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Argument for a Local Skeptical Society

But how does one get involved? My first notion, apart from bringing even more focus to a community education project like this blog is to, simply, rally. How does one affect positive change in a community alone, after all? It is possible, but difficult. Starting a group of like-minded individuals who could actively assist in that effort might be a start.

I must admit that the efforts of other united groups of skeptics around the world has recently given me the hope for the future of rational thought and the strength to pursue my own efforts at a higher level. I’ve spent a number of years struggling towards a goal that I had previously been unable to name or associate with a particular movement. In the past six months, I’ve stumbled upon and found a kind of kinship with an international skeptical movement and moved from a simple passive participant towards being someone who seeks to be more actively involved.

In the introduction to this blog I wrote:

I am an educator. Two and a half more years at University earned me a Bachelors of Education degree. I taught briefly in the public school system, but left quickly to pursue work in the field of public awareness and community education with not-for-profit organizations, taking science and making it accessible to the public. After nearly a decade of writing, designing, and communicating scientific ideas to a layman audience, I now want to teach my offspring those skills so that they can build and expand on them and go on to seek their own role in our world.

Much to my enjoyment, I very recently had the pleasure of listening to a (podcast) audio version of Daniel Loxton’s 2007 essay entitled Where do we go from here? Of the numerous things I could have taken from that particular piece, I came away with one notion; This is a call to action:

“We need everybody — young people, fledgling activists, the silently outraged, those who don’t know where to start — to stand up and be counted. There’s burden enough to go around. Even our heroes need students, helpers — even, one day, heirs. Newbie enthusiasm is no kind of substitute for knowledge, experience and expertise, but it’s something of value in its own right. If skepticism is a Sisyphean task, then we will always need more people who are enthusiastic about rolling rocks.”[1]

But how does one get involved? My first notion, apart from bringing even more focus to a community education project like this blog is to, simply, rally. How does one affect positive change in a community alone, after all? It is possible, but difficult. Starting a group of like-minded individuals who could actively assist in that effort might be a start. In other words, uniting under the banner of a “skeptical society”, even a decidedly informal collective, may be a catalyst for something larger down the road.

After listening to Loxton’s essay I found myself online once again, seeking evidence that I was not alone in this notion. And I don’t think I am. But it may be too early to tell. My first step in the process has been to start a bit of a (local) public plea, making use of my other (older) blog and through Facebook (which, for the benefit of future readers, is the social networking tool d’jour) particularly by starting a public group called the Edmonton Skeptical Society.

This is day one. There have been nibbles of interest. And it is a long road ahead. But it is a first step, and I feel good about taking it.

[1] Loxton, D. Where do we go from here? http://www.skeptic.com/downloads/WhereDoWeGoFromHere.pdf, 2007

The SkepDad Blog is meant to casually reflect on questions surrounding parenting and raising kids to become critical thinkers by asking questions and examining parenting ideas with a skeptical eye for facts and science. Each article is one dad's personal opinion, backed (where relevant) by literature and published research, or otherwise based on personal experiences and insights. SkepDad welcomes balanced discussion, comments, and ideas.

October 25, 2007 by Brad
Filed as: Community Skeptics

Popularity: 16%

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Comments

2 Responses to “Argument for a Local Skeptical Society”

  1. Anonymous on December 20th, 2007 1:39 pm

    Hello

    Are you aware of any local Edmonton area skeptical activity? meetings? I am very new to this arena of thought and it has only recently dawned on me that there must be like minded people in my area.

    Thanks


  2. skep/dad/brad on December 20th, 2007 5:01 pm

    I was wondering the same thing myself a couple months ago. I’ve managed to collect a small handful of people from the area into a group on Facebook, but this is fairly new and not much has come of it yet.

    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5883046913

    There seems to be a bit of interest — maybe a dozen or so people who are wired-in and actively looking to connect — but as for a “what next?” I’m not sure myself.


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