Comments on: The Baloney Detection Kit (on RDF TV)

By: frederick

frederick — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 01:06:46 +0000

now science has strengthen my most used statements. which is “the proof is the pudding”.and what this means is that proof is what’s real.

By: sheroniak

sheroniak — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:24:23 +0000

Mr. Shermer doesn’t believe in AGW. He makes his money from the left. Do you think they would invite him back to do lectures at any of the the california colleges if he railed against AGW. I think he’s pretending to accept AGW for what he believes to be the greater good of skepticsm at at least his part of it.

By: Winston

Winston — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:59:59 +0000

The critics of this video are ridiculous.

Michael stated “You shouldn’t believe anybody based on authority or any position they might hold.”

Look up the evidence yourselves. Michael doesn’t want you to take his word for it. Idiots.

By: emil snijer

emil snijer — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:19:00 +0000

To Earl,

Hello, I want to make a few comments. This is about making claims. How do you want to make a claim on freedom? Justice is the action done out of a set of rules. The law is not a claim for truth, but agreements for doing justice as good as it gets. Of course do right and wrong not exist as a number or weight. The weight is the effect it has on us people. Therefore nobody can claim it. Only a madman kills out of his conviction for doing good. Its merely a set of agreements, in which most of us can agree.
Value is personal. sometimes by agreement. Van Gogh’s paintings… To make a claim on value, is absurd. no evidence for it. So value is also a group issue.
This baloney detection kit is for statements that direct to a specific claim. Not on value but factors that make things happen. Things that have an outcome through that specific thing the claim is based on.

By: Earl

Earl — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:07:04 +0000

I’ve been thinking more… what if all the religions and philosophies of the world were actually various people’s “baloney detection kits?” What if that’s how religions got started? People were looking at the world around them, pondering the world inside their heads, and trying to discuss their ideas with eachother. What if people began noticing that their beliefs had strong correlation with their actions? What if people started realizing that ideas have consequences and only good ones should be promoted, while bad ones should be dissuaded? What if people began creating baloney detection kits in order to bring order to the marketplace of ideas, and then people started subscribing to their kits because certain kits made the most sense than others? What if baloney detection and world views are actually the same thing, and everyone has been trying to come up with good explanations of nature and humanity in order to weed out the baloney?

Then I imagine after some time people began questioning the baloney kits they were given by their parents. They asked: what makes you think your kit is true? What source of knowledge to you draw upon that is anything more than your personal opinion? Why should I accept your baloney kit on your authority alone?

What if all the religions and philosophies of the world are just different ways to view the world around us and process the information we encounter? What if they are all baloney detection kits? Which one is true? Does truth exist? Has any baloney detection kit ever proven that truth exists?

By: Earl

Earl — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 06:59:33 +0000

I love the baloney detection kit. I started using it on everything! It was so much fun, until I turned it on Free Will. That was the first one that really let me down and dissapointed me- took the wind out of my sails. Freedom is baloney; it does not really exist, it is a fallacy. No supporting evidence for it’s existence. Everything is deterministic. Ouch. Then I turned it on Justice. Unfortunately, Justice does not exist. It is a fallacy. It is baloney. Right and wrong do not exist. Then I turned it on Reason. As it turns out, Reason is a joke; some kind of meaningless pointless useless twisted delusion that has brought nothing of value to the universe; I can’t even prove that anything outside of my own perception actually exists. Then I turned the baloney detection kit on Value. Turns out there is no such thing, Value does not really exist. Everything is meaningless and equally worthless. My senses cannot be trusted. I hate everything. What do I do now?

By: Dougie

Dougie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:04:24 +0000

The climategate emails have shown how being skeptical of AGW was a fair choice. When will Mr. Shermer produce a video and discuss how he was misled on many points by the AGW believers?

By: Rachael

Rachael — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:43:31 +0000

If this video is to be considered through the eyes of a scientific skeptic, then perhaps it would be best to avoid comments about Schermer’s unconscious?

By: emil snijer

emil snijer — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:06:25 +0000

Almost everybody who leaves a message here, is talking in terms of; I find, I believe, I disagree and so fort. I want to stress that it’s NOT of any importance whatsoever you individuals can go along the way or not. The whole story about science is to think beyond youre own superficial area. Not in terms of personal likeliness. Truth is thuth, and it is so because of rules, not beacause it benefits you, or gives support for own personal beliefs that accompany your mind story and fantasies.
Science is purely honest thinking, and those who cheat will walk the lamp. Don’t think in personal terms, if it is about universality

By: dennis trimble

dennis trimble — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:29:39 +0000

It now appears that ‘climate science’ has been horribly corrupted.
Who is doing this and to what end?

The public mistrust of science now appears to be vindicated.
Science will forever suffer for these misdeeds.

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” – Juvenal