Become a Mindful Sceptic
Question well, think smart, and thrive.
Want to think more clearly about pressing global issues without feeling overwhelmed? Mindful scepticism merges the power of critical thinking with open-minded awareness, giving you practical tools to evaluate evidence and navigate complexity.
Learn to question well, think smart, and bust a few myths with courage and confidence.
Welcome
Greetings, and thank you for clicking through to Mindful Sceptics.
I guess that you might be looking for an idea or two to cope with overwhelm from the complexity of modern life or the worry about the pressure humans put on the environment.
I hear you. I am, too. It's a struggle, and I’ve been trained to know this stuff.
When the socials are full of dross and the traditional media blunted, it’s easy to be frustrated, confused, and powerless as the sheer scale of global challenges dwarfs personal efforts. I’ve felt mental fatigue set in, accompanied by paralysing indecision that stems from not knowing which actions genuinely make a difference to me and humanity.
My solution was to become a mindful sceptic.
Hi, I’m Mark, an ecologist, not a green one. I have built companies, held academic posts at four universities, won teaching awards, and spent a decade in Africa. I have been blessed with innate curiosity and privileged to be educated as a critical thinker and practice it as a professional scientist for over four decades.
I’m also a sceptic and more than a bit annoyed that this moniker has been hijacked to make me out as a Dick rather than the curious, critical thinker that the term should imply.
So, along with my buddy Chris, we set about changing our perception of being a sceptic.
Chris is also an ecologist, a restoration one. When not passionately managing land, being awarded Landcarer of the Year, trawling the evidence on nutrition, carefully advising NGOs and government, or growing plants in his commercial nursery, he chats with me about science, ecology, the human condition, and more and more often about scepticism.
We realised that we needed to be more sceptical, only with positivity. We wanted to use curiosity and critical thinking as constructive tools because the research told us they could improve decision-making, reduce anxiety, enhance communication skills, resilience against misinformation, and personal empowerment. It made good sense to be sceptical, especially when shouted at by the evidence-free opinions our devices ping at us all day.
But scepticism needed softening. It needed to be less analytical—a bit less nerdy and annoying.
After a few beers, we came up with Mindful Scepticism, a combination of scepticism's excellent curiosity, critical thinking, and evidence evaluation with mindfulness's present-moment awareness, nonjudgmental observation, and intellectual humility.
After some sobriety and fiddling around, we settled on this definition to combine these concepts.
Mindful scepticism balances curiosity, critical thinking and evidence with open-minded awareness.
By becoming mindful sceptics, we gained the clarity to navigate complex issues, the confidence to make informed decisions, and the resilience to engage with challenging topics without becoming overwhelmed or cynical.
In short, we felt we gained courage.
Enthused by what we found, I wrote a book, Being a Mindful Sceptic, that captures the core ideas, and Chris and I wrote a series of Mindful Sceptic Guides that apply curiosity and critical thinking to bust a few myths about sustainability, diet, food security, conservation, and, especially, growing food.
Now, we want to share some of the skills, tools, and myth-busting in a series of articles and a digestible newsletter so that you can become a mindful sceptic, too.
Here is our mission.
Our mission is to explain mindful scepticism and share the skills to cut through information overload and navigate complex global issues, skills that generate the courage to bust some myths and make confident, well-informed decisions.
We would love for you to sign up for the free newsletter and receive a weekly digest of tips on becoming a mindful sceptic or browse our always-accessible examples of how we use it.
If you are not convinced that becoming a mindful sceptic would give you the courage to
enhance your critical thinking and decision-making
improve your information literacy and your resilience to misinformation
balance your perspective on complex issues
help with personal growth and emotional regulation
Read on, and I will show you how it works.
The Power of Mindful Scepticism
Pure scepticism is all about doubt and questioning.
A sceptic says things like: Are you sure about that? That’s just your opinion; where is your evidence? They are then prompted to adopt critical analysis and logical reasoning to review the evidence and decide to accept or reject what they are told.
The sensational headlines we see every day easily trigger scepticism. Most of us will doubt the claims we know are designed to ignite our ire and get us all on a polemic rant. Clickbait is everywhere. But it can be hard to apply the reasoning on the fly.
Even with Google and the latest AI chatbots at our fingertips, taking time out of a conversation or the flow of a social feed to check the facts is rude. If we apply scepticism too often, it can lead to cynicism or perpetual doubt if we take it to extremes. As well as losing all your friends who now think you are a Dick, too much scepticism can give you analysis paralysis, hindering decision-making and action.
Meanwhile, mindfulness concentrates on present-moment awareness and nonjudgmental observation of thoughts and feelings—great personal zen. It offers numerous benefits for well-being and emotional regulation, but it rarely involves critical analysis of information or situations. Mindfulness focuses more on personal, internal experiences than active engagement with complex external issues.
This is a problem if a decision based on evidence is required or I have an opinion to evaluate. Should I save the koala because you say it is going extinct? Excuse me while I complete a full-body scan to see how I feel.
Mindful scepticism combines critical thinking with open-minded awareness, combining the best of both. It encourages rigorous analysis while maintaining a compassionate understanding of different perspectives and the complexities of human experience. This balanced approach promotes active engagement with issues while helping manage emotional responses, leading to more effective decision-making and problem-solving.
Unlike pure scepticism, mindful scepticism incorporates emotional intelligence, helping us to recognise and manage our biases. It goes beyond the internal focus of mindfulness by actively engaging with external information and complex real-world problems.
The addition of compassion to critical inquiry allows for a more nuanced understanding of different viewpoints, which should, given a bit of practice, at least make it possible to have a constructive conversation.
How amazing would that be?
Let’s start with some examples.
The future of koalas
Australian insurance company NRMA recently launched a campaign promising to plant a tree for every new home insurance policy, claiming this would "ensure the future of koalas."
This magnificent marketing opportunity came to them because media and political rhetoric claimed that the cuddly koala, an iconic marsupial that has lived in trees on the continent for at least 350,000 years, was about to go extinct. Ensuring the future was marketing gold.
But applying a little critical thinking suggests this is a gross overstatement. Even if NRMA planted 90,000 trees annually—a staggering number of new policies for an already well-insured housing stock—it would only provide habitat for about 4,500 koalas once the trees mature in 20-30 years. This is a fraction of the estimated koala population.
After more fact-checking, we find that nobody knows how many koalas exist in the wild. Estimates range from 43,000 to over a million, highlighting the difficulty of accurately counting these elusive creatures. The NRMA claim of habitat for 4,500 koalas might be 10% at best or somewhere closer to 0.5% of the remaining population. This uncertainty makes it challenging to assess the true conservation status of koalas and the claims to assist their survival.
While koalas face genuine threats from habitat loss and climate change, claims of imminent extinction may be exaggerated. The species has existed for hundreds of thousands of years and has shown resilience in the face of challenges. Despite the lack of concrete evidence for imminent extinction, the Australian government has listed certain koala populations as vulnerable under national environment law, a decision influenced more by public opinion than scientific data.
A mindful sceptic carefully examines the ambit claim to ensure the future of koalas and concludes that it follows the lauded tradition of snake oil salesmen. However, the mindful sceptic also resists the temptation to jump online to rail against the machine. Maybe something in the feel-good factor is worth having, however spurious the claims.
Red meat will kill you
The claim that "red meat will kill you" is a simplified and somewhat sensationalised version of the complex scientific topic of human nutrition that repeatedly does the rounds on social media.
Some studies have suggested a link between high consumption of red meat and increased health risks, particularly for certain chronic diseases. Red meat, which includes beef, pork, and lamb, is high in saturated fats and contains compounds like heme iron that may contribute to health issues when consumed in large quantities.
Regular consumption of large amounts of red meat, especially processed red meat (like bacon, sausages, and deli meats), may be associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer (particularly colorectal cancer), and type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms behind these associations are not fully understood but probably involve factors such as the meat's fat content, the formation of potentially harmful compounds during high-temperature cooking, and preservatives in processed meats.
The problem is that the research into these patterns typically shows correlation rather than direct causation. Many other factors, including overall diet quality, lifestyle choices, and genetic predisposition, play significant roles in an individual's health outcomes. Moreover, red meat can be part of a balanced diet when consumed in moderation, providing essential nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. Meat is a desirable, high-density nutrient source.
It is also true that humans have been eating meat for a long time—hundreds of thousands of years. It was and still is an essential source of nutrition, and if we have been eating meat for such a long time. The evidence for human persistence over evolutionary time counters the claim that red meat will kill you.
Nutritional and dietary advice from governments and companies is recent and dominated by the accessibility of novel foods unavailable to our ancestors. Wheat, vegetable oils and sugar now dominate the advice. Making sensational claims about meat, a food we have eaten forever, is odd when many brand-new foods are impacting our metabolism.
While excessive consumption of red meat may increase certain health risks, moderate consumption as part of a balanced diet is highly unlikely to ‘kill you’ outright.
Just stop oil
Here is an example of where a lack of mindfulness and critical thinking fails to moderate passion.
The 'Just Stop Oil' movement is a UK-based environmental activist group that emerged in 2022. Their primary demand is for the British government to halt all new oil and gas projects in the UK. The group has gained significant attention through their high-profile, disruptive protest tactics, including blocking major roads, scaling buildings, and, most controversially, throwing soup on famous artworks in museums. Fortunately, the paintings themselves were protected by glass.
These actions have sparked debate about the effectiveness and ethics of such radical forms of protest in addressing climate change. While supporters argue that these tactics are necessary to draw attention to the urgent threat of climate change, critics contend that they alienate potential allies and may be counterproductive to the cause.
It is the slogan that a mindful sceptic questions.
Some 40% of the nitrogen in human bodies comes from fertiliser, specifically, the nitrates created in the Haber-Bosch industrial production process, which uses gas as a source and oil to transport and package the products onto farms.
We eat fossil fuels.
This is not sustainable, but if we just stop oil, millions will starve, but before they do, they are likely to get very unhappy. A mindful sceptic understands that actions have consequences and always views the larger canvas.
A transition out of fossil fuels is essential. The fossil fuel bonanza is a pulse, meaning it will end soon enough. Just stopping is impossible without significant disruption to an already fragile global system that has to feed 8 billion people, increasing in number by 8,000 an hour.
In the UK, 41% of the electricity generated in 2022 came from fossil fuels, mostly gas. Overall consumption is declining to a low of 274 tera-watt hours in 2022, a 20% reduction on the 2000 levels from a steady decline. In a quirk of history where an industrialised country declines in its energy use, ‘halt all new oil and gas projects in the UK’ might not be a problem if it is okay to meet over a third of electricity demand from fossil sources.
But there is one more thing.
The assumption in the 'Just Stop Oil' rhetoric is that this will fix the problem of climate change. A mindful sceptic takes a breath, thinks critically and says ‘unlikely’.
Benefits of Becoming a Mindful Sceptic
Because mindful scepticism combines the power of critical thinking with mindfulness, I can approach complex issues with analytical rigour and open-minded awareness. This combination enhances decision-making by encouraging thorough examination of evidence, recognising biases, and considering multiple perspectives before drawing conclusions. And there is nothing like clarity to help navigate the complexities of environmental and social issues with confidence and renewed purpose.
Is the koala going extinct? No, at least not anytime soon.
I need the tools of mindful scepticism to discern credible sources from unreliable ones. Mindful scepticism fosters a habit of fact-checking, source evaluation, and critical analysis of claims. This skill is invaluable for understanding environmental and social issues where conflicting information is standard.
Applying this approach when it matters makes me more resilient to manipulation and better able to form well-grounded opinions.
Regular practice of mindful scepticism sharpens my intellectual skills and bolsters my emotional well-being. Observing my thoughts and reactions without immediate judgment helps me manage eco-anxiety, avoid knee-jerk reactions, and maintain emotional balance when dealing with challenging global issues.
How much of this benefit I get depends on how deep I want to go in understanding interconnected global systems and how much education I want to pursue.
Thuto Ke Thebe is a phrase in the Setswana language and the motto of the University of Botswana, where I was a lecturer from 1989 to 1996. The English translation is "Education Is A Shield."
Myth busting
What surprised Chris and me most as we pursued mindful scepticism was that the softened skills of curiosity, critical thinking, and evidence evaluation are fantastic for myth-busting.
Focusing on these skills forced us to ask better questions and examine the bigger picture. As you can see from our Mindful Sceptic Guides, this was an eye-opener.
As well as reaching decisions, mindful scepticism promotes continuous learning and curiosity. While pure scepticism might lead to closed-mindedness once a conclusion is reached, mindful scepticism maintains an openness to new information and perspectives.
We can’t stress enough how important this is.
Your social feed stresses you out because it throws closed opinions at you. Their inertia and fear of change paralyse our institutions. Curiosity is a beautiful antidote to fear.
Mindful scepticism gives you the courage to tackle it all.
Myth-busting in a world increasingly polarised by extreme viewpoints and overwhelmed by information overload is remarkably liberating. There is nothing like some inside knowledge to feel more comfortable, even reassured.
How to Become a Mindful Sceptic
If the balanced approach of the mindful sceptic gives me clarity and reason, how do I do it? What tricks and tips allow me to deploy the skills and gain the benefits?
Well, I have been a professional ecologist for nearly 40 years. People paid me to practice and deploy critical thinking and evaluation as a research scientist, educator and consultant. I did the heavy lifting for them, and they went away with evidence and advice.
I learned how to blend the objectivity of the scientific method, data analysis, and evaluation with the value judgments people use to make decisions. I knew one end of a statistical significance test from another whilst holding on to the fact that the minister still had to follow the party line or the CEO was obliged to make a company profitable.
Likewise, Chris has applied similar critical thinking and objectivity skills as he directed his staff to restore degraded vegetation, revegetate damaged land, and manage weeds. He was also the voice of reason when government and environmental groups got swarms of bees in their bonnets.
What we offer you is the Become a Mindful Sceptic newsletter.
We send out a fix of skills training and tips and tricks on how to become a mindful sceptic each week.
It’s an accessible introduction to the secret sauce that will help you understand more about the issues you care about.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to develop a modern-day superpower—the ability to think critically without losing your cool. Discussions flourish with fewer arguments.
Are you ready to question well, think smart, and thrive?
I might not have named it but I've spent four decades applying mindful sceptic skills as an ecologist and researcher, and I can tell you that the ability to think critically while maintaining open-minded awareness is transformative. It gave me a exciting and successful career.
Think of mindful scepticism as your navigation system for an increasingly complex world. Each week, we deliver practical tools and insights directly to your inbox, helping you:
cut through information overload with confidence
make well-informed decisions about complex issues
engage in meaningful discussions without conflict
transform anxiety into purposeful action
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