Forget the Loch Ness Monster. Instead consider the microbes living on your body.
''There are creatures on you and inside you that are much more fascinating,'' says Guy P. Harrison, an American sceptic and author who encourages people to think like a scientist every day in order to live a safer, more efficient and productive life.
Harrison is one of several international guests invited to attend ScienceTeller, a biennial international festival celebrating storytelling and science communication in Dunedin. This year's event runs from October 25-27.
Established in 2011 by the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago, the festival programme includes 16 events designed to attract a wide variety of audiences, providing teachers with tools to take back to the classroom and inspiring the public to engage in science-related topics.
Harrison believes our lives could be improved if more people simply understood how science works.
In fact, he goes so far as to describe a lack of scepticism as a ''great, unrecognised global crisis''. Sceptical? Well, he explains ...
''The world, the universe is so exciting that we shouldn't waste a second of our lives devoting it to things that are untrue.
''We have lost so many years of potential progress because we have spent so much time and energy on constructing monsters in the shadows, things that don't exist.
"I believe that if scepticism becomes a more widespread virtue, then humankind will not waste so much time, money and energy on so much nonsense.''
Harrison, whose ScienceTeller presentation is titled, ''How sceptical thinking can save the world'', encourages people to question everything, demand evidence for any claim, and embrace doubt as a positive feature of thought.
On the phone from San Diego, California, where he lives with his wife and three children, the 49-year-old emphasises that scepticism has nothing to do with intelligence or a good education.
''Believe me, there are people who have advanced degrees who believe almost anything and there are high school dropouts who are difficult to fool. It's about people standing up for their own brains. It's a defensive attitude.
''Science is based on change: find something out and move on. If something is proved wrong, accept it and move on. You have to be willing to change your mind when the evidence demands it.''
Harrison, who holds a degree in history and anthropology (University of South Florida), has a strong journalistic background, one that includes the prestigious World Health Organisation Award for Health Reporting and the Commonwealth Media Award for Excellence in Journalism, but expresses doubt that anyone really cares about that stuff other than his mother.
He has held various positions in the news industry, including editorial writer, world news editor, sports editor, photographer, page designer and columnist.
An experienced travel writer, having visited and written about more than 25 countries on five continents, he has also taught science and history at schools.
More recently, however, his focus has been on writing about science and scepticism.
His books include: Think: Why You Should Question Everything (2013), 50 Popular Beliefs that People Think are True (2013), Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know about Our Biological Diversity (2010) and 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God (2008), a ''sceptical analysis of various religious claims that I have encountered at home and abroad''.
Harrison points out he wrote the latter book in a way that respects believers, if not always their beliefs.
''I believe scientific scepticism should apply to everything and that includes religions, as well.
However, we have to keep in mind religion is so important to so many people that it's important not to turn people off the idea of scepticism by being too confrontational.
''Still, I don't think we should shy away from applying scepticism to religion, because it causes so many problems in the world.''
Doomsday messengers come under fire, too.
Take the rapture prediction of May 21, 2011, as propagated by Californian Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping, who claimed enormous earthquakes were going to cast the dead from their graves, allowing believers' souls to ascend to heaven. In fact, the only thing that went up was a lot of hot air, just like his 1994 end-of-the-world claim.
''It's horrible,'' Harrison laments.
''In America, we have shows about UFOs, Bigfoot and Nostradamus that are packaged as very slick documentaries. They are extremely persuasive. A few years ago I was teaching science at a school in the Caribbean and I constantly had to explain away these nonsense programmes on television.
''It is really important to balance the quality and quantity of the evidence with the magnitude of the claim.
''If somebody says they saw a bird in their backyard yesterday, well, I'm willing to believe that. However, if they said they saw a dragon, well, that's a big claim and I'm going to need some strong evidence to accept that.
''So if someone claims they have a pill that will cure cancer, that's a big claim. Therefore, you need a mass of evidence. Being a sceptic doesn't necessarily mean you are against everything. Not at all. It just means you are asking for evidence.
''Also, sometimes, we just don't know the answer to something. We shouldn't be afraid of not being able to provide an answer; that's called being honest. I encourage people to not run away from the phrase, `I don't know'.''
Harrison also encourages people to look after their brains.
In his latest book, Think, he provides a basic overview of the ''very minimum'' work required to maintain a healthy brain.
''It's important to have a good diet, adequate sleep and exercise,'' he says.
''Anatomically modern humans have been around for about 200,000 years and we spent 99% of that time walking around.
Now, many of us have sedentary lives; we are constantly sitting around and our brains are not used to this. Lack of exercise is not just about being fat; it reduces the blood-flow to our brains and handicaps our thinking.
''Recent research has found that you can improve your brain health by doing regular exercise. But you also have to learn new things through your entire life: learn a new language, juggle, whatever turns you on. It's so important.''
And a healthy brain equals healthy thinking, he says.
''I'd say most people in the world have no idea how the brain perceives reality: the way we see, the way we hear things.
''The way we try to sort reality from fiction is way off course. We have all these biases in our heads. It's incredible how misled we are by our subconscious minds.
"We think we are logical and orderly about how we make decisions, but we aren't. We are shackled by a long list of biases.''
Harrison offers a simple example of bias: if you are attracted to someone, the inclination to like them means you are significantly more likely to believe what that person tells you.
''We also have a bias to cling to beliefs. And the longer we hold them, the more likely we are to keep holding them tighter.''
The way to keep yourself safe from all this?Think like a scientist.
''It's not complicated. When a claim is made, all you have to do is pause and think: consider the claim, ask questions, seek proof.''
Indeed, asking questions is a form of empowerment, both on a personal and societal level, he says.
''For the individual, from a selfish perspective, you want to have a force-field of scepticism around you at all times.
''Every time you get out of bed in the morning, you are going to be assaulted by con artists, kooks, weirdos, whatever. Some may even be your friends, family members, well-meaning people who might have the best of intentions.
''However, some of the kindest people in the world spend their waking hours promoting nonsense.
"I am always careful to say that people pushing irrational beliefs aren't evil, not at all. It's just part of the human condition.''
Despite all this talk of rigorous critiquing, Harrison is at pains to point out he is a constructive and optimistic person.
''I have to emphasise that, because most people associate scepticism with being negative and bitter, being some kind of grumpy old man. And that's not true.
''Scepticism is not about taking things away from people; it's focused on giving them a better view of the world, the universe and themselves. It's about giving people a hand so they can navigate their way through this crazy life.''
Harrison may be passionate about science and the need to fight irrational beliefs, yet in a recent article in Geek magazine, he says he grew up on a childhood diet of Star Trek, The Twilight Zone and comic books.
In summary, this man who extols straight thinking possesses an imagination that opens doors on all sorts of worlds.
''A vigorous sceptic can still fantasise about the most crazy possibilities. I dream about time travel, extraterrestrial life ... all of these things are exciting, but I have seen no proof of them.''
Be there
ScienceTeller, the biennial international festival celebrating science and storytelling, will be held in Dunedin from October 25-27. For more information, visit: www.scienceteller.com.
- The organisers say that to guarantee access to all events registration is essential. Registration and programme details are at the website. In the event that seats are available, cash door sales will be available 30 minutes prior to the event.
