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You could just as well say that an agnostic is a deeply religious person with at least a rudimentary knowledge of human fallibility.

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Some information is classified legitimately; as with military hardware, secrecy sometimes really is in the national interest. Further, military, polit...more

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Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

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The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be ...more

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It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served...more

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The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols, is the pathwa...more

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Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says ...more

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Present global culture is a kind of arrogant newcomer. It arrives on the planetary stage following four and a half billion years of other acts, and af...more

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You can get into a habit of thought in which you enjoy making fun of all those other people who don't see things as clearly as you do. We have to guar...more

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Those who make uncritical observations or fraudulent claims lead us into error and deflect us from the major human goal of understanding how the world...more

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Both [P. T.] Barnum and H. L. Mencken are said to have made the depressing observation that no one ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence...more

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The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and right. You can't all be correct. And what if all of you are wrong? It's a possibility,...more

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Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend...more

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When I wake up I go through an abbreviated process of mourning all over again. Plainly, there’s something within me that’s ready to believe in life af...more

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Nevertheless, (Jefferson) believed that the habit of skepticism is an essential prerequisite for responsible citizenship. He argued that the cost of e...more