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Profile of Scott in Winnipeg
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16
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 21, 2009, 04:23:23 PM »
If there was a charity dedicated to furthering common place understanding of science in day to day life, I'd happily donate to it.
Here are a few.
New England Skeptical Society, they produce the Skeptics Guide tot he Universe Podcast
http://www.theness.com/
The New England Skeptical Society is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1996 to promote science and reason.
James Randi Educational Foundation
http://www.randi.org/
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1996. Its aim is to promote critical thinking by reaching out to the public and media with reliable information about paranormal and supernatural ideas so widespread in our society today.
The Center for Inquiry
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/
"The mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values."
The Skeptics Society
http://www.skeptic.com/
The Skeptics Society is a scientific and educational organization of scholars, scientists, historians, magicians, professors and teachers, and anyone curious about controversial ideas, extraordinary claims, revolutionary ideas, and the promotion of science. Our mission is to serve as an educational tool for those seeking clarification and viewpoints on those controversial ideas and claims.
17
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 21, 2009, 03:11:31 PM »The regulation of medicine enables the quacks, because "real" medicine is very tightly regulated so quacks just ignore the laws. Exactly the same way that alcohol and drug prohibition just makes it easier for bad drugs and bad alcohol to be passed off as "real".
Also, when quack medicine comes under regulation then people start to see it as legit, since the government "approves" of it.
18
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 21, 2009, 12:09:57 PM »
Good analysis.
Sam actually advocated physcic surgery on Friday's show, Ian quickly ponted out that it's BS, thankfully. That's the kind of thinking that kills people, and you get to pay some sham sleight-of-hand artists $$$ for the priviledge of being scammed.
Thank Xenu that he likes Penn and Tellers Show BullShit since they take a skeptical approach to most subjects. They haven't done an episode on vaccines as of yet, maybe for next season.
Sam actually advocated physcic surgery on Friday's show, Ian quickly ponted out that it's BS, thankfully. That's the kind of thinking that kills people, and you get to pay some sham sleight-of-hand artists $$$ for the priviledge of being scammed.
Thank Xenu that he likes Penn and Tellers Show BullShit since they take a skeptical approach to most subjects. They haven't done an episode on vaccines as of yet, maybe for next season.
19
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 21, 2009, 11:29:13 AM »Here's the problem as I see it: Coercion.
Expressing your opinion, urging people to examine the available information and making up their own minds while (of course) hoping that they will come to the same conclusions as you, that's not coercion, that's persuasion.
Requiring medical procedures through force of law, even if it's "for your own good", that's coercion.
Have I advocated coersion anywhere in this topic? NO. So why do some folks keep coming back to that? I'm not talking about that at all! I'm talking about education. And it's not my "opinion", it's science based medicine, vs. quack based medicine.
You want to see a bunch of people getting vaccinations for their kids? Then let a few die of those preventable diseases and see people flocking to your banner. Let people experience the results of choice, and you will see a lot more responsible behavior.
That's already starting to happen. This website is tracking vaccine preventable deaths in the U.S.
http://www.jennymccarthybodycount.com
Yet the quackery continues, so the "let them die off" theory doesn't seem to be working. Besides, people don't need to "die off", they can have effective medical treatments right now and live.
20
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 20, 2009, 10:49:22 PM »and the overwhelming majority of "people are too stupid to think for themselves" stories come off as pro-regulation in the minds of the mainstream audience.
And I didn't say that, not do I ever, since I don't think that. BUT, many people aren't science literate past a very menial level (not that I am a genius or anything, science is just a hobby of mine) so I'm trying to do a little bit that is pro-science.
If someone wants to believe that the Universe has something in store for them aka Law of Attraction, fine, that isn't a harmful belief as far as I can tell. BUT saying that people shouldn't get vaccines and promoting "natural" cures and the like IS dangerous and has direct harm, that is my concern.
BTW, whatstheharm.net is not my website. And I don't see anything on there that promotes regulation outrighjt, the idea is to promote critical thinking when it comes to health, since most of the items there are about health.
21
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 19, 2009, 01:25:29 PM »When someone says something on a forum without an explicit quote box, it is implied that they're responding to the post above theirs, in that case your claim that you're not advocating force. No truly sceptical person should believe you.
Why? What evidecne do you have? This is a huge red herring, since I am only talking about having factual information on which to make your lifes decisions.
22
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 19, 2009, 12:37:06 AM »Anyone who believes that is just as gullible as the "victims" of those scams.
Anyone who beleives what?
23
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 18, 2009, 01:44:10 PM »
Epic logic fail!
That site says nothing of the sort. It is merly pointing out the dangers of magical thinking.
Rule #1 of statist propaganda - never admit that you're backing your arguments with force.
You have no evidence that I am advocating force, because I'm not.
24
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 18, 2009, 11:57:44 AM »Jesus-titty-fucking-Christ Scott, give it up all ready.No. I'm tired of the crap I've been hearing, they need to be corrected.
Scott, you seem completely unaware of the concept of "reputation" as regards medicine.
Medicine is a service. People who do no research prior to their purchase of the service deserve everything they get.
So what if someone wants to go to a psychic surgeon, I'm not going to use force to stop them. When they don't get better, that psychic gets a huge black mark on their reputation.
Does anyone hire The Amazing Kreskin any more? No. Because he was outed as a fraud. No coercion required.
Where have I said anything about using coersion? I haven't. I'm talking about countering the crap about medicine that I've heard on FTL lately with good info. Yes, people are harmed by scams and fake medicine, to claim otherwise is incorrect. And No, I don't blame the vicitim fof fraud, I blame the person committing the fraud.
25
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 18, 2009, 10:48:41 AM »Jesus-titty-fucking-Christ Scott, give it up all ready.
No. I'm tired of the crap I've been hearing, they need to be corrected.
26
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 17, 2009, 05:41:07 PM »I wonder how many people science has killed.
Millions. That is not the issue here. I'm talking about medicine based on nonsense, when people say "what's the harm", as I heard on last nights show. Well, there is plenty of harm.
27
The Show / Re: What's the Harm
« on: December 17, 2009, 05:40:27 PM »still does nothing. "Science" folk keep peddling their wares like the Mormons who showed up at my door.
Really? So if you spend the money and time on using acupuncture (which doesn't do anything long term) to treat your chronic back pain, is that nothing? When you go for a spinal adjustment from a chiropractor and, basing their practice being based on magic of sublixation, breaks your neck, is that nothing? When you go see a physcic surgeon to remove your tumour instead of getting cut open and you die because the physicic surgeon doesn't actually remove anything, is that nothing?
28
The Show / What's the Harm
« on: December 17, 2009, 05:20:01 PM »
For those folks that think the worse thing that quackery does is nothing (as claimed on last nights show) perhaps you should check out this link.
http://whatstheharm.net/
http://whatstheharm.net/
29
The Show / Re: FTL is becoming anti-science
« on: December 16, 2009, 10:14:47 PM »The placebo effect has been scientifically studied.
Placedos are limited in what they can affect. They do not heal third degree burns as the caller claimed.
[/quote]
30
The Show / Re: FTL is becoming anti-science
« on: December 16, 2009, 12:10:39 PM »
I think my next call is going to be about "magic: and what I meant last night when I said that remoate healing was "magic and magic isnt real", in which Ian (or maybe Mark) went on to say that the body healing itself and placebos are magical. Well, perhaps that is true, but it's not magic.