I don't mean to brag but my executive function is POPPING OFF today. I'm getting so much done, and I'm going to ride this wave as long as I can.

is that you often come away with a habitual cringe at the word "skepticism" and other related terms. And that's so frustrating, because skepticism is so good and useful. We SHOULD all be skeptical of things our leaders and governments tell us. We should question their intents, their methods, their data. But as humans we have to remember that we use antagonistic skepticism not because we believe the opposite, and wish to prove it wrong, but because it's the process that let's us uncover truth removed from what we want it to be. You defend a thesis against the questioning of learned scholars not because they believe you to be wrong, but to prove that what you have done is not inadequate to evidence your conclusions.

And then you have to remember that people shouting pseudoscience and misinformation are not truly being skeptical, no matter what they say. They are not questioning things to find truth. They are reinforcing their own beliefs through the rhetorical language of science and truth. When they say skepticism, they mean rejection of things that make them uncomfortable.

And the only way to fight it is to remain truly skeptical. Seek truth, and remember that we cannot always know the whole truth. Taking actions that hedge against the possibility that we don't know as much as we thought IS the skeptical course of action. To do anything other than question what we believe is to fall into the same unscientific pitfalls. Science is not a collection of facts, but a process of attempting to understand.

Let them pass

you know whats a good underrated character design aesthetic? Park Ranger

dude with long green cargo pants and a cowboy hat runnin around helping people and animals alike in the forest :)