Happy May Day

Being a skeptical society by its very nature we attract fringe elements, wingnuts, and the like. Which can be fun, but also frustrating and potentially dangerous in some circumstances. We recently had one who tried to say he has the rights on all symbols now and in the future and he should be payed a fee. This was really out there legally. I contacted an attorney I know and he agree with me that there is no legal leg to stand on as it violates current law as to trademarks, patents etc. There can be no blanket trademark for all symbols, logos etc. I started thinking about what motivates some of these people. Money, a sense of self worth that over extends their actual existance, scams, mental illness, or errors in logic. My sense it could be one or all of those I mentioned. As most, and this includes creationists, alternative medicine practicioners, anti vaxers, etc. they have no training in the basics of logic, scientific method, law and they hit on an idea that seems good to profound to them. And like all such people they feel that they have to evangilize their insight, revelation etc. to others. They get mad if denied or ignored. And remember evidence if it is not their own means nothing to them. The human mind, and I mean theirs in this case, then confabulates reasons that sound plausible to them, even if it is completes false logically or by evidence. Then by using scientific sounding words or legal words or invoking lawyers or research they hope to justify it to themselves and others. The dangerous ones then think that they have the divine right to force it upon others. They too will call themselves skeptics and hope by questioning the current thinking or understanding they hope to make themselves sound reasonable. It usually back fires and makes them look hopelessly stupid, irrational and irrelavent. Because we know that a good skeptic even if he doubts something but it is proven by evidence and logic it is right and will go on.
Remember 29 of May at the clinic we will have economics professor from MSU talk about the current economic mess.

Peace
The Skeptical DoDo