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    The Case for Preemptive Debunking 

    by
    Mick
    Published on December 30th, 2010 05:40 PM
    Fema Coffins

    Skeptics and debunkers often take a reactive role. When something crops up that's got some bunk in it then they take some time to explain what the problem is, pointing out where the believers are in error. The amount of effort put in by the skeptical community is proportional to the amount of exposure a topic gets. High profile topics like 9/11, homeopathy, and UFOs get a lot of attention from skeptics, but low profile topics like chemtrails and FEMA coffins get far less attention.

    This is partly because the topics seem such obvious bunk. Chemtrails are just persistent contrails, and FEMA coffins are just stored grave liners. However the people who believe in these various theories seem to take them very seriously, and are going to quite considerable lengths to promote the theories.

    Such topics are easy to dismiss when they exist outside of the mainstream, when nobody has heard of them. But if they make the leap out of obscurity, and suddenly acquire a mass of mainstream coverage, then they grab their claws into the minds of millions more people. And once those millions of people start to suspect a theory, it's very difficult to turn around.
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    A Guide to Debunking 

    by
    Mick
    Published on December 28th, 2010 03:54 PM
    Article Preview

    Debunking, according to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary
    “To expose the sham or falsehood of a subject”
    When you debunk an assertion, you are demonstrating that the reasoning, or the claimed facts, behind that assertion are false. You look and see what they are claiming, you identify which bits are true and which are not, then you explain this.

    Debunking is NOT about taking one side of an argument, and then using whatever means possible to convince someone that you are correct. A good debunker is a good scientist. If there’s information that contradicts your position, then don’t ignore it, instead you should alter your position. ...
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    Why use the word "Debunk" 

    by
    Mick
    Published on December 28th, 2010 07:23 AM
    Article Preview

    Why do I use the word "debunk", and not "skeptic"?

    Because "skeptic" is not a verb.

    This site is about doing skeptical analysis, about skeptical activism, about skeptical investigations. It's about the best ways to find and present the best evidence, and the soundest scientific work and theories. Debunking is an active verb - debunking is about doing these thing. Simply being skeptical just sounds too passive.

    Now "debunk", one might argue, has got a bit of a bad rap. Some people use the word "debunker" to mean someone who dishonestly argues for a particular position, regardless of the actual facts. Such a person might, in conspiracy culture, be described as a government or corporate "shill".
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    Debunking Sites you Should Check First 

    by
    Mick
    Published on December 27th, 2010 04:05 PM
    Article Preview

    There's something in software engineering called the DRY principle. Don't repeat yourself. Don't waste time debunking something if it's already been debunked. If you can just give a quote and a link, then you should do that. Not only does this save time, it also gets around the "why should I believe YOU" straw man attack.

    Of course we have a bit of a problem in that many of the people you will be arguing against will not consider your source to be reputable. Even user-edited and well referenced sites like Wikipedia are thought to be suspicious. Snopes is questionable, and even the more "mainstream" conspiracy sites like Above Top Secret are not above suspicion.

    There's no magic right way of doing this that's going to immediately convince everyone. This is a game of inches.

    So what are my go-to web sites? ...
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    Why Would You Debunk? 

    by
    Mick
    Published on December 27th, 2010 02:40 PM
    Article Preview

    I'm a debunker. It's my hobby. I spend quite a lot of time doing it, and people sometimes ask me why? Why spend your free time doing something like that?

    It's Fun

    I enjoy debunking. I like fixing things, and bunk is something that needs fixing. I like presenting a good case, solidly backed my facts. I like figuring out where in the chain of reasoning the bunk purveyors went wrong, or which facts they base their argument on which are not correct, of which parts of history they might be overlooking, or some telling context they may have missed. It's fun, like solving a little mystery, a treasure hunt, a little Sherlock Holmes action.
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