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welcome to skeptic aware we explore

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controversial science with leading

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researchers thinkers and their critics

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i'm your host Alex Karras and on this

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abbreviated episode of skeptic oh I just

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wanted to pop in and make a couple of

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announcements and do a little bit of

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housecleaning skeptic Oh business and

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most of what I have to say centers

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around the skeptic Oh form with this

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podcast I am launching a new version of

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the skeptic Oh form Jacob who is the

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administrator of the old skeptical form

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has been a long-standing helper of

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skeptic oh and I much appreciate him

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very early on in this process contacting

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me and saying hey let me help you out

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with the forum but I think it's time to

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switch over bring the skeptical forum

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over on my server maybe clean it up a

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little bit i hope i've done that and add

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a couple little bells and whistles that

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i found in a new forum app so hopefully

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we can make this transition somewhat

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painless but it is going to require

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folks to log into the new skeptical form

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and establish your credentials there and

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then just start posting away and we'll

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leave the old skeptical forum up for a

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little while and then we're going to

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close off new posts from there and see

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if we can bring everyone over to the new

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skeptical form and while we're on the

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topic of the forum i wanted to throw

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open for discussion how we should run

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the forum in terms of the amount of

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interaction we should promote between if

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you will skeptics and believers and i

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think this has become an issue for me

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lately mainly because what I've seen

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unfolding in the Rupert sheldrick

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Wikipedia drama which I documented a

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little bit a couple episodes ago and

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which I'd encourage you to follow up on

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with a couple of links to Craig Wyler's

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updates on what's going on there now for

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those of you who don't know Rupert

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Sheldrake is a Cambridge biology

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too has some mildly controversial ideas

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about this thing called morphic

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residents well for whatever reason he's

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gained the ire of the skeptical

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community if you will and they've all

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gotten together and just kind of taken

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over his Wikipedia page and turned it

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into a total mess and when a couple of

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folks went in there and tried to clean

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it up and trying to add some other

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references to give it a more neutral

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point of view they just ran them not a

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week appiah which I have to say I

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predicted and I told these guys that's

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exactly what it's going to happen

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because I think people are on the

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outside don't understand the nastiness

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that goes on inside of certain aspects

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of the skeptical community and and how

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unrelenting they are in this kind of

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fanatical point of view which brings us

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back to the skeptical form because ever

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since this incident has been brought to

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my attention I knew it was out there but

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I guess when somebody brings it back to

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your attention you have a new

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sensitivity to it but ever since then

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I've kind of looked at the forum

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differently and I've asked myself

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questions about moderation that is how

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much moderation we should add to the

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forum what voices should we include in

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this dialogue and what voices should we

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ask to just step aside and for any of

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you who've been around controversial

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forms in general and in particular the

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skeptical form you know that that's not

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an easy question there are a diversity

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of opinions and if you just go Stifel

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everyone's opinion and just start

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banning everyone you wind up with no one

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on The Skeptical forum which by the way

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I value greatly and I really appreciate

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those folks who come to the skeptical

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form and share their ideas many folks

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have told me that it's one of the most

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intelligent thoughtful forms that

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they've encountered on the web I tend to

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agree I've gained so much out of it if

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you haven't I hope you'll take this new

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opportunity to check it out and I hope

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you'll also weigh in on this question

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that I'm asking and we're going to make

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it the first thread in The Skeptical

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forum and that is to kind of

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hash out this question of moderation and

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what kind of voices do we want to have

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in this forum so that's where I'm coming

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from but what I really want to hear of

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course are your thoughts on where

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moderation should take us regarding the

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skeptical form and the place to do that

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of course is at the new skeptic Oh form

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if you go to the skeptical website sk-ii

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pti KO kaam you'll find a link right

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there to the new skeptical form sign in

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register and post away tell us what you

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think hopefully we'll have a good

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exchange that can really steer this

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project in a direction that will benefit

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all of us at least that's my hope and of

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course as always while you're there at

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the skeptical website be sure to check

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out all of our previous shows subscribe

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to the show if you haven't already you

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can do so on itunes i've added an email

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list you can sign up for we're all email

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you updates when the show's come out and

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you'll also find all the other usual

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stuff there including an email and a

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facebook link to me so thanks for

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staying with me for this short little

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housecleaning episode thank you for

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being part of this skeptic Oh community

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that I enjoy so much and feel like I've

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benefited from so much you're a big part

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of that for me so that's going to do it

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for this episode as promised have a

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series of interviews coming up on a very

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interesting topic I think UFO and

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consciousness and its overlap with in

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DES and other spiritually transformative

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experiences I think you'll enjoy all