What is skepticism? Michael Shermer, a self-described skeptic, defines it as “the rigorous application of science and reason to test the validity of any and all claims” (see here for full article). Shermer argues that skepticism is not disbelief of all propositions, only the resistance to belief in any proposition without reason or evidence. Shermer, drawing upon ideas from Carl Sagen, provides five guiding questions in the examination of any claim. The first question is: does the source of the claim make many similar claims? One who claims to have seen a strange phenomena is rendered less believable if he or she is constantly claiming to have observed a strange phenomena. Second, has the source…