Reply #238: Here's an interesting article [View All]

[LWolf]

discussing, among other things, the history of organized skepticism:

http://www.temple.edu/isllc/newfolk/skeptics.html

I'm presenting the article as just one source other than myself that recognizes organized skepticism; I've never read it before today, I just googled it. Since you asked.

Are the patterns significant? Good question. I don't have the answer, one way or the other. Are you suggesting that every time we notice a pattern, we ought to find the time and resources to conduct a controlled study, or that, if some organization hasn't already funded such a study, the patterns don't count? I don't think stating that I have noticed patterns amounts to claiming to have "proved" anything, and I don't think the fact that I haven't done, or paid for, a comprehensive controlled study "disproves" anything. Analogies don't "prove," but scientific reasoning involves the argumentative uses of analogy. It's a guidepost for further investigation. If the pattern of similarities bothers you, feel free to engage in some rigorous investigation.

I'm not sure where you got the bolded quote; is it yours? I can say quite openly that I'm not making sense of it.