The Skeptic Steampunk
Back in the 1980′s I was big into Atlantis, aliens (the cute grey guys) and UFOs. Towards the end of the 1990′s an unhealthy amount of conspiracy theories, doomsday prophecies and related matters crept in. I was also into Tarot.
Then came the point when a prediction based on “reliable sources” within the “real world government” completely failed once more. In this particular case it was the invasion of Europe by Russia on the 26th of July 1998.
After this non-incident, I started rejecting all these far-out claims about “secret information”, “ancient wisdom” and conspiracy related matters but still held onto my views on cryptozoology and UFOs.
Looking back now, my fringe-believes were always somewhat technology-related. The “ancient wisdom” (i.e. Atlantean Wisdom) I believed in, was due to super-advanced and probably alien-aided ancient civilizations, not because “ancient is better”. I never thought there was any merrit in homeopathy or other kinds of pseudo-scientific cures peddled these days.
The final push into full-fledged skepticism came through an interest of mine that goes very well with aliens and UFOs: Astronomy.
I have was into astronomy before I was able to read properly and one of my heroes is Carl Sagan. I was always fasciated by the his TV programs and later by his books. Eventually I read The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
To say it was an eye-opener would be a massive understatement. The Baloney Detection Kit alone was more than worth the price of the book. I recommend it to everyone. Read the book and do the thinking and do not be afraid to get rid of some pre-conceived notions on the way.
The next big step on the way to Skepticism came when a colleague introduced me to the Skeptoid podcast. After that, there was no turning back. Although it is still painful sometimes to listen to Brian, such as in the episode he ripped the Barney and Betty Hill abduction case to shreds, Skeptoid is one of my favourite podcasts.
So much for my way into skepticism.
By the way: I am still hoping Big Foot is actually out there and as a good Cthulhu cultist I steadfastly choose to believe that The Bloop is a giant undersea creature, so there!
Now why Steampunk and Skepticism and how do they mix?
To me a big element of Steampunk is weird science and the (now often falsified) scientific ideas which were around from the Victorian Age to the beginning of the Atomic Age (which roughly covers the Steampunk and Dieselpunk Eras).
Science and education was also far more to the fore of society. It was fashionable to be educated, to have some interest in science. We have to capture this approach towards science again and banish pseudoscience and the superstitions of the modern world (conspiracy theories etc.) back into the darkness from whence they came.
To me, the fun, jovial and sometimes quirky approach Steampunk has to science combined with its inherent inventiveness and creativity form ideal conditions to make science, rational thinking and therefor skepticism fashionable again.
That’s the long and the short of it for now. I guess I will tinker and modify this page several times before it gets its final form.
And here is a video by my friend C0nc0rdance, check out his Youtube Channel, where he quotes Carl Sagan and which also surmizes my view on Skepticism while keeping an open mind pretty well:
Some of my Skeptical and Science Posts
The Dragon has been Captured
25. Mai 2012And today, on Towel Day and the 35th anniversary of Star Wars, space flight history has been written. I leave you with this image I captured from the NASA video feed. Click it to learn more about...
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Eugene Polley - May he zap in Peace
24. Mai 2012Eugene Polley, the inventor of the TV remote control has passed on. His 1955 invention, the flash-matic was a comparatively simple device in view of what modern remote controls can do, but it was a...
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The Illuminati have gone underground
15. Mai 2012Everybody who knows anything about the Illuminati (especially if your primary source of information is the noted scholar Dan Brown), knows, they are a secretive organization. They are pretty much u...
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Happy Birthday, Howard Carter
9. Mai 2012Today, one of the greatest archeologists in history would be 138 years old. Alas, he died in 1939, the Curse of Tutankhamun having passed him by completely... Why the curse? If you had to ask, plea...
Delve deeper...Felicia Day, Phil Plait and Steampunk
7. Mai 2012Before the scientifically inclined readers of my blog get too excited, Phil Plait will not appear in Steampunk garb, sorry. Felicia Day gives him a shout-out at the beginning of the video below, wh...
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Support the SciFund Challenge! Mad Science Hurray!
3. Mai 2012Today's feature is for mad scientists and other future overlords of a more intellectual persuasion who do not have the funds to get started on their own. If the description above is all about yo...
Delve deeper...Plans for asteroid mining emerge
24. April 2012The future has just become more Steampunk and Cyberpunk at the same time. Various billionaire entrepreneurs have come up with plans to go and mine asteroids. This is fabulous. This is so Space Op...
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The Hindenburg Uncertainty Principle
29. März 2012Something you do not find every day: A quantum physics-dieselpunk-history joke!
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And this is why Nature hates You!
26. März 2012You know, so many people say this world is beautiful. Look at it: It is filled with life. There is life everywhere. Is life not beautiful? Well, I guess I have news for you: 99% of all species tha...
Delve deeper...Ancient sites spotted from space
20. März 2012Well, well, what can I say. This truely is a triumph for science and technology. Space science has helped archeology spot new potential sites of ancient habitation. More details in this article by ...
Delve deeper...The History of Nikola Tesla - A Short Story
17. März 2012This has been on Youtube for how long? Why did I not find it earlier?
Delve deeper...Global Bigfoot
16. März 2012And once again something about cryptozoology and bigfoot. I do not think there is anything to it, but some great tales come out of it. Besides: Monster hunting is so Steampunk... But let us now ind...
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A letter from the Universe
13. März 2012The Universe has a letter for you, yes you!
This sums it up rather nicely, I think. Courtesy of Symphony of Science. Delve deeper...Extract Your DNA
11. März 2012Need to make a clone of yourself? Want to manipulate your DNA to create minions? No problem! This short video tells you how to extract DNA:
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Steampunked Euthyneura - Weird Evolution
9. März 2012For all of you who now wonder what the æther Euthyneura are, it is a taxonomic clade of snails and slugs, which contains quite a number of species in a range of habitats. This, however has little ...
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I am an anthropologist and in this capacity a minor scholar of the Cthulhu Mythos and H.P. Lovecraft. I am also quite obviously heavily into Steampunk and Dieselpunk and like travelling.
Hello,
have look at our home page (that´s self marketing, indeed) We are doing a type of diesel punk: we love rivets, shiny aluminium, aircraft construction and the surface of old planes. We love to construct and build things with our hands, we can use at home, which are useful and beauty. We are not a company, we earn our money in other jobs, but if we were able to life from our handmade items, that would be a good experience. For my knowledge, there is nobody worldwide, doing such a quality as we do. It´s handmade in Germany, in the tradition of German workmanship and we are proud of it.
Regards Rolf