Michael Specter: The danger of science denial

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Posted: 9/5/2010 5:55:43 AM EDT

Posted: 9/5/2010 5:56:45 AM EDT

[#1]

And I don't wanna talk to a scientist

Y'all motherfuckers lying, and getting me pissed

Posted: 9/5/2010 5:56:54 AM EDT

[#2]

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Posted: 9/5/2010 5:59:40 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:00:17 AM EDT

[#4]

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:00:26 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Seen it already. Been trough the argument. Do you think you're the only one with this video?

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:03:39 AM EDT

[#6]

So there!

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:05:39 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Seen it already. Been trough the argument. Do you think you're the only one with this video?

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:18:26 AM EDT

[#8]

It's a good thing we have video now. Otherwise it would only take us 30 seconds to read through the argument, and the holes and lapses would be more apparent.

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:23:15 AM EDT

[#9]

TED videos that are striclty scientific presentations are OK. When they cross the line on how to engineer a better Earth, they stray from science and get into full retard. and usually libtard mode.

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:33:02 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

I'm not wasting 19 minutes of my life...cliffnotes please.

ETA: If this is about "Man Made Global Warming", then I want the scene from Eddie Murphie/Dan Akroyd "Trading Places" where the Duke brothers are standing in the middle of the Commodities Exchange screaming "get those people back in here! turn those machines back on!!!" at the end of the movie.

Man-Made Global Warming is OVER!!! YOU FUQQIN LOST!!! GET OVER IT!!! AL GORE DOESN'T GET FREE HOOKERS ANYMORE!!! EVEN TIPPER KNOWS IT'S A FRAUD!!!

Nope he talks about people's fears about vaccinations, "organic" food production, things like that.

He mentions that were the only country in the world with a declining vaccination trend and how, with world travel as easy as it is, stupid that is.

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:42:25 AM EDT

[#11]

tag to watch later

Posted: 9/5/2010 6:52:16 AM EDT

[#12]

It should be ILLEGAL for government to fund science.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:01:03 AM EDT

[#13]

The danger of manipulated science

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:14:12 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

The danger of manipulated science

I don't recall him mentioning fluoride.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:16:45 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:

The danger of manipulated science

I don't recall him mentioning fluoride.

Stealing our vital essence.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:19:26 AM EDT

[#16]

Glen Beck says M Specter is a commie .

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:24:42 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Glen Beck says M Specter is a commie .

He may very well be. This is the first time I've ever even heard of him.

I agreed with >90% of what he said in this instance.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:29:30 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Glen Beck says M Specter is a commie .

He may very well be. This is the first time I've ever even heard of him.

I agreed with >90% of what he said in this instance.

what a huge suprise

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:33:37 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Glen Beck says M Specter is a commie .

He may very well be. This is the first time I've ever even heard of him.

I agreed with >90% of what he said in this instance.

what a huge suprise

Unless you are a little more specific I can't over react to the implied insult properly.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:34:34 AM EDT

[#20]

If anyone actually WATCHED the video, he keeps it fairly nonpolitical and he's right in most of what he says. This country and the western world is walking down a dangerous path that could easily wind up with us as a third world nation.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:36:40 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

If anyone actually WATCHED the video, he keeps it fairly nonpolitical and he's right in most of what he says. This country and the western world is walking down a dangerous path that could easily wind up with us as a third world nation.

Nah all science is like global warming science its all made up!

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:39:35 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:

Quoted:
If anyone actually WATCHED the video, he keeps it fairly nonpolitical and he's right in most of what he says. This country and the western world is walking down a dangerous path that could easily wind up with us as a third world nation.

Nah all science is like global warming science its all made up!

Not all science is junk .But all should be suspected. The science community has gone the way of the MSM.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:41:01 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:

If anyone actually WATCHED the video, he keeps it fairly nonpolitical and he's right in most of what he says. This country and the western world is walking down a dangerous path that could easily wind up with us as a third world nation.

Nah all science is like global warming science its all made up!

Not all science is junk .But all should be suspected. The science community has gone the way of the MSM.

And he covers that as well Mr. Snarky McSnarkpants.

Posted: 9/5/2010 7:43:41 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

Quoted:
If anyone actually WATCHED the video, he keeps it fairly nonpolitical and he's right in most of what he says. This country and the western world is walking down a dangerous path that could easily wind up with us as a third world nation.

Nah all science is like global warming science its all made up!

Not all science is junk .But all should be suspected. The science community has gone the way of the MSM.

Whatever. I'm glad you have this all so figured out.

Posted: 9/5/2010 10:56:51 AM EDT

[#25]

thalidomide?

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:01:38 AM EDT

[#26]

As a conservative, I do not believe in science.

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:01:45 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
thalidomide?

Gesundheit.

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:03:40 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
thalidomide?

What about it?

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:04:04 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
It should be ILLEGAL for government to fund science.

Yeah, fuck the amazing advances programs like NASA have brought us! Fuck em all! I LOVE backwards living!

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:41:53 AM EDT

[#30]

I wonder how many arfcom parents don't vaccinate their kids?

Can solve this problem in part by requiring vaccination for public school attendance. I thought this already happened but maybe it was just my school or I simply assumed.

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:46:50 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
As a conservative, I do not believe in science.

wat?

Posted: 9/5/2010 11:54:19 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Where was your "fully informed and rational" discussion and summary of this video that you posted a link to?

Oh right, you just through it out there, like a kid with his first firecracker. Hey look guys, this is so cool!!!.

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:00:28 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Where was your "fully informed and rational" discussion and summary of this video that you posted a link to?

Oh right, you just through it out there, like a kid with his first firecracker. Hey look guys, this is so cool!!!.

The video spoke for itself, it didn't need any commentary from me.

Additionally, I posted a clear and precise title so that there was no misunderstanding.

Don't forget that there's no school tomorrow.

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:12:19 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Where was your "fully informed and rational" discussion and summary of this video that you posted a link to?

Oh right, you just through it out there, like a kid with his first firecracker. Hey look guys, this is so cool!!!.

The video spoke for itself, it didn't need any commentary from me.

Additionally, I posted a clear and precise title so that there was no misunderstanding.

Don't forget that there's no school tomorrow.

Yeah, you comfort yourself with that snark, sonny. Some of us have actually been around long enough to recognize bullshit and bullshitters from the get-go.

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:31:55 PM EDT

[#35]

He is right on!

Lets look at what's happening now in the USA
EPA and congress ban pesticides to thunderous applause
hotels wash sheets in cold water to reduce "greenhouse gases"

Bedbug infestations break out in NY, Philly, Detroit, etc
Do you think a bunch of people invented pesticides to poison the planet or to control insects that were killing millions?

You get idiots like Jenny McCarthy spewing drivel about vaccinations causing Autism and sheeple eat it up, when some poor kid ends up in a iron lung because polio makes a comeback will she recant?
Don't hold your breath.

I have a very bad feeling that we are going to see diseases that terrified our grand parents, but are unheard of today make a sweeping comeback, the price for rampant stupidity will be hospital wards jammed with sick children and cemeteries filled with the dead. Maybe even the return of mass graves for the overwhelming piles of corpses? It has happened countless times in the past and modern science is the only thing holding it at bay.

Read your Tennyson , what was true then is true today and will be true tomorrow, we just forget.
http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_copybook.htm

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:33:36 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:
If anyone actually WATCHED the video,

80%ers!

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:39:27 PM EDT

[#37]

Specter talks about how people oppose genetically engineered food because they dislike hormones, pesticides, big agriculture, etc. His point is that genetically engineered food gets rid of the need for hormones and pesticides, but that the average person is so fucking dumb that they assume anything not fertilized with chickenshit is unnatural and bad. I see it all the time with people here in California: everyone buys organic food, even though it costs more money. It never occurs to them that the reason it's more money is that it's inefficient to grow food that way, and that organic is basically a feel-good luxury for rich liberals.

What the average environmentalist does is conflate as many possible things together as he can. This is why people can't decide whether carpool lanes are supposed to reduce road congestion or reduce pollution, or whether car engines should have lower emissions or better mileage. It's not the same thing, and it's often diametrically opposed, but their talking heads never treat it like that. Most environmentalists would rather buy a Toyota Prius to commute 60 miles one-way for work than take the bus to a job closer to home. Most environmentalists talk about solar, hydro and wind power like they will supply all our energy needs, when a: they won't and b: to even come close you have to fuck up plenty of "environment" to do it.

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:40:10 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Where was your "fully informed and rational" discussion and summary of this video that you posted a link to?

Oh right, you just through it out there, like a kid with his first firecracker. Hey look guys, this is so cool!!!.

The video spoke for itself, it didn't need any commentary from me.

Additionally, I posted a clear and precise title so that there was no misunderstanding.

Don't forget that there's no school tomorrow.

Yeah, you comfort yourself with that snark, sonny. Some of us have actually been around long enough to recognize bullshit and bullshitters from the get-go.

As you say...

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:47:29 PM EDT

[#39]

Freedom has many costs. Sometimes health is one of them. I'd rather be free and sick than healthy and a slave. (Hyperbole, yes, but sometimes hyperbole is helpful in making a point.)

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:59:09 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Where was your "fully informed and rational" discussion and summary of this video that you posted a link to?

Oh right, you just through it out there, like a kid with his first firecracker. Hey look guys, this is so cool!!!.

The video spoke for itself, it didn't need any commentary from me.

Additionally, I posted a clear and precise title so that there was no misunderstanding.

Don't forget that there's no school tomorrow.

Yeah, you comfort yourself with that snark, sonny. Some of us have actually been around long enough to recognize bullshit and bullshitters from the get-go.

As you say...

Stop sniping like a bunch of kids and state your argument in a rational manner.

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:59:21 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Glen Beck says M Specter is a commie .

He may very well be. This is the first time I've ever even heard of him.

I agreed with >90% of what he said in this instance.

what a huge suprise

Unless you are a little more specific I can't over react to the implied insult properly.

Chernobyl. His insinuation that all nuclear power is of similar danger shows he knows not what he talks about. All nuclear power plants use neutrons to sustain the chain reaction, only most of the neutron flux is too high energy to be captured, so they rely on moderators to slow the neutrons. The Soviet design used graphite as the moderator, a flammable substance. Western reactors use the same cooling water as a moderator. When a western reactor experiences an upset, the moderator is lost and a full melt down cannot happen. When a Soviet reactor has an upset, the graphite vaporizes but it still moderates the neutrons. The graphite explodes.

When a religion masquerades as a science, there is major trouble.

Posted: 9/5/2010 12:59:32 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Wrong................the danger of polically rigged science.

Let's see...

20 minute video: check

1 minute response time: check

Fully informed and rational response: <crickets>

Where was your "fully informed and rational" discussion and summary of this video that you posted a link to?

Oh right, you just through it out there, like a kid with his first firecracker. Hey look guys, this is so cool!!!.

The video spoke for itself, it didn't need any commentary from me.

Additionally, I posted a clear and precise title so that there was no misunderstanding.

Don't forget that there's no school tomorrow.

Yeah, you comfort yourself with that snark, sonny. Some of us have actually been around long enough to recognize bullshit and bullshitters from the get-go.

Apparently you haven't been around that long, then.

Posted: 9/5/2010 1:01:15 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:
I wonder how many arfcom parents don't vaccinate their kids?

Can solve this problem in part by requiring vaccination for public school attendance. I thought this already happened but maybe it was just my school or I simply assumed.

They rely on herd immunity-which is fine, right up until the point that they realize that they're not the only one "smart enough" to skip the vaccinations. Then there will be great wailing and gnashing of teeth when polio rips through a junior high or elementary school. Or measles stomps a mudhole in the ass of thousands of high school age kids, then mumps walks it dry.

"Sorry Susy, the reason you got polio and lost the ability to walk and control your bowels and bladder is because we thought that we were smarter than the doctors who told us to give you vaccines."

"Sorry, Johnny, the mumps made you infertile. We figured that since everyone else was stupid and vaccinating their kids, we could smugly rely on herd immunity. Jenny McCarthy, a very intelligent actress who has watched several hours of shows on the DIscovery Health Channel and was also an avid House fan, said that giving you vaccinations, for diseases that are very rare any more, put you in more risk for autism and face penises. How were we to know that everyone else had been persuaded to do the same thing. It turns out, those diseases are rare BECAUSE of, rather than in spite of, vaccinations."

Posted: 9/5/2010 1:01:29 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Glen Beck says M Specter is a commie .

He may very well be. This is the first time I've ever even heard of him.

I agreed with >90% of what he said in this instance.

what a huge suprise

Unless you are a little more specific I can't over react to the implied insult properly.

Chernobyl. His insinuation that all nuclear power is of similar danger shows he knows not what he talks about.

That's not what he said. He listed Chernobyl as a reason that the general public mistrusts the government and scientists, he didn't say it was a reason not to have nuclear power.

Posted: 9/5/2010 1:03:26 PM EDT

[#45]

6:15 - 7:20. Bravo. Vaccines are essential. Jenny McCarthy = Idiot. Jonas Salk = Hero.

Love this line: "When belief in magic replaces evidence and science, you're in a place you don't want to be."

We, as a society, have lost the ability to think critically. The fact that, as a nation, we don't understand logical basics, such as causation and correlation, is shameful. The results are utterly predictable.

Posted: 9/5/2010 4:16:01 PM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:

It should be ILLEGAL for government to fund science.

You are right let the drug companies fund their own boner drug research....

Posted: 9/5/2010 4:23:21 PM EDT

[#47]

I really don't care if someone willfully refused to vaccinate their kids. Well, I should rephrase. I wouldn't care, if those un-vaccinated kids were refused state-backed treatment in any hospital. Sometimes the gene pool just needs a spot of bleach.