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Richard Wiseman (photo by Alan Burles)
The Haunting of Richard Wiseman
This week Skepticality once again welcomes noted “Quirkologist” Richard Wiseman (Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom; and fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, or CSI). Swoopy talks with Professor Wiseman about his recent paranormal investigations and the initial findings from his Hauntings: The Science of Ghosts project, presented as part of the 2009 Edinburgh International Science Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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How I Became a Libertarian
Although the Skeptics Society is apolitical, Michael Shermer sometimes explores political and economic issues in his personal blog. In some critical comments, Skepticblog readers seem to think that there are two Michael Shermers: Mr. Rational Skeptic and Mr. Kooky Libertarian. In this week’s Skepticblog post, Michael provides some personal background as to how he became a libertarian. READ the post and leave a comment at Skepticblog.org > While you’re there be sure to read the blog posts of the other Skepticbloggers: Brian Dunning, Kirsten Sanford, Mark Edward, Phil Plait, Ryan Johnson, Steven Novella, and Yau-Man Chan.
While Ayn Rand was an interesting person I have always thought she was also a hypocrite. A true Libertarian to me as well as an honourable agnostic or atheist is one who plays fair and has ethics and morals. She was a tyrant in the worse sense that a man can be a tyrant. She seduced a man who was married to another woman and played mind games with the woman. Being a social liberal and fiscal conservative I think we need to be very careful whom we get call our role models. Ms Rand lacked humility and she lacked compassion. No doubt her early childhood played a role in molding her, once we become adults we need to break the cycle of bad behavior. And the Ayn Rand folks I have met, I find as many agnostics and atheists as conservative Christians.
~Beth~
It may be true that Rand was all of those things and more, but the underlying principles of Libertarianism should be what is in question. I am not a Libertarian, I feel that political ideological affiliations tend to pigeon hole ones mind. That is not to say that political philosophies don’t all have something to contribute with regard to moving the argument along, they do. Regardless of Rands personal short comings, her philosophy regarding “life, the universe, and everything” is just like any other political philosophy, a useful template for understanding what’s going on around us, but like all theories, ultimately “wrong.”
“Kooky” people exist regardless of their political affiliations, but we should not judge an idea based upon “the man” we should instead base our judgements upon the ideas merits, or lack thereof.
Chris