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Skeptic | Evolution See Inside Image: Illustration by Thomas Fuchs Science values data and statistics and champions the virtues of evidence and experimentation. Those of us “viewing the world with a rational eye” (as the new descriptor for this column reads) also have another, underutilized tool at our disposal: rapier logic like that of Christopher Hitchens, a practiced logician trained in rhetoric.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People , first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey . It has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless. [ 1 ] In August 2011, Time listed Seven Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books". [ 2 ] Synopsis: Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life.
Scientific skepticism ( also spelled scepticism ) is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility , as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". [ 1 ] For example, Robert K. Merton asserts that all ideas must be tested and are subject to rigorous, structured community scrutiny (see Mertonian norms ). [ 2 ] The term scientific skepticism appears to have originated in the work of Carl Sagan , first in Contact (p. 306), and then in Billions and Billions (p. 135). [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Scientific skepticism is different from philosophical skepticism , which questions our ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how we perceive it. Scientific skepticism primarily uses deductive arguments to evaluate claims which lack a suitable evidential basis. The New Skepticism described by Paul Kurtz is scientific skepticism. [ 5 ]