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Originally Posted by Knalus

I agree it's good fun to think about those sorts of things.

It's more than fun, it's very useful. We only have this planet to go on for examples of convergent evolution, so thought experiments about convergent evolution of aliens is useful.

And yes it is fun, this is a talk at a science center intended for laypeople.

Originally Posted by Knalus

I just wouldn't mention the two in the same breath.

Why not? The blurb isn't a position paper or a discussion on the philosophy of science, it's a blurb written on a science center website.

And you are pulling things out of context. The part about aliens is about the talk, while the part about skepticism is describing the speaker himself.

So they aren't even in the "same breath".

Originally Posted by Knalus

Seems counter intuitive. It's like saying "if we take things to their absolute furthest conclusion, we end up with results we cannot prove, nor replicate. BTW, I belong to a society dedicated to countering discourse that cannot be proven".

Just because something's not intuitive doesn't mean it isn't useful.

Flatland is an imaginary novel about social hierarchy in Victorian culture, but is still read by scientists and mathematicians because of how helpful it is in describing dimensions.

Taking things out to their logical conclusions, even if only in thought experiments, is very helpful because it identifies boundary conditions and other things that might be meaningful later on.

Hypothesizing is at the core of science.

Originally Posted by Knalus

But to advertise that he's a leading skeptic as a way of legitimizing it seems quite odd.

Legitimizing what? Aliens? Aliens are a perfectly legitimate speculation. Life arose here, there's no reason to think similar conditions don't exist elsewhere. But no where does the blurb indicate that they're saying aliens DO exist.

We have no evidence gravity exists outside the observable universe too. Or heck we have no evidence gravity exists outside our galaxy, maybe other galaxies are held together by magic, or hope, or silly putty.

Or do you mean legitimizing something else?