Hey! Great site—I look forward to reading the archives and new articles.
How did I come to rationalism?
I didn’t realize it for a long time, but my first rational response was at a very young age. Some bully girl at school cornered me with her friends as said “You’re stupid!”. My response: “Nuh-UH!” (pause) “Hey, I get better grades than you! You’re stupid, not me!”
I couldn’t pick out the fallacies (hers and mine, lol) back then, but even then I knew that she was wrong, that I wasn’t stupid just because she said so. I remember being very excited with I found out that my undergrad Philosophy 101 was called “Critical Thinking” and that’s where I was formally introduced to logical fallacies. Logical fallacies have always been to me a way of speaking and thinking truthfully, a way to keep myself honest and to make sure others are being honest with me.
I am new to the online critical thinking movement, which I discovered through Pharyngula, the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, and Brian Dunning’s Skeptoid podcast and Here Be Dragons film.
Hey! Great site—I look forward to reading the archives and new articles.
How did I come to rationalism?
I didn’t realize it for a long time, but my first rational response was at a very young age. Some bully girl at school cornered me with her friends as said “You’re stupid!”. My response: “Nuh-UH!” (pause) “Hey, I get better grades than you! You’re stupid, not me!”
I couldn’t pick out the fallacies (hers and mine, lol) back then, but even then I knew that she was wrong, that I wasn’t stupid just because she said so. I remember being very excited with I found out that my undergrad Philosophy 101 was called “Critical Thinking” and that’s where I was formally introduced to logical fallacies. Logical fallacies have always been to me a way of speaking and thinking truthfully, a way to keep myself honest and to make sure others are being honest with me.
I am new to the online critical thinking movement, which I discovered through Pharyngula, the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, and Brian Dunning’s Skeptoid podcast and Here Be Dragons film.
I like the anecdote. Was your response effective?
Nah. I got pushed into the wall and heckled by the same gang for most of the rest of elementary school. :P