Reimagined and Revamped. Fighting the spread of nonsense often feels like a Sisyphean task. However, the joy is in making the information available, not the hope of conversion.

Been a long time

Posted Saturday, April 16, 2011 by Techskeptic

Well, it has.

So many reasons i have left blogging: Work, kids, houses. but many bloggers have these things.

Really it was the skeptical community and last years NECSS that really took the wind out of my sails. I even started writing a long post detailing all the issues I found with NECSS, the recent "don't be a dick" meme, and the skeptic community as a whole.

Frankly even that bored me. I couldn't finish it. I think Tom has it right. Skepticism is something you do, not something you are. I just couldn't get into the community part of it. Frankly, I didn't care of most if the people I met there were going to be friends with me or not, and the "luminaries" were emotionally unavailable when I met them and made me feel like they really couldn't be bothered with me. I'll note that the exception was Bob Novella who talked with me for a while about a few things including my Skeptic's Bingo iPhone app.

While I'm on this theme of having no time, being put off by the skepticism community, and iPhone apps. I have another one brewing and I have redone Bingo to be easier to read and use. But I have finished neither and therefore have released neither. Again, no time, loss of enthusiasm, etc. I don't know if or when they will ever be released.

I hope I get my spark back. I've been trying to figure out how I might get reacquainted. First off, I am never at my computer. So I downloaded Blogsy for the iPad (this post was written on it). My iPad is always with me, perhaps I can get some thoughts down. I also have a couple of ideas for books I would like to write, and may use this blog to throw around ideas. Perhaps, if I can get my readership back, you folks would Iike to play with some of these ideas I have, beat them up a bit, smooth them out.

Well, that's it for today.

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Andy's avatar

Andy · 739 weeks ago

That's a shame, but I know where you're coming from. I'm in a similar situation.

Personally, I'm just wondering if the reason I'm feeling like this is because of information overload due to RSS, iPad, and Twitter constantly streaming me information about everything that I could ever imagine. I have a feeling that it's stifling my creativity.

Does this strike any chords with your experience?

Andy
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Techskeptic 69p · 739 weeks ago

Yes, there have been many times where I have looked at all my feeds and said "Holy Crap!". At the time I took pride in my information infusion. But I scaled back on a lot of them, even the podcasts I listen to. It's pretty much just skeptoid and Radiolab now (science focused), with some SGU once in a while.

The other thing was that I was writing a lot, I looked back on some of my posts and am still proud of many of them. But, I dont feel like they have made much impact. The energy required to make impact is not an amount I am willing to expend. Plenty of people are doing it and doing it better than me, and spending their daily time on it.

But thanks for commiserating. I appreciate it.
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rblevy 101p · 738 weeks ago

One reason that I don't want a smart phone or I-pad is because I don't want to be tempted to take the Internet with me wherever I go. I log on to the Net about 8:a.m. on my desk top and with various interruptions for errands, etc. I'm usually done mid-afternoon.

So even without a computer maybe it's the never-ending connection to Internet that plays a part blogging and activist fatigue.
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Anon's avatar

Anon · 736 weeks ago

Hope to see you return to the blogging and iPhone app development. The effort has been appreciated, but can understand how you feel. Take a break, we'll be waiting when (if) you're ready.
participate in those aspects of the community you enjoy and feel are worthwhile.
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WordPress designer · 736 weeks ago

hey will miss your blogging i really like your blog. Hope you return soon to blogging word soon. Enjoy your break.. :)
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Don 73p · 729 weeks ago

Just read this one. What a great audience I am. Then, I've been more out than in the last few months myself.

I find myself completely agreeing with your assessment of the "community" down to a Novella being the most approachable by far. For me it was Jay. This here:
Frankly, I didn't care of most if the people I met there were going to be friends with me or not
pegs my feelings exactly. I said it in my TAM7 post and I'll say it again: I'm not going to be friends with someone purely based on a similar worldview. We both agree that there probably is no Bigfoot; that does not mean we share anything meaningful in common personality-wise. I'm friends with my friends because I like them and we get along and have fun, not necessarily because we totally agree with each other all the time.

Sigh. I remember a time when I had fun on the internet calling out bullshit with people whose virtual company I enjoyed. I'm not sure what happened to that.
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tabletpcunion · 727 weeks ago

I'm happy that you picked the blogging again. Thanks . I love you post.
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BronzeDog 46p · 723 weeks ago

Well, I'm late to the post, but I certainly understand the feeling. I'm slowly getting more blogging in with just a few posts a months, so I know how you can lose the time and/or energy.

As for the 'community' aspect, I'm on similar ground. If I met up with Randi or PZ, I'd shake their hand and briefly gush about how they influenced me, but I wouldn't want that association to go under the risk of becoming a self-serving pile of group-think. I can be blog-buddies with other skeptics without some overarching idea of a community. If someone calling themselves a skeptic says something insane, I don't want anyone to think they're obligated to pull punches in the name of group cohesion when criticizing that insanity.
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Lifewish · 689 weeks ago

I know what you mean about the community. It feels like there's less focus on science-related idiocy outside the community, and more on prejudice-related idiocy inside the community.

Probably the house-cleaning is necessary as skepticism gets more organised. We take enough piss out of the Roman Catholics over the paedophilia cover-ups, the last thing we want is institutionalised racism or sexism in our own ranks. But it's a rather painful and messy process and a lot of people (inc. yours truly) have got caught in the crossfire. It was a lot simpler back in the good old days, when we just focused on explaining for the ten thousandth time why Pascal's wager is not a good argument, dammit.

On that note... TechSkeptic, Mandi has started blogging again (from an atheist perspective this time), and her blog has hot and cold running Christians! Drop by sometime :)
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myessay biz · 507 weeks ago

With the help of an internet the education has become so much easy. That student can get an education with the help of an internet. Every student now-a-days are using internet and learning much different things from internet by doing research.
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writesmyessay · 488 weeks ago

It is very pleasing to know that you are back after a very long time. I was waiting to see some very interesting stuff from you. I am very relaxed now as you have come up with an interesting story.
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