Steven Novella Quotes (20 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

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Famous Steven Novella Quotes

“… you don't realize whether or not you completely understand a topic until you are tasked to explain it to someone else. … That really challenges your understanding of a topic.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #170, October 22nd, 2008 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/170 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

“Ignorance is a low-energy state. It takes constant vigilance and work to climb out of it.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #352 – April 14th, 2012 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/352 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

“We will make virtual brains. … We will be able to create consciousness without really ever understanding it.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #405 – April 20th, 2013 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/405 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

“What defines a cult is not what they believe, at all. It's how they behave. The belief system is almost incidental.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #253, May 19th, 2010 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/253 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

“I will never be convinced by any anecdotal report, ever, especially if something extremely unlikely or unusual. Memory is not a reliable piece of data.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #122, November 20th, 2007 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/122 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

“You need systems. You need checklists. You need … things in place to keep people from making mistakes. Left to their own devices, people will screw up on a regular basis.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #207, July 1st, 2009 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/207 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

Steven Novella Quotes about thinking

“I think the Internet is the biggest classroom we have.”

Steven Novella

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast #47 – June 14th, 2006 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/47 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

“Even though I think they're probably usually wrong, minority opinions in science are very useful. It keeps the whole process honest …”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #227, November 25th, 2009 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/227 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #326, October 15th, 2011 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/326 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s Context: In fact, there are many altered brain states where people may have a very vivid experience, or at least a vivid memory of their experience, precisely because they have impaired brain function. When you start dropping some of the higher brain functions out of the loop, like reality testing and things like that, … things can seem hyper-real. That could actually be a sign of brain dysfunction. It's similar to … somebody who is stoned thinking that they are really profound.

“As you study science, and really try to understand what is happening behind the curtain, not just reading the predigested press releases but actually talking to scientists or reading technical papers, you realize that … it's always more complicated than you think. … No measurement is simple. … The way you make the comparison will address different issues.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #528, August 22nd, 2015 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/528 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

“I think science is best taught as a puzzle to be solved.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #187, February 11th, 2009 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/187 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

Steven Novella Quotes

“In fact, there are many altered brain states where people may have a very vivid experience, or at least a vivid memory of their experience, precisely because they have impaired brain function.”

Steven Novella

“The inability to explain something doesn't mean that it is inexplicable.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #145, April 30th, 2008 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/145 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s Context: The inability to explain something doesn't mean that it is inexplicable. … Always consider the simplest things first. … The inability to explain it doesn't mean that it has to be something fantastical or alien, or that it's unexplainable.

“It is pretty well established that there is an overconfidence effect. … You don't have the competence to assess your own competence. … you need competence in order to assess your own competence. … Everyone has the Dunning-Kruger effect.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #557, March 12th, 2016 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/557 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

“… our inherent assumption is that you convince people with rational arguments. But all the data shows that most people are not influenced by rational arguments. They're influenced by social pressure. … That's just the human condition, and we just have to acknowledge it and accept it.”

Steven Novella

SGU Podcast #254, May 26th, 2010 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/254 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s

“There's a host of scams that are evolving all the time.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #72 – December 6th, 2006 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/72 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

“Placebo effects (plural) are mostly reporting bias, regression to the mean, investment justification, researcher bias, and other sources of self-deception. They are transient, and significant only for subjective symptoms where reporting bias can play a major role. Studies have shown, in fact, that there is no significant "healing" that occurs due to placebo effects — no objective biological improvement.”

Steven Novella

NeuroLogica Blog, Can Thinking Change Reality Part II http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/can-thinking-change-reality-part-ii/ (March 11, 2014)

“… most scientists are really quite happy to talk about their work. It's often hard to get them to shut up, actually.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #148, May 21st, 2008 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/148 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

“The thing about herbs is that there is nothing supernatural or implausible about the fact that any particular herb can have a medicinal effect. But the truth of the matter is that herbs are drugs. There's nothing magical about them. The fact that they are "natural" is irrelevant — it's meaningless. They are drugs. They are drugs that have not been purified, identified, … and quantified. … Probably for most plants … there are hundreds of chemicals in there with varying degrees of potency.”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #78 – January 15th, 2007 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/78 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2000s

“Isn't the future necessarily going to be dominated by machine life?”

Steven Novella

SGU, Podcast #401 – March 23rd, 2013 http://www.theskepticsguide.org/podcast/sgu/401 The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, Podcast, 2010s