I recently discovered a word that well describes my world
view and that is scepticism. Someone said that a sceptic is someone who is
passionately unsure. It’s funny but there is so much truth in that definition,
especially with the word “passionately”. Some people are passively unsure and just
happy to leave it there. Sceptics, however, are so excited and triggered by
uncertainty that they want to find out. It is the belief that extraordinary
claims require extraordinary evidence. It is the search for evidence that makes
one a sceptic. Evidence is not always about feeling, seeing or touching; it is
rather about creating the environment for logic and reason to be traded freely
without the fear of consequences. It is the bravery to ask the big questions of
life and not accepting unfounded myths for answers. It is about not allowing
yourself not to know or be exposed to any source of information whatsoever. It
is indeed a personal relationship with reality.
Looking back, I think I have been a sceptic since time
immemorial. I suppose the difference is that as a “self-certified” sceptic, I
have the boldness to ask questions, and refuse to take illogical and
meaningless “placeholder answers” as satisfactory. It is about accepting that
there is nothing wrong with not knowing as long as you are in the process of
finding out. The process of elimination is a very important aspect of
scepticism. It is something I probably picked up from school days passion for
maths and solving equations. In the absence of a formula, you try a few
variables and conclude that some of them do not offer solutions to the problem
being posed and then narrowing your options. A very important step in my scepticism is
about accepting that certain proposed answers are just not true even in the
absence of any answers.
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| It's OK to ask questions |
Outside the realm of maths and science, it is baffling that the
same reasoning and logic that have provided us with so many answers and have
changed our lives so much are not being applied. And this precisely explains
the difference between what I was before and what I am now. There are a few
explanations of why the process of elimination and unbiased reasoning that has
worked so well in science and maths classes has not been used elsewhere. The
first explanation is probably that science and maths are still being viewed as
subjects to be studied at school for the purpose of passing exams instead of a
way of developing critical thinking. The critical thinking stops there and
children are rarely encouraged to question or argue with parents about the
rationality of held beliefs and proposed actions. This is quite sad because the
founding fathers of science were seeking answers to the big questions such as
whether the earth was flat, whether it was the centre of the universe, and what
was inside the human body. They challenged the commonly and forcefully held
beliefs of their time and that is why we know much better now.
The second explanation is the existence of so many no-go
areas when it comes to logic and reasoning. It is perplexing that it is mostly
adults that get caught up in this. We are made to understand that certain
questions should never been asked or that certain answers must be accepted
without questioning. We are made to believe that doubting is evil and carry
eternal gruesome punishment. On the less threatening side, we are made to
believe that just by passionately not doubting, you can achieve extraordinary
feats. It is obvious that this is a mere glorification of complacency. This is
not to say that there is anything good about doubting just for the sake of it. My
scepticism is about not limiting my options in the search for knowledge and
enlightenment. It is about exposing myself to opposing views without the fears
of being proven wrong. Where good evidence exist, it is stupid not to accept
it.
Another interesting aspect of my scepticism is refusing to accept
that certain privileged people have somehow magically obtained answers to some
life’s pressing questions. Some of them present to us as evidence what they
have seen in their dreams, the voices they heard in their head, their gut
feelings, and documents they mysteriously dug out of their gardens or fell from
the sky and conveniently disappeared. The biggest problem with this form of
evidence is that sooner or later, people start believing them as the source of
major scientific discoveries. I remember childhood stories that suggested that
all the major scientists got their revelations during encounters with
extra-terrestrial beings. This is sheer laziness that refuses to recognise the
thorough thought processes and experimentations that have enabled the great
scientists to arrive at where we are today.
Believing that things happen by magic is a dangerous short cut that
truncates the need to exercise one’s brain. I was once very angry when, a few
years ago, a grown-up educated man seriously suggested with a straight face
that the mobile phone and other electronic devices were the outcome of the
White Man’s witchcraft. So angry I had to run out of the house temporary
hugging my head with both hands. It is understandable that we are all excited
by wonder. However, as Jules Verne put it: “reality has provided us with facts
so romantic that imagination itself could add nothing to them”.
I have never encountered anything as addictive as
scepticism. The world is full of knowledge and concepts waiting to be explored.
The internet makes it possible to continue searching and getting connected with
people as sceptical as I am as well as people putting so much effort into
providing answers. Seeking knowledge give so much meaning to life. It makes
life so much worth living. It eliminates boredom. There is also something quite
scary about scepticism. It is the
discovery that there are so many things that you do not know but wish to know.
This is where the addiction and desperation comes in. Knowledge, however, is a
good thing to be addicted to. To rephrase Bob Marley: “one good thing about
knowledge is that when it hits you, you feel no pain. So hit me with
knowledge”.
Scepticism can be so self-absorbing though. It is about loving yourself so much that you
are just fine having a conversation with yourself. You so much look forward to
that that moment when you can be finally on your own to reflect, analyse, ask
questions and formulate answers. It is about giving yourself the permission to
agree, disagree, think or accept. It is about a personal relationship with
myself and it seems to be working well.
It is shocking that many people see scepticism as being
negative. They ask: “why are you so negative?” I suppose the fact is that many
people are just happy to hold on to ideas that work for them. Those ideas make
them happy and give them hope. They despise anyone that brings in any doubt. The
second aspect is many people struggle with gaps and uncertainty. I say this as
a risk analyst. They would rather replace these with “placeholder truths”. It
works for them and that is fine by me. However, I am happy to have overcome
these. So I remain:
Yours Faithfully,
Passionately Unsure
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