A skeptic is not someone who simply rejects the claims of others, says Richard Saunders, host of the podcast The Skeptic Zone.
"What a skeptic will do is say 'What's your claim? That's really interesting. Let's investigate and test it and get to the truth of the matter," he tells Jesse Mulligan.
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Saunders is a life member of Australian Skeptics, which, according to its website, "aims to play a key role in rational and intelligent public discourse on science and medicine".
Over the last 12 years, Saunders and a team of fellow skeptics have analysed almost 4,000 psychic predictions made by Australians for The Great Australian Psychic Prediction Project.
He will present his findings in a talk called Que Sera, Sera. Is the future ours to see? at this weekend's online Skepticon conference.
(New Zealanders Siouxsie Wiles, Ashley Bloomfield, Helen Petousis-Harris and Sanjana Hattotuwa are also part of Skepticon, joining the panel discussion (Mis)information in the time of Covid.)
For years, skeptic associations around the world have been fighting "conspiracy theory-led misinformation", Saunders says, and now that fight is more serious than ever.
In the United States, thousands of people have died because they believe in conspiracy theories, he says.
"There's a hardcore group of people in those countries who for years have been whinging and carrying on about the evils of vaccines and big pharma.
"[As skeptics,] this is probably the most important fight we have ever undertaken - the battle against conspiracy theories and misinformation."
Alongside this, Saunders and his fellow skeptics remain very interested in anyone able to prove they can bend a spoon, speak with the dead or predict the future.
And there's even a financial reward for such a person.
"If it turns out that people have these mystical powers as they claim, not only would we be happy and accept it, we have a huge cash prize of $100,000 to give to them. So it's not taking the fun out of things, it's exploring and being a bit adventurous."
More skeptics on RNZ:
Susan Gerbic: 'Anecdotes are not evidence and we surely would like to have lots of facts'
Dr Steven Novella: 'There are very serious issues out there affecting people’s lives which I think need a very heavy dose of skepticism'
