Forum:Are we making a difference?

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Observe the picture here:



This is the queue outside a psychic, tarot and palm reader's booth in the middle of a large UK shopping centre. So the question is, with all the skeptic debunking and awareness raising we and others attempt to do, do you think we actually make any kind of difference? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 15:09, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

I'd have to say yes, albeit on a small scale. I suspect that most of what happens at RW is a case of preaching to the choir. We may be enough to tip waverers over the edge, but we don't really reach out to the general public - at least not via the site. That's not in itself a bad thing, since if we aimed at the moderates then we'd really have to tone down some of our snark or risk losing their attention as soon as we label their belief to be a pile of crap. --^{Ask me about our horse} 15:13, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

I don't think it's too much of an issue really. In the context of the UK, I don't think people take that sort of thing entirely seriously. I don't think a massive percentage of the population were paying attention to Mystic Meg before the lottery results and thinking "wow, it must be great being psychic, she's so great" but more "this is horseshite, we know it, you know it, but it's hilarious and mostly harmless so lets play along". And when you're just having some fun with this sort of thing and not taking it seriously, you're not going to be converted to hardcore rationalism by reading up about how astrology is spooky; indeed, the likes of RW and co will just be perceived as killjoys. ^theist 15:47, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Intelligent discussion is always worth it. Since that's what we do here alongside refuting pseudoscience, I'd say we are making a difference. Tetronian ^{you're clueless} 16:08, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Intelligent discussion here is indeed preaching to the choir... That's why i go troll hunting on Beck's facebook page or on freerepublic... Just a sentence that can cause cognitive dissonance to, at least, make one or two persons think by themselves. Thats my favorite sport on saturday mornings when i'm hungover... Alain (talk) 16:17, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Jackasses almost universally make a difference in nothing. Ever. 208.38.192.199 (talk) 16:27, 20 April 2010 (UTC)