Michael Shermer Quotes

I don't believe in conspiracy theories. I'm just a cold-blooded investigator.

Disregard belief systems that aren't based on empirical studies.

A truly open mind means forcing our imaginations to conform to the evidence of reality, and not vice versa.

Opinions don't affect facts. But facts should affect opinions, and do, if you're rational

The really important thing is learning how to sceptically question and rely on empirical evidence.

More frightening than any particular beliefs or policies is an utter lack of any sense of a need to test those beliefs and policies against hard evidence. Mistakes can be corrected by those who pay attention to facts, but dogmatism will not be corrected by those who are wedded to a vision.

Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.

Philosophy has to be enquiring; it can take nothing on faith, and its methods are based not on the blind acceptance of authority, but on establishing truths by reason and argument.

The man of science is a poor philosopher.

Science is a method to keep yourself from kidding yourself.

I'm a bit of a freak for evidence-based analysis. I strongly believe in data.

Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism.

Our duty is to believe that for which we have sufficient evidence, and to suspend our judgment when we have not.

I take what I see work. I'm a strict believer in the scientific principle of believing nothing, only taking the best evidence available at the present time, interpreting it as best you can, and leaving your mind open to the fact that new evidence will appear tomorrow.

The reason I spend so much of my time doing science is that the whole point of science is to help people resolve conflicting claims by saying: 'Show me the data.'

Blind faith, no matter how passionately expressed, will not suffice. Science for its part will test relentlessly every assumption about the human condition.

In my opinion, it helps enormously to know why something is true, rather than being told it is true, for why should you believe me? Never believe anything on the authority of a single person but seek confirmation — and reason is the best confirmation

A healthy skepticism, regularly exercised…

Science, as opposed to technology, does violence to common sense.

I'm disturbed when people let superstition, magical thinking, extreme conspiracy theories and so on blur their minds.

To avoid being drawn into error, keep a firm grip on the truth.

Science is a way to call the bluff of those who only pretend to knowledge. It is a bulwark against mysticism, against superstition, against religion misapplied to where it has no business being.

I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know. How can we tell the difference between what we would like to be true and what is actually true? The answer is science.

When we are in the grasp of illusion - or, for that matter, whenever we have a new idea - instead of searching for ways to prove our ideas wrong, we usually attempt to prove them correct. Psychologists call this the confirmation bias, and it presents a major impediment of our ability to break free from the misinterpretation of randomness.

Science is a way of thinking that helps you not to fool yourself.