Blog: Contradictory Sparkleponies - 2014-03-20
Contradictory Sparkleponies March 20, 2014,
Consistency is King
This past week I attended a meeting of godless heathens, the main topic being the trouble with sparkleponies. Specifically, we discussed the pros and cons of a not-so-new book by former NFL punter Chris Kluwe entitled Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities. In the midst of our discussions (mostly negative) and off-hand reviews of the book (thumbs down), the idea for this article occurred to me. This is not a book review. Instead, I'm going to use this book as an example of what NOT to do when trying to present a skeptical, rational or critical point of view.
I'm not a professional editor. I'm just a guy with a blog. I do know enough about logic, though, to recognize a well-reasoned argument versus someone spewing silly diatribe and trying to sound smart. I think there is a lesson to be learned from such people. If we in the "skeptical movement" are going to be successful at our mission, we have to recognize what works and what doesn't. We have to know how to communicate effectively. We are only going to get so many chances at holding someone's attention. So when we have it, we have to do it right.