Skeptics vs. Conspiracy Nuts

Some are wanting the US to publish the photos of the dead Osama to quiet any critics who say it may be a hoax. I think this would be a mistake.

1. If he's not dead let's have a current picture of him or video holding the day's paper.
2. publish DNA evidence...that's not that hard to read.
3. Ask his wife who was there: "Is your husband dead?"

But none of this would work including the publishing the picture because a conspiracy nut takes his conspiracies as a true hobby. No matter WHAT you show them they just ratchet it up and claim that the conspiracy is that much bigger or more insidious. They are exactly like religious nuts in that they have already claimed their conclusion and facts and evidence be damned. It's a losing gambit to try to 'show' these people anything. You can't win and you just give them more air time.

As my uncle used to say: "Never try to teach a pig to sing. You only frustrate yourself and you annoy the pig"!

Let Osama prove that he is alive!

Finally, being skeptical is different than holding on to a conclusion in spite of the evidence. Being skeptical means that you withhold your conclusions until you've seen some evidence and you want a LOT of it from qualified sources. No cherry picking!