Dr. Steven Novella

Um, so the other component though of skepticism, I think this will address the question is, um, and this is like, again, if we have to boil it down to one word is humility.

Like you can't be a skeptic without being massively humble intellectually.

You have to be intellectually humble.

And why?

Well, because most of the time when you're dealing with a pseudoscientist, a crank, a charlatan, or somebody just promoting nonsense, man, I tell you, after doing this for 30 years, the one feature they all have in common is an utter lack of humility.

And the humility makes you ask the question, yeah, but is this really true?

How do I really know this?

Am I believing this because I want to believe it, because it makes me feel better about myself or about the world, or because it's really true, because it's supported objectively by science and logic?

And that also applies to religion, right?

You're always trying to get outside of yourself, outside of your culture if you can, outside of your belief system, outside of your tribe, everything, and say, yeah, but is it really, really true?

And that's the beginning of the process, right?

And that's part of the freeing aspect, too, because you're getting out of all of that.

Some people don't even realize how oppressive it is.

It's like, oh, I didn't realize how oppressed I was having to always defend my party or whatever it is.

Now I can just think for myself.

But again, the risk is always, especially with newly minted skeptics, people who are just starting to really practice, remember to be humble because...

The real risk is you start to think you know stuff.

And then once you think the journey's over, it ends.

So the journey has to never be over.

No, they have the humility.