? You know what that means? No! Well use Google to look for examples.

The average person's reading material includes many of these tests. No woman's magazine would be complete without a “personality” type test. They obviously are not accurate but are what many people are used to and for the majority of the population would have a small educational value. There may be people wandering by who might never even have heard of Skeptics and might wonder what are they and are they one.

I'm not sure of the value of such a test. It's easy to think "Hm, what is the sceptical mindset?" when doing such a test and frame your answers that way.

This applies to all these tests.

We could open the thing with…

Like all these tests it is important that you answer the question truthfully and not try and second guess what the “correct” answer is if you wish to get an accurate score.

I looked at the site but didn’t see any obvious questions. Anyway I don’t think you need mathematical ability to be a skeptic. Many people are just not interested in Maths – Solicitors for example. Can you construct an example?

OK here’s another one.

#3 When you do the Lotto, do you leave in numbers that have come up in the past more than other numbers A) Yes because they are luckier No because the odds will balance and the other numbers are now more likely to come up C) You don’t care as the Lotto draws are examples of mutually exclusive events D) You agree with Socrates that Lotteries are a tax on idiocy.

PS

Why do I suspect that Syke's test will be used to bar those other than Chemical Engineers from joining the ISS? Maybe I am a cynic.

GuanYin

When reading the skeptics forum you expect 1) Rational and thoughtful debate 2) Open minded people who understand the nature of scientific enquiry 3) Closed minded cynics whoe bark propaganda 4) a load of preachy soap-box rants from deluded brainwashed cynics who miss teh irony of confusing skepticism with their religious likke beliefs......

ecksor

Originally posted by williamgrogan
This applies to all these tests.

Sure, which is why I question the value of it. If you want to make people think, then I think the sort of thing I'm getting at is a bit more likely to succeed, but since you couldn't find examples of what I meant I'll try to dig up a few later.

I looked at the site but didn’t see any obvious questions. Anyway I don’t think you need mathematical ability to be a skeptic. Many people are just not interested in Maths – Solicitors for example.

This depends on what you mean by mathematical ability. Logic, clear thinking, the ability to spot when two factors are orthogonal, the ability to spot the flaw in an argument and the ability to abstract are useful tools for the sceptic in my opinion. A bit of training in mathematics is valued by many legal people for just those reasons.

The basis of the site is that innumeracy, poor understanding of statistical evidence and logical fallacies are what misleads a lot of the public. The "mathematician reading the newspaper" isn't saying you must do a maths degree to know anything, he's merely trying to highlight woolly thinking, explain the flaws in the arguments and explain his reasons in a way that gives the person the tools to spot such things for themselves.

williamgrogan

Fine Syke, at least you’re trying. I’ll just edit it a bit.

#4 When reading the Skeptics forum you expect A) Rational and thoughtful debate Open minded people who understand the nature of scientific enquiry C) Closed minded cynics who bark propaganda D) a load of preachy soap-box rants from deluded brainwashed cynics who miss the irony of confusing Skepticism with their religious like beliefs

rde

I'm wondering about this whole idea of a sceptical mindset. I consider myself as having a scientific mindset; this pretty much parallels that of a sceptical mindset (if either exists).

Of course, we have our own bugbears. If the day comes when Sky News announces that astronomers are in turmoil because Dark Matter's existence is thrown into doubt, obviously I'm going to do research before celebrating fully; however, my initial reaction would be 'woohoo!' (or perhaps "I knew it!"). Words can't express my dislike for the whole dark matter idea, but it enjoys currency amongst most scientists. Does this make me a sceptic, or put me in the same class as creationists? To be honest, I don't really care.

On the subject of mathematical ability, I suspect that most people who have an appreciation of probability tend to be sceptical, rather than vice versa.

#4 When reading the Skeptics forum you expect A) Rational and thoughtful debate Open minded people who understand the nature of scientific enquiry C) Closed minded cynics who bark propaganda D) a load of preachy soap-box rants from deluded brainwashed cynics who miss the irony of confusing Skepticism with their religious like beliefs

I expect E) all of the above. Not unlike every other forum.

My version of the test:
When someone tells you of an extraordinary claim on which you can't speak authoritatively, do you
a) Explain politely that it seems unlikely, but promise to forward them details once you've looked into it
b) Listen politely, but not really have an opinion either way unless the person telling you this is really good looking
c) Consider that it might be true
d) Denounce them as a tool of astrologers and homeopaths

The only difference between a sceptic and a mere human is that where as a mere human might pick any one of a-c, a sceptic might pick any one of a-d.

You can't generalise. One important point that most sceptics tend to forget is that we live in an age of scientific wonder, and of logical absurdity. The sceptic expects people to accept quantum mechanics and general relativity, but to dismiss homeopathy and acupuncture. They expect people to accept the implications of E=hf, but dismiss the film footage of a chinese man undergoing open-heart surgery without anaesthetic. There's too much science in the world; no-one can understand it all, even in a basic way.