Michael Shermer quotes - page 2

Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not. (Michael Shermer)
There are many sources of spirituality; religion may be the most common, but it is by no means the only. Anything that generates a sense of awe may be a source of spirituality. Science does this in spades. View quote
Michael Shermer
Within a decade, maybe two or three, Christians will come around to treating gays no differently than they now treat other groups whom they previously persecuted - women, Jews, blacks - but not because of some new interpretation of a biblical passage, or because of a new revelation from God. These changes will come about the same way that they always do: by the oppressed minority fighting for the right to be treated equally, and by a few enlightened members of the oppressing majority supporting their cause. Then what will happen is that Christians will take credit for the civil liberation of gays, dig through the historical record and find a few Christian bloggers or preachers who had the courage and the character to stand up for Gay rights when their fellow Christians would not, and then cite those as evidence that were it not for Christianity gays would not be equal. View quote
Michael Shermer
Science is not a thing. It's a verb. It's a way of thinking about things. It's a way of looking for natural explanations for all phenomena. View quote
Michael Shermer
Flawed as they may be, science and the secular Enlightenment values expressed in Western democracies are our best hope for survival. View quote
Michael Shermer
Anecdotal thinking comes naturally; science requires training. View quote
Michael Shermer
Scientists are skeptics. It's unfortunate that the word 'skeptic' has taken on other connotations in the culture involving nihilism and cynicism. Really, in its pure and original meaning, it's just thoughtful inquiry. View quote
Michael Shermer
The actual atoms and molecules that make up my brain and body today are not the same ones that I was born with on September 8, 1954, a half-century ago this month. View quote
Michael Shermer
Conspiracies are a perennial favorite for television producers because there is always a receptive audience. View quote
Michael Shermer
We know evolution happened because innumerable bits of data from myriad fields of science conjoin to paint a rich portrait of life's pilgrimage. View quote
Michael Shermer
A Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the universe evokes far more awe for creation than light streaming through a stained glass window in a cathedral. (Michael Shermer)
Mammals are sentient beings that want to live and are afraid to die. Evolution vouchsafed us all with an instinct to survive, reproduce and flourish. View quote
Michael Shermer
When alien abductees recount to me their stories, I do not deny that they had a real experience. View quote
Michael Shermer
For solving a surprisingly large and varied number of problems, crowds are smarter than individuals. View quote
Michael Shermer
The reason is that in a group, individual errors on either side of the true figure cancel each other out. View quote
Michael Shermer
Plato wove historical fact into literary myth. View quote
Michael Shermer
Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what. View quote
Michael Shermer
In the long run, it is better to understand the way the world really is rather than how we would like it to be. View quote
Michael Shermer
Are science and religion compatible? It's like, are science and plumbing compatible? They're just two different things. View quote
Michael Shermer
I say you don't need religion, or political ideology, to understand human nature. Science reveals that human nature is greedy and selfish, altruistic and helpful. View quote
Michael Shermer
Ever since college, I have been a libertarian - socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility. (Michael Shermer)
Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it. View quote
Michael Shermer
My libertarian beliefs have not always served me well. Like most people who hold strong ideological convictions, I find that, too often, my beliefs trump the scientific facts. View quote
Michael Shermer
The principal barrier to a general acceptance of the monist position is that it is counterintuitive. View quote
Michael Shermer
I always accepted the libertarian position of minimum regulation in the sale and use of firearms because I placed guns under the beneficial rubric of minimal restrictions on individuals. View quote
Michael Shermer