What does it mean to be a skeptic? Definitions abound, but in general, healthy skepticism is necessary to be an educated, well rounded adult. There are a number of different branches of technical skepticism: scientific skepticism, religious skepticism, and philosophical skepticism. What they all share in common is a kind of “wait and see' attitude.   Any idea presented to a skeptic is held in limbo until the skeptic has thought long and hard about it, researched it, considered other ideas, and tested it for accuracy.

This week read the following articles and then answer the question below:

“Confessions of a Former Environmental Skeptic' by Michael Shermer

Wikipedia entry on “Logical Fallacies' (Link is not working well at times, so just google Wikipedia Logical Fallacies)

Choose one of the fallacies you read about in the Wikipedia entry. Give an example of a fallacy of your choice. Each of you must choose a different fallacy. If someone has already covered "Straw Man," you must choose something else. Don't use the example given by Wikipedia.   Some easy places to find examples of logical fallacies in use is the Fox News page on Politics, or do a Google image search using the keyword "ads." Then, share with your classmates and experience you've had where either you or someone you know used a logical fallacy in an argument.