Skeptics and Why We Need Them

Skeptics pose learning opportunities.

Sometimes their challenges sting but when I step away from my emotional reaction I learn more about myself and my perceptions than if I had not been challenged. Until a skeptic forces me to examine WHY I believe something, I realize I sometimes base my perceptions and beliefs on feelings/intuition rather than data or both.

Recently during a presentation a skeptic challenged me rather harshly. I was telling a story about “coincidences occur where life and destiny (karma) intersect.” During the editing phase of my book, my computer would lock-up but only when I was trying to change all references of bees to deer. Based on my new computer’s behavior, and the fact that I had changed many other words without incident, I did further research and found that bees should indeed remain part of the story. I was thrilled with this outcome and convinced that this “coincidence” was an intersection of my physical reality with my karma. (see the story at: http://www.caryncolgan.com/bee.htm

The skeptic argued that he was a skilled computer programmer and that computers and their programs freeze. He began a long, detailed explanation of why and how it happens. Further he stated that my story did not involve some mystical intersection.

Since I had never been challenged before by someone who claimed such authority, I was momentarily taken aback. I took a few deep breaths to center myself and realized I was asking my audience to accept my interpretation on faith.

So I called upon my logical brain and asked a series of questions like:

What are the odds that the function “Find: bee, Replace with: deer” would be the only ones to lock up my computer?

What are the odds that this would happen repeatedly and only with those words and in that order?

Is it possible that the outcome of learning that bees should remain in the story was no accident?

Is it possible that reality is greater than our ability to explain it with logic and empirical data?

What would it mean if this was NOT a “coincidence”?

I was delighted after this exchange because his probing required me to more carefully examine my beliefs AND be able to explain why I believe as I do. So now, when I am faced with a skeptic I remind myself that she or he has a plays a important role: that person helps me clarify my beliefs and my ability to communicate WHY I believe as I do.

Bliss and Blessings to ALL