> Hello world! _

Welcome to the inaugural post at ungullible.com. While I'm sure the content and style of ungullible will evolve with time, my hope and goal is to make this an entertaining and informative site about everyday critical thinking. I hope to challenge you to think more critically about your everyday experiences in ways that help you to make better and more informed decisions.

Why "ungullible?"
I consider myself a skeptic, and originally began looking for variations on that word as a site name. But there are a couple of problems with that word: (1) it, and most variations of it are already taken as domain names; but perhaps more importantly (2) it has too many negative connotations. Unfortunately, many people associate skepticism with closed-mindedness and pessimism. I don't agree - I think being skeptical is a good thing. To me, it just means that you look at everything with a critical eye before you accept it. The more amazing someone's claim, the more closely you should scrutinize it before accepting it. In short, it means the opposite of "gullible."

What do you mean by "everyday critical thinking?"
This site will not be about debunking or ridiculing the arch enemies of skeptics such as cults, bigfoot, and alien abductions. Those are easy targets, plus there are already plenty of sites dedicated to them. While I may occasionally touch on these big issues, I want this site to be more about the everyday impacts of uncritical thinking to the average person: products you purchase; medicines and health services you consume; spam and phishing scams you fall for; chain emails you fill your family's and friends' inboxes with; political issues you vote on; etc.

Do I offend?
My intent here is to teach and entertain, not to offend. However, I will inevitably and eventually step on your toes by challenging a closely held belief of yours. No matter how skeptical you already consider yourself to be, we are all gullible about something (yes, even me), and I hope to eventually find and challenge your ideas too. Also, keep in mind that just because I challenge an idea, it doesn't mean that I think it is gullible to believe it. I'm an equal opportunity skeptic and we can't know ahead of time where the questions will lead us. The important thing is not what you believe, but whether or not you ask the right questions and answer them honestly before arriving at your belief.

If you have any thoughts on the direction this blog should take, or suggestions for future topics, please feel free to leave feedback in the comment section below.