Why I am a Skeptic

Last week Craig introduced a new section to our newsletter, which he's named Why Are You A Skeptic. We're keen to hear from each of you about why you're a skeptic, and to publish your stories in the newsletter. If you're up for it, please send your story to newsletter@skeptics.nz. For now, here's my story of how I came to skepticism, and why I'm involved with the NZ Skeptics:

I grew up as a fairly inquisitive kid, and liked to challenge those who tried to push religion on us impressionable kids - the church leaders who came in to talk at school assemblies, adults who ran the local youth group, etc. After a weird period in my teens and twenties when I became a Christian, I returned to my atheist roots with a vengeance, upset with myself that I'd let myself be fooled into believing such nonsense.

From atheism, it was a short hop to what I consider the wider field of skepticism. Not only were gods nonsense, but so were psychics, acupuncturists and UFO hunters. The more I read, the more I realised that there are a lot of people out there who, whether they are misguided or malicious, are selling people a lie. From a $50 Reiki session to a $5,000 speaker cable, unscrupulous sellers everywhere were, and are, using lies and falsehoods to make a quick buck.

After a few years of consuming skeptical content online, I decided I wanted to do something practical, something of use. So I went along to my local Skeptics in the Pub to see what other skeptics were up to. It was refreshing to meet a group of people who had the same worldview as I had. Although the regulars at the Wellington Skeptics in the Pub came from a wide range of backgrounds and professions, and were/are a weird and wonderful group, we all had the same respect for evidence and critical thinking - and that made it feel like I belonged. Since joining Skeptics in the Pub I've also joined the NZ Skeptics and helped form the Society for Science Based Heatlhcare, and I've tried to help make a difference where I can.

I think the reason I'm a skeptic is because I see all the scammers and the con artists out there, the preachers and the conspiracy theorists, the naturopaths and the vaccine deniers, and I want to do something about it. I want to help to stop these people from making people's lives worse, and I think this can be done by shining a light on their bullshit, warning others about how ineffective, costly and sometimes dangerous their nonsense can be, and reporting them to the relevant authorities or professional bodies when they're behaving in an unethical manner. Working with others in the skeptical community has been a good way to tackle those who try to take advantage of others.