Skepticism is the force that keeps inquiry in

motion. Without skepticism, knowledge is

reduced to the fossilized remains of
unquestioned facts and unchallenged
assumptions.

Skepticism is the first step toward

truth  –Denis Diderot
The important thing is not to stop
questioning. Curiosity has its own reason
for existing. — Albert Einstein

The whole problem with the world is that

fools and fanatics are always so certain of
themselves, but wiser people so full of
doubts.–Bertrand Russell
“Only dead fish go with the flow” — Sarah Palin

To know that you do not know is the best.

To pretend to know when you do not know is a
disease.
Lao Tzu
 The skeptics that we describe are people who
look at the world with a critical eye (Boomer et.al,
1992)

Skeptics do not merely ask questions for

clarification, rather, they ask questions so that
they can better examine and understand the
assumptions and intentions of other people

Frank Smith (1990) argues that the first step to be

taken to improve the quality of education is all
educational institutions is to encourage students
—and teachers—to doubt.

Skeptics are relentless detectives who persist in

asking two key questions: Why and why not?
(Siegel & Carey, 2009)

First, encourage this stance toward knowledge by

posing critical questions: How did you come to
this conclusion? How else could we interpret this
issue? What information is NOT revealed? What
claims can we NOT make? What new questions
do we now have?

Second, capitalize on anomalies when they arise,

for instance, by asking why might it make sense
to feed birds a high-fat diet? Valuing and
examining surprise is some essential
characteristics of a skeptical stance. Lastly, giving
alternative interpretations and pointing out
contradictory information. Skeptical stance
becomes an ever present filter for taking in the
world.