Skeptical Quote Collection

Skeptical Quote of the Week

Quote	Given name	Surname	Episode
Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism.	David	Suzuki	338
How weak our mind is; how quickly it is terrified and unbalanced as soon as we are confronted with a small, incomprehensible fact. Instead of dismissing the problem with: ‘We do not understand because we cannot find the cause,’ we immediately imagine terrible mysteries and supernatural powers.	Henri René Albert Guy	de Maupassant	346
You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown– only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.	James T	Kirk	347
Science is a way to teach how something gets to be known, what is not known, to what extent things are known (for nothing is known absolutely), how to handle doubt and uncertainty, what the rules of evidence are, how to think about things so that judgements can be made, how to distinguish truth from fraud, and from show.	Richard	Feynman	348
Fear believes, courage doubts. Fear falls upon the earth and prays. Courage stands erect and thanks. Fear is barbarism. Courage is civilization. Fear believes in witchcraft, in devils and in ghosts. Fear is religion. Courage is science	Robert	Ingersoll	350
If a man, holding a belief, which he was taught in childhood, or persuaded of afterwards, keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men who call into question or discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily be asked without disturbing it, the life of that man is one long sin against mankind	William K	Clifford	351

"Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism."

David Suzuki, SGU Episode 338

"How weak our mind is; how quickly it is terrified and unbalanced as soon as we are confronted with a small, incomprehensible fact. Instead of dismissing the problem with: ‘We do not understand because we cannot find the cause,’ we immediately imagine terrible mysteries and supernatural powers."

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant, SGU Episode 346

"You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown– only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood."

Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise, SGU Episode 347

"Science is a way to teach how something gets to be known, what is not known, to what extent things are known (for nothing is known absolutely), how to handle doubt and uncertainty, what the rules of evidence are, how to think about things so that judgements can be made, how to distinguish truth from fraud, and from show."

Richard Feynman, SGU Episode 348

"Fear believes, courage doubts. Fear falls upon the earth and prays. Courage stands erect and thanks. Fear is barbarism. Courage is civilization. Fear believes in witchcraft, in devils and in ghosts. Fear is religion. Courage is science."

Robert Ingersoll, SGU Episode 350

"If a man, holding a belief, which he was taught in childhood, or persuaded of afterwards, keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men who call into question or discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily be asked without disturbing it, the life of that man is one long sin against mankind."

William K Clifford, SGU Episode 351

"One sure mark of a fool is to dismiss anything outside his experience as being impossible."

Farengar Secret-Fire, SGU Episode 352