Michael Shermer on scepticism and free speech
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Michael Shermer is an American science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor-in-chief of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. The Skeptics Society currently has over 55,000 members. Shermer engages in debates on topics pertaining to pseudoscience and religion in which he emphasizes scientific skepticism. Shermer is producer and co-host of the 13-hour Fox Family television series Exploring the Unknown which was broadcast in 1999. From April 2001 to January 2019, he was a monthly contributor to Scientific American magazine with his Skeptic column. He is also a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH).Shermer was once a fundamentalist Christian, but ceased to believe in the existence of God during his graduate studies. He accepts the labels agnostic, nontheist, atheist and others. He has expressed reservations about such labels for his lack of belief in a God, however, as he sees them being used in the service of "pigeonholing", and prefers to simply be called a skeptic. He also describes himself as an advocate for humanist philosophy as well as the science of morality.
\\nLYRICS:
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\\nThrough much of my life I was lost, to what opinions were mine
\\nI was blown with the wind, confused, most of the time
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\\nBut hindsight is helpful for learning, and I learnt a lot
\\nI\'m older and wiser and stronger with the knowledge I\'ve got
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\\nThe right from the wrong, the false from the true
\\nI gave the Devil his due
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\\nThere were times when I had to close my ears, cos I couldn\'t bear to hear
\\nWhen people had terrible views, that filled me with fear
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\\nOr lies like a virus infected, I thought all conspiracy
\\nBut more times exposed, meant greater immunity
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\\nConsensus can hide. Discern and decide
\\nI gave the Devil his due
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\\nI\'ve learnt the most from those with whom I disagreed
\\nThey forced me to think what exactly it was I believed
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\\nKnowledge is a currency. But wisdom is gold
\\nWeigh up the value of everything, you\'ve ever been told
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\\nMost of it\'s wrong, but some of it\'s true
\\nSo I gave the Devil his due