Dr. Michael Shermer - Ask Me Anything # 1

Listen to the Podcast (audio) version:
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In this first Ask Me Anything (AMA) Dr. Shermer attempts to answer as many questions as possible in a reasonable time among the hundreds submitted by readers. There were so many good ones, in fact, that he will produce a second AMA on these, as well as new ones submitted when we put out a call shortly. In AMA # 1 the questions are roughly grouped in the following categories:
Science and Skepticism
God, Jesus, and Religion
Free Will
Jordan Peterson
Human Nature
Future of Humanity
Miscellaneous
Read a list of the questions answered in this AMA:
www.skeptic.co...
This AMA was recorded on June 25, 2018 as part of the Science Salon series hosted by Michael Shermer and presented by The Skeptics Society, in California.
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[@mariadelmarnavarro9370]

What a great example of intellectual growth. You are a great example of how shifts new knowledge and life experiences influence our world views and help us question the status quo. Coupled with your willingness to share this growth, this demonstrates strong character (although some may erroneously consider the change in opinion a sign of weakness or flaw). You are willing to disclose what your past beliefs and what you currently believe without claiming that they will be the same in the future. At times, we want to hold on to past beliefs to maintain an appearance of being right, which is such a dangerous way of thinking. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

[@01What10]

Glad to see this AMA! Hope to see more! Great stuff Dr. Shermer, looking forward to the next one!! These AMA's are really interesting.

[@MsHojat]

Regarding recovered memories, it's been demonstrated that recalling memories in fact _changes_ them (or frequently does, but not always), which I found to be quite fascinating. Our memories aren't like books or hard drives, but rather a process that's harder to describe

[@stoniewake125]

It took me a full 3 years to recover from when I lost my religion. Maybe 5... It’s still hard to consider that I use to believe. It still makes my tummy hurt whenever the Christ gong bangs. When my once religious mind sees or hears or remembers something from the “old days.,” I get angry and also sad. One thing that really pushes me through those rare feelings of loss and the loss of my once religious community, is watching my kids grow up without religion. Both are just fine without the brainwashing. They ain’t missing out on nada. Not only because there are other parents with kids that also don’t believe but because neither of my kids live in fear of boogie men, ghosts or superstitions. And they don’t have to grow into giant foolish hypocrites. Yay!

[@mathewelsaesser5344]

love you love this thank you for great viewing content.

[@Benjaminsp2004]

I have tons of questions for you Dr. Shermer, I wish I had known about this when you were live!

[@asian432]

Thank you for putting this channel.

[@TheGreatAlan75]

"we don't see aliens" .... We haven't even looked

[@HunterYavitz]

the space between molecules IS expanding, but it's overcome by gravity or electromagnetism

[@acetate909]

*covalent bonds

[@evilmadness8052]

All this shit about gods or a god never really understood that. Even growing up if there was some “god figure” why does he/she/it pop up and say “here I am”? Huh this topic REQUIRES BELIEF... not PROOF, not proof, just claims from a book or a religion. We see nothing but words, talk, or belief systems. No god has ever popped up and say here “I am and this is how it was”. Many many religions say they are the one and only religion but ALL the others are the false ones... the simple fact is they are all false. No god ever existed.

[@micksc1]

THE MAN FROM EARTH

[@DanishGSM]

Hi from Denmark. Why do People sin so much, if they believe in God?

[@valhala56]

That's a good one.

[@quantumaxe6468]

Because God can also forgive those sins. Easy.

[@valhala56]

How do you know that? Why would a god be so interested in forgiveness?

[@quantumaxe6468]

ValhalaFiveSix because Bible says so, that God is ever loving and forgiving. Other religions have other methods of placating and pacifying gods.

[@mycount64]

Vanity

[@sidstovell2177]

What a wonderful broadcast for a Sunday morning, May 2022. And when you think things are getting worse, read Barbara Tuchman's book on the 14th century: A Distant Mirror. It will clear your head a little.

[@bruceboome]

Interesting answers, very rational and thoughtful. As a suggestion, to me the podcast was a little spoiled by the "pops" on the Mic from b's and p's . This is easilly overcome by a pop filter, easilly found in most music shops.

[@davidpatterson2178]

Great idea!

[@erfeyah1401]

Regarding Michael's response on Jordan Peterson's lecture on the Bible (quote: "it was too big of a time commitment, I am not that interested in the bible"). This is a statement that runs completely counter to the commitment of a skeptic. If evidence (or purported evidence) surfaces about a subject it is the duty of the skeptic to direct their attention to it. Yes if it is a commitment of years of study there are cost/benefit issues but a few 3 hour long lectures is *nothing* in terms of investment. Thanks for the AMA Michael!! :)

[@aniccadance13]

Thank you, Michael, love your work❤️

[@MsHojat]

Regarding "capital punishment" I seem to have not only an unpopular opinion, but extremely rare/unique reasoning regarding it. I do think a death penalty can be a good thing. However as it stands in USA, it's almost completely pointless, and very likely causing more problems than any benefit. This is primarily due to the fact that the judicial process for death penalty trials are much higher, *far more* than the cost for someone to live a life of luxury for the rest of their life (which is also the cost of a life imprisonment, oddly/extremely expensive). That said, in specific circumstances of serious offense repeat offenders or unwilling-to-rehabilitate serious offenders, false conviction becomes quite a non-issue. When combined with having little-to-no extra judicial process (being instead replaced by specific case requirements, such as "unrehabilitatable"/unwilling-to-work-on-restitution and/or multiple separate convictions of serious offenses), it could be a useful tool to reduce crime in prisons, save prisoners lives, lower the prison population, and save money. For all these things the effect would be extremely low considering the very low number of people who would actually ever be killed, but still a small benefit is better than no benefit. However what is much more important than revamping death penalties to not be a liability is to focus on regulating/decriminalizing some of the most frequent crimes (such as drug offenses, particularly safer drugs like marijuana), and focusing far more on _REHABILITATION and RESTITUTION_ of prisoners rather than imprisonment. Punishment isn't effective at deterring people from committing crimes. People mention that fact to be against death penalty but fact is it applies to things like life imprisonment just as well. Lastly, if someone wants to die, let them die. I'm not saying to cut all suicide help services, but rather to allow euthanasia to be a legal process for everyone if they jump through enough hoops. Particularly for incarcerated convicts they shouldn't even need to jump through hoops. There have been cases (or at least one case I'm aware of) where inmates have killed multiple other prisoners in order for them to secure a death penalty. That sort of behavior should not be necessary; it obviously makes things worse to deny them their death. We shouldn't be so focused on vengeance as if it's unacceptable for them to get "the easy way out".

[@neilpollicino80]

Mshojat life in prison is not a luxurious lifestyle.....society wants it’s pound of flesh...instead more of us should follow the beatitudes...volunteer with those who teach in prison...see for yourself just how the United States treats the incarcerated....the cost of incarceration is astronomical...it’s a waste of tax dollars & of human lives. Find out exactly what goes on in our country when as the prayer says “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people...”

[@VeryLikeLeigh]

Where exactly will you put out a call for future questions?

[@bjlmc13]

That looks like a nice Meade Telescope !

[@ThePharphis]

TBH the "we are aware of the variables that affect our decision making therefore we have free will" doesn't seem to add any more "Free will" to the decisions we make. It just means our nurture has ticked off more variables in the decision making tree that is our brain.

[@MusicGunn]

Regarding the death penalty: like Michael, I had always been a proponent of it. I am not so sure anymore. Again The Innocence Project has me really questioning my position. Just as an aside I was given a tour of the gas chamber at Arizona State Prison in Florence AZ back in 1979, prior to employment as an officer in maximum security. I sat in the gas chamber chair. It did not change my mind at the time, but evidence of the flaws is close to doing it.

[@Californiansurfer]

A fool exercise his right to be a fool. In time

[@naturalisted1714]

Please have Tom W. Clark on the podcast!

[@MusicGunn]

Regarding the existence of alien life and why we haven't found it yet. Neil De Grasse Tyson put it this way: to say that we have not found alien life so it does not exist is the equivilant of dipping a cup in the ocean, looking in and saying whales do not exist. We have looked at an incredibly small amount of space. Give it some time, let our methods improve. And no, they have not visited us in my opinion, regardless of the stupid article that came out recently.

[@jerrysmith5782]

I don't understand why Shermer, Harris, and others are concerned about all of the symptoms of overpopulation, but not about overpopulation itself.

[@mycount64]

Belief in God is a social psychological phenomena not physical science

[@mycount64]

Indexed would be nice thanks

[@peterz53]

Burden of proof, or at least burden of evidence: Humans existed without knowledge of X for hundreds of thousands of years. Someone, or a group of someones, propose X (and there are uncountable Xs). Clearly, those proposing any X, have the burden of supporting their claims. Why is this so hard?

[@Desertphile]

#1: Why do Center for Inquiry events cost a staggering amount of money to attend? Is skepticism only for the wealthy? #2: Why did you book WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE STRANGE THINGS not address why people believe strange things?

[@Lovethemusic385]

Desertphile awesome to see you here! Big fan

[@Lovethemusic385]

Isn't it "Why People Believe Weird Things?"

[@ThePharphis]

wait, this is THE desertphile? heh

[@Lovethemusic385]

@thePharpis. Yeah desertphile made an excellent series of pro science videos about 8 or 10 years ago on KZbin.

[@schwul1956]

Why do so many people want enternal life? What's wrong with being finite?

[@naturalisted1714]

As long as there's an organism born after you die that organism's experience will be what comes after your death.

[@soonyanaidu7875]

Actually finiteness gives meaning. As the Myth of Sisyphus

[@MsHojat]

Aww man I missed this. Not sure how.

[@MusicGunn]

Regarding Jordan Petersen: He uses so many words and sprinkles them with really important science-y sounding words that people just eat him up thinking he knows science. He doesn't. Michael's explanation of does he believe in god and anyone that doesn't just says NO. Petersen, like Michael says, will go on for hours before he says yes. He is a waste of time. He is a smart guy though and I hope he recovers from his recent ills.

[@frankfeldman6657]

Anything? Really? On August 8, 2013, PZ Myers posted a message on his Pharyngula blog at Freethought Blogs from an unnamed woman later identified as Alison Smith claiming that Michael Shermer had raped her.[21] Smith alleged, "at a conference, Mr. Shermer coerced me into a position where I could not consent, and then had sex with me." She also stated that "I reached out to one organization that was involved in the event at which I was raped, and they refused to take my concerns seriously," that "5 different people have directly told me they did the same to them," and that she was sharing this information in order to warn others. Myers later updated his blog entry with an account from another woman, who claimed that Shermer plied her with drink at an atheist event and "was very flirty." Double standards Assuming the above accusations are correct did Michael Shermer need help to understand the distress involved?[22] Before the PZ Myers grenade exploded Shermer understood the harm rape and adultery causes. He wrote the following in Feb 2013. “”How do we know that rape and adultery are wrong? We don’t need to ask God. We need to ask the affected moral agent-the rape victim in question, or our spouse or romantic partner who is being cuckolded. They will let you know instantly and forcefully precisely how they feel morally about that behavior. -Michael Shermer [23] Double standard suspected anywhere? Or perhaps the power of wishful thinking enticed him into the conviction that only forcible incidents count as rape. Reactions Bloggers in the atheist/skeptic/feminist community reacted quickly and took sides. It soon became the blogosphere's drama of the week, rehashing many of the divisions endemic in the atheist community since the "Elevatorgate" affair.[24] Shermer denied any wrongdoing and issued a cease and desist order against Myers, threatening defamation action unless Myers removed the offending blog entry and issued a full retraction and apology.[25] Shermer got legal funds without asking on a fundraiser page built by Emery Emery, the “Ardent Atheist”.[26] The fundraser included a rape joke with generous contributors offered a bottomless glass of wine, with Emery “who will not be drinking but keeping your glass full.” This was a reminder that one woman complained Shermer repeatedly refilled her glass. Myers also got an offer of legal help from Popehat who is experienced with online libel trouble.[27] The fundraiser for Michael Shermer’s legal action raised a total of $8,289. Emery Emery stated that Shermer “has no choice” but to sue PZ because the post was still up. By August 9th, 2014 the statute of limitations in California ran out without Shermer suing Myers.[28] As of 2018 the rape allegation is still up.[21][note 2] Things blew up after 11-Sept-2014, when NY Times contributor Mark Oppenheimer wrote a very long, detailed highlights-reel on the harassment campaigns being run within the atheist and skeptical movements, including naming three victims of Shermer’s alleged predations. This piece alone contains several bombshells which had not been public before Oppenheimer's article appeared, including: The person in the “Grenade” post by Myers was Alison Smith, a known figure in the skeptical community. Shermer has actively changed his story from what he reported at the time in his rebuttal statement: Original statement: Two unknown people (one with “dreadlocks”) were upset that Shermer was talking with Smith and was preventing them from “getting into her pants”, so they started spreading rumors. Later statement: Shermer and Smith had had sober consensual sex that night, initiated by a cold proposition by Smith in a bathroom.[29] Ashley Miller apparently had a several-minute-long conversation with Shermer while he was actively massaging his thing through his jeans, and trying to arrange himself such that she had to see it and notice. James Randi was aware of complaints, and because Shermer wasn’t violent, ignored them: “”Shermer has been a bad boy on occasion - I do know that[.] I have told him that if I get many more complaints from people I have reason to believe, that I am going to have to limit his attendance at the conference. His reply, […] is he had a bit too much to drink and he doesn’t remember. I don’t know - I’ve never been drunk in my life. It’s an unfortunate thing … I haven’t seen him doing that. But I get the word from people in the organization that he has to be under better control. If he had gotten violent, I’d have him out of there immediately. I’ve just heard that he misbehaved himself with the women, which I guess is what men do when they are drunk. -James Randi[note 3] Adam Lee accused Randi and others of working to silence Shermer's critics; further, Lee accused some of trying to pressure victims into silence. Lee compared this to Roman Catholic and other religious organizations that seek to cover up other wrongdoing, notably predatory sex by their members. Lee accuses some atheists who condemn religiously motivated coverups while acting similarly of double standards.[30] Emery Emery gave the money from the fundraiser to Shermer’s lawyers, which, since they didn’t sue Myers, leaves the fate of those funds in question. What did they pay for, and/or how much was returned to Shermer or Emery? Was any returned to the donors?

[@timplays6602]

Why do people with opinions do whole videos showing just themselves talking into a mic? What's the point?

[@robdielemans9189]

The moment someone mentions proof or prove the whole discussions is dragged into the realm of science. Therefore it is very easy to prove god doesn't exist, because when you drill down on the questions (so where do we come from, where does the universe come from, where does the big bang come from, how exactly did life start) the current scientific explanation has to be:"We don't know" for the religious person the answer will roughly translate to:"We also don't know, but with a god ". We are still in the realm of science so we simply use Occam's razor to determine that the first explanation is the better one.

[@BadMedizin]

Thank you for standing up for freedom of speech even though you clearly believe a lot are having problems understanding your information or as We The People like to say, do not agree with you.

[@doesnotbelievinanygod7403]

Why would I say there is a god when I don't know there is one?

[@andreadiamond7115]

❤️

[@thebatmanover9000]

If ESP in not real than explain...

[@erfeyah1401]

I sense an 'a' that calls out to be turned into an 'e' :P

[@nebulousy]

Damn I'm always late to these.

[@jothreefingers4757]

Here's my question. And I'm not trying to scare you but...

[@atheistpeace7579]

Dr. Shermer please get a pop filter

[@probablynotmyname8521]

If god exists why does the condition progeria exist?

[@johnrutledge3892]

Would you say that your source of percieved power of intelect is primarily rejection. Also I would like to know from you wich came first the chicken or the egg ?

[@AH-hp5si]

The egg. Sometime in the evolution of birds, a bird that was not quite a chicken laid an egg which meets our the current definition of a chicken.

[@ughugh3556]

its clear that Shermer is more pushing a skeptic brand then actually pursuing science. You can see it on hi stance for climate change, trump, and the guy that claims the sphinx is 10,000 years old and has rain damage. Shermer's response is pure bias with no scientific facts.

[@willmpet]

Then give facts of your own!

[@johnrutledge3892]

I like the honesty . However i would not find it overly useful to endevor to discuss for too long the qualities of color with one who is color blind.

[@johnrutledge3892]

This intrepid uncertanty is rusultant of a severely inverted mind . The proof of the world outside is not often found when the conciousnes of existence is willfully confined whin in that void. of

[@BNK2442]

I wish that Shermer attacked the duluth model, that's the dumbest pseudoscience I ever listened to. I wish the humanist community had more Justin Trottiers.

[@mortywhippet9982]

This guy has had something horrible happen to him as a child. Get some help Michael. You're a fucking disaster as you are not. And your voice is like listening to a thousand episode of Everybody Loves Ramon

[@brianmi40]

Ad Hominem much? Feel better now snowflake???

[@peterz53]

Peterson. Not interested. Not going to waste anymore time on him. Bret Weinstein, on the other hand, seems like a clear thinker who can articulate his thoughts on complex ideas with unusual clarity, as can his brother Eric. I actually learn something from Bret without the feeling that snake oil is in the offering. Seems a better option to try to understand how various aspects of human behavior are rooted in evolution rather than mythology, which is itself a product of evolution.

[@janesmith5246]

Why on earth is this fake still around?

[@brianmi40]

Ad Hominem much???

[@stixnfeet7818]

This man is void of love and goodness.