About Mikael Expertise I will be happy to answer questions regarding scepticism itself, as well as to provide a sceptical viewpoint on a wide variety of subjects, from the claims of paranormal to pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. From homeopathy to near death experiences, if you've got a question, fire away.
Experience I've been a sceptic for about a decade now, a position which I gravitated towards from an earlier fascination with all things supernatural. I have a fully naturalistic worldview, which means that I don't believe in the existence of the supernatural; this includes ghosts, deities, and a whole variety of the claims of supernatural abilities . Being a sceptic though means (contrary to how many perceive scepticism) that I must first consider myself falliable, which I do. I don't hold on to any of my beliefs dogmatically, but subject all my views to scrutiny, which makes them liable to change if new evidence so demands.
Education/Credentials Several years of university studies - not on a relevant subject though. On the subject of scepticism, self educated - I don't think that's a subject for higher education! :)
Expert: Mikael Date: 1/6/2007 Subject: Good Luck or No?
Question This is kind of random but a friend and I were at a basketball game and being the EXTREMELY superstitious people we are, we were pondering what would be a good luck charm for our team. We came up with rabbit's feet and being that we both have one, we want to know if having two rabbit's feet at the game would cancel the luck or double it... an opinion or answer would be appreciated.
Answer Hi,
Sorry about the delay - been very busy lately.
Good luck charms "work" on the placebo principle - which means basically that they give you a boost of confidence, since you believe them to work, and this boost of confidence can affect how you perform.
There's no supernatural effect involved. This means that if you believe that having the two rabbits feet helps more than just one, then, if that gives you additional confidence, it may have some effect on your game. If, however, you have doubts that two rabbits feet may "cancel each other out", then that may undermine your confidence, and negatively affect your game. So when in doubt, leave it out - if you are convinced of the power of one rabbit's foot, but have hesitation that getting greedy with two might have a negative effect, then that doubt itself can undo the confidence effect that one has on you.
Though I'd say that rather than worrying about lucky charms, your game will benefit much more from that time spent in practicing. :)
