Michael Shermer is an adjunct professor in economics at Claremont Graduate University, founder of the Skeptics Society, chief editor of Skeptic Magazine and (co)author of many books and articles that take on everything from the existence of Bigfoot to Intelligent Design and why people believe in such phenomena. Recent publications include The Mind of The Market. He is also contributing editor and monthly columnist for Scientific American, and is the host of the Skeptics Distinguished Lecture Series at Caltech. Managementsite.com interviews him about skepticism in general and the emergence of evidence based management in particular.
The Skeptics Society is inspired by the philosophies of great thinkers, like the 16th Century Dutch philosopher and lens grinder Baruch de Spinoza, who tried to understand human nature throughout his life and the 20Century theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, who said all our science is child play and primitive compared to reality, but it is the most precious thing we have. Skepticism is a method, not a position. Skeptics are not cynical.
Richard: On the English Wikipedia entry about you, there is the following statement: I became a skeptic on Saturday, August 6th, 1983, on the long climbing road to Loveland Pass, Colorado….I got the impression you had an epiphany. Like you denounced everything you believed in previously and chose the scientific method. Like a conversion to science. What happened on the mountain?
