or how stupid can people be

ever heard of foreskin removal from the penis?

how about doing it on children?

for religious purpose…

and then turning it into a culture in which millions of people even truly believe that’s actually a good thing.

well, there’s a big gotcha, here: this isn’t just about stupidity.

skeptic

or how i learned i didn’t want to be a professional skeptic

I’m impressed how you’ve turned a rather poor answer that was being down voted by several people (you still have 5 down votes) and instead responded constructively to peoples criticism, provided sources for the claims you could support, went back on the ones you couldn’t source 20241209Z1740and kept engaging in the conversation. Well done. – Kit Sunde Apr 25 ‘11 at 4:19

that’s a comment from a “skeptical admin” in an answer i worked for a week to make it right, researching the web. for the question Does circumcision lead to a net increase in quality of life?. in 2011.

it was a great learning.

and i still continued to listen to the skeptics guide of the universe, and even tried to create a better forum for them. it didn’t work. but that’s another story i may have even told in a manifesto…

in this whole process, i learned i could also be wrong about my pre conceived ideas around trivially obvious things like circumcision (i, and my culture, were right, though - in this case) and that if anyone could be so self aware (me, in this case), then people can also be amazing. not just in physical feats, like in those videos.

i mean, i was ready to completely change my idea about the whole circumcision thing if i had found any [logical] evidence that i was wrong. it’s hard to do such things. requires constant practice. like the amazing backflips, anyone can do it with enough practice, given they’re healthy. unlike the backflips, being healthy in this case means only in the [brain]!

and, as always, thanks for reading (this piece of incomplete draft).