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How To Teach a Healthy Dose of Skepticism?
c0d3h4x0r writes "It's no accident that 'whatcouldpossiblygowrong' is one of the most common tags applied by this community to stories about proposed ideas or laws. The ability to spot and predict faults is a big part of what makes a great engineer. It starts with having a healthy skepticism about the world, which leads to actual critical thinking. Many books and courses teach critical thinking skills, but what is the best way to encourage and teach someone to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism? Is it even a teachable skill, or is it just an innate part of the geek personality?"
This is so true. The other day, my girlfriend's mother was grilling me on my asthma-- she was convinced that if I just "adjusted my attitude", my asthma would go away. I decided that it would be too rude to mention that maybe her cancer would have gone away, too, if she had had the right attitude-- this is despite the fact that modern medicine successfully treated her for cancer. Rational argument does not work with her, because, quite simply, she does not accept that systematic inquiry can lead to the answers.
Given years of responses I've read on Slashdot, I'd say that it's not an innate part of the geek personality, at least as the geek personality is currently understood. Honest skepticism requires a working knowledge of the topic in question, and most modern geeks don't even bother to try and educate themselves.
I say 'modern geek', because when I was growing up 'geek' and 'nerd' were terms applied to people with a bent towards knowledge (often esoteric and specialized) well beyond the norm (hence "computer geek") - coupled with an ability to discuss, dissect, and analyze topics on an objective basis. Or, as the teacher who advised the debate team I was on in my senior put it: "You won't find a geek as valedictorian, and few geeks win [grade based] academic scholarships, but you will find them in the chess club, the model rocket club, and on the debate team".
Being a modern geek on the other hand is all about fitting in with other 'geeks'. You have to watch the 'right' anime, be a fan of the 'right' TV shows and movies (or directors/producers), support the 'right' political causes and holding the 'proper' opinions... A modern geek must run one of the 'right' OS's and vociferously attack those who use the 'wrong' OS or hold the 'wrong' views on F/OSS, etc. etc. It's all about groupthink.
I never heard the term "geek cred" until I was well into my forties.