The Case Against Explaining Your Practice to Skeptics

A sincere practitioner is often asked, by a skeptical friend or relative, to justify a practice in terms the skeptic will accept.

The impulse to answer fully, with evidence and reasoning the skeptic will find persuasive, is understandable and frequently counterproductive. Some practices simply do not translate well into the register the question was asked in, and forcing the translation can flatten the practice into something smaller than it is.