Do you fine debunkers arrogant?

Question

I asked a question a while ago about whether or not you have to believe in the supernatural for it to be real.

And in classic debunker fashion (for a couple of them aways) let the insults fly! One guy said only "poorly educated" people believe such things. Why is the arrogance and insults are always the go to move? You have to be "uneducated" to believe in something that may go beyond the realms of conventional thought and understand. Really????

Why is insults and arrogance always the first move?

Answer 1

The problem with those unenlightened souls is that they usually have NO experience of an "other" nature.As someone who has had more than one supernatural experience I can assure you that they are real, as is Almighty God.

Answer 2

my answer is;

These are people who deni everything but the existence of God. They don't even believe his Angles work everyday here on Earth.

There are too many "things" in this world that we have No Clue of and are just beginning to understand the power of our own Brains.

Not that we should believe every stupid thing that is spewed out of every persons Pie Hole. But as evidence comes to light, we need to except and understand so we as a people can evolve and grow.

Personally, as a teen. I broke through Ice on a frozen river while alone. Somehow (obviously) I got myself out. I should have Died. I've seen strange things and had weird feelings that can't be explained any other way but with a X-file.

Answer 3

I think that sometimes they resort to arrogance and insults because they have no facts to support their position.At one time many educated men thought the world was flat and that man could never fly. Well those "facts" have been proven false Man will continue in his quest to make new discoveries that will "debunk" what is known as fact today. A curious and open mind will be the one to make new discoveries,not a closed mind.

Answer 4

Because skeptics all live in their own smug little scientific worlds. And if you've actually gone to school how are you "uneducated"? I used to go to a private school and most of my classmates believed in ghosts. In fact, at my last two schools almost everyone believed in ghosts. One of my old schools was even believed to be haunted because many classmates, including myself saw a floating apple in an empty room and when the room was checked nobdy was there and someone had written "Daisy" on the board and it wasn't there before eveyone left the room.I think skeptics enjoy shooting down eveything that we believe is paranormal or supernatural just to prove that they are "right" and we are "wrong".I think they just want to look smart because they're "know-it-alls". They may laugh, scoff, and insult us, but who's to say they're right?

Answer 5

I think you confused the term debunk er and skeptic. A debunker actually performs experiments, under rigorous, or supposedly rigorous, scientific conditions, in order to reach a conclusion that proves or disproves the claim. A skeptic, on the other hand, relies on personal experience and belief in order to 'disprove' a claim. A debunker cannot simply assume a lack of education is the culprit because they themselves haven't performed enough tests in order ot prove or disprove the claim, which makes them, in the classical sense, uneducated as well.

Actually, many more skeptics are uneducated, or undereducated, than most debunkers. There is actually plenty of scientific evidence out there to at least allow for some things to remain unproven. A good debunker, like a good scientist, understands what they have found and also understands what may yet be found at another time. A skeptic does not.  

Answer 6

I find it annoying too... people scoff and wave things off without for a second considering them. This is particularly idiotic with astrology, since they don't even bother researching astrological theory and the practice of calculating precise natal charts before saying "oh well the newspaper horoscope looked stupid so I don't believe in it".  

Answer 7

If your skin is this thin,,,maybe you shouldnt post out here.

And yes, sometimes I "find" them arrogant...

Answer 8

Because most skeptics dont want them to be real. They want to be right, and believe that they are right, so they insult people who believe in things they find foolish. They have too much common sense, if you will. But there is more than meets the eye. And I know what Im saying, I am usually the skeptic.

Answer 9

Welcome to the internet where everybody is a jerk to everyone.

Answer 10

Because skeptics are people, and people have emotions that can get carried away (just as any social group does).

Check out the above answers from "believers". Many posit the same smugness you detest in skeptics.

Sometimes this attitude is more easily felt (or imagined) from those who are being contradicted (people also can get defensive when strong emotions are involved)

Speaking as a skeptic (and a scientist - but really not a very dull one) I think some also get frustrated (and verbalize this frustration) when certain, common thinking errors occur and those perpetrators fail to see it even after it is explained to them (admittedly, not always explained very well, communication is a two way process).

We ALL err in thinking at times in a variety of ways (see first link). Much paranormal belief falls into several of these categories (confirmation bias, causation/correlation confusion, post hoc ergo propter hoc to name a few).

This certainly does not rule out all paranormal beliefs with absolute certainty, but it does make their argument that much weaker. Further, it can be unnecessarily dangerous; around the world, magical thinking has been directly responsible for many human and animal deaths (see first link)

Beliefs do not equate to reality but methinks confirmation bias abounds in us all.

EDIT:

With all due respect to the claim that skeptic and debunker are considered different, I must admit that I have never heard of this. I am a scientist (evolutionary biologist, science historian) and a Skeptic. All this means is that I ask to be shown evidence to understand the reasons for a claim. Debunking is simply the act of refuting a claim to the point of concensus.

Skeptics, debunkers... these terms refer to the same people.

(and I'd really love to see the evidence showing that the education level of skeptics is lower than anyone...)