Meet Little Skeptic Girl
Skepticism isn’t something you are born understanding; you really have to learn it. Unfortunately they don’t teach this stuff in school! So let’s take Skepticism 101. Today’s lesson is courtesy of my seven-year-old daughter, Little Skeptic Girl:
Me: Do you know what Big Foot is?LSG: Yes, I know of two Big Foots.Me: Two?LSG: Yes, one that is a monster truck, and one that is make-believe.Me: You think it is make-believe? How do you know?LSG: Because Joe Nickell says there is no evidence for Big Foot.Me: What evidence would it take to make you believe Big Foot is real?LSG: Well, you could be walking in the woods and looking at a tree, then a Big Foot could be standing there. But then you couldn’t run away, or later you might think, “Oh, it was just my imagination!”Me: So if you could actually see – and examine – a Big Foot in person, then you’d believe?LSG: Yeah.Me: Can you think of any other evidence that would make you believe?LSG: No, can’t think of any. Because if someone told you they saw one, they might be wrong. And movies are usually not true, and magazines might not be true, and if someone video taped it and showed it to me, I might say they made it from the computer, and if they showed me a picture of it, they might have just drawn it.Me: Would you like there to be a real Big Foot?LSG: I don’t know. If it were mean and scary, then no. But if it were nice and a lot like a monkey, then yes!
This short conversation with a clever second-grader serves as an excellent introduction to skepticism. Without meaning to, she demonstrated several important facets of skepticism. Let’s examine more closely.
- To begin with, Little Skeptic Girl is no cynic. She does not dismiss the possibility that the phenomenon could be true. She did not cynically say, “There can’t be any such thing as Big Foot because that’s just silly.” As long as it were friendly and cute, she would even embrace the idea of Big Foot. Too often you see a skeptic portrayed in the media as someone who refuses to believe, even in the face of some evidence. In fact, true skeptics should be willing to believe anything, as long as there is sufficient, compelling evidence. As Skeptic magazine says, “skeptics are from Missouri, the ’show me’ state. When we hear a fantastic claim we say, ‘that’s nice, prove it.’” We don’t say, “That’s ridiculous, I refuse to consider your evidence.”
- To form her current opinion on the existence of Big Foot, she looks to the research. She quotes an expert, and states that there is not enough evidence at this time to be persuaded the phenomenon is real. Skeptics should approach any claim with this in mind. Has any research been done about this phenomenon? What are the scientists saying?
- When asked what it would take to persuade her, she looks to the scientific method. She wants hard, testable evidence. She knows better than to trust eyewitnesses or photography, or for that matter the media. She wants to see for herself, but not just a glimpse. She’d need to actually experience the phenomenon and gather data in order to believe it is true. Anecdotes won’t cut it; she needs evidence. Testable, repeatable evidence is worth a lot to a skeptic: James Randi will pay a million dollars to anyone with a paranormal claim that can be ”verified by evidence under proper observing conditions.”
As we embark on the study of skepticism, we have begun with these basics. If you are like me, you enrolled in Skepticism 101 as an adult. But if you are lucky, this was merely a review, since you enrolled way back in elementary school, like the Little Skeptic Girl.
chanson Said,
October 4, 2008 @ 2:12 am
Very impressive! (And cute!)
Hanes Said,
October 4, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
I wish more kids were that smart. Hopefully some adults will learn from her!