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In truth medicine seems to this mathematician as a field governed sooley [sic] by statistical correlation with next to no concern over (a) what is the actual cause is, (b) testing the hypothesized cause in any meaningful way. I've read study after study that goes through a wonderful presented statistical analysis to conclude that such and such drug works well at treating such and such symptom; they then close with a couple of paragraphs as to why (they think) the drug is working often not using an qualifiers such as "we don't know but our guess is..." or "it would be nice to find out if it is ...."

You are unfortunately quite correct and it's very frustrating. I speak as a physician with a strong background in experimental biology. MOST medical research is complete and utter garbage. Statistically correct garbage, but crap none the less. However, in defense of my current field - it's awfully hard to do "experiments" in human research. Hell, it was hard enough to do on eurkaryotic culture cells. Which is why much of the underpinning on modern biological sciences was done on "simple" organisms like bacteria and phages.

Another, more empiric way of looking at what most of what medical science is doing comes from the realization that if you "cure" or "improve" a disease process, at some levels it makes no difference whether you understood what you're doing or just managed to get a valid correlation between treatment and effect. To use a previous example, when you taken a statin to reduce cholesterol, you (as the patient) don't do this to "lower your cholesterol" - you do it so you live longer / healthier / disease free. The statin -> reduce cholesterol correlation may have led researchers to the treatment regimen in the first place, but the end point is staying alive longer. Thus, if the actual mechanism for that is channeling his noodliness, the treatment still works.

Of course, that's not science (or at least not very good science). But it IS the state of medical therapy.

Biology is fiendishly complex and we, as usual, make lots of baby steps and stutters. However, anybody that thinks a doctor in the latter part of this century is going to look like back at 2010 medical practice and decide it's "butchery" is smoking some good stuff.

Movies are expensive to make. However that doesn't change the public's interest half life. It's like saying that because I spent a ton of money on my business it should make money for me, and be enforced by law.

Looking at http://www.fast-rewind.com/ for movies in the 80's I can't see one that if spoofed on/added to/ cut up/ redone/ couldn't be given a fresh life. How about a new genre where a movie played in the corner of a screen is re-created from other movies scene by scene. Imagine Back to the Future recreated with dozens of horror flicks. This is impossible under the current copyright laws.

I don't understand your last comment. Scenes from the original could be plastered on fast food soda cups all over the world just in time for the next movie release. Isn't that what normally happens anyways? Or are you saying that anyone could do it? (Why not?).

What about the computer from Superman III?

All the mods listed on this are "Informative". Shouldn't that be, "Funny"?

For one thing, maybe I'm just a little spoiled, but any vehicle that launches unexpectedly "two minutes before official launch" and then "sink(s) into the Black Sea " is a lot closer to a cool model rocket than to a human-certifid spacecraft.

I think this sentence is the giveaway:

Apparently, Romanians are using a secret formula based on World War II technology for torpidoes, also used on the Kursk Russian submarine.

Uh huh. The best example of H2O2 decomposition technology is Russia's worst sub disaster of recent times.

All in all, I wouldn't believe the mods fell for it if they hadn't done the same with my own, similar posting. I linked the effects of lightning on autonomous robots to a fan page for the movie Short Circuit, and got modded Informative. Those crazy moderators...

It didn't work too well for Jesse Ventura on predator.

I saw a documentary on this subject back in the '80s. As I recall, the all-terrain robots were quite impressive, but subject to major, non-reversable programming glitches when subjected to large electro-magnetic fields (such as lightning strikes).

>The enemy migs in Top Gun seemed pretty imaginary to me

What did you expect, that they could "borrow" a couple of Fulcrums? Remember, Top Gun was made, what, 1986-ish? Soviet Union hadn't fallen yet, 29's were probably a little hard to come by unless you are Saddam.

IIRC, they used airforce trainer (prolly T-38 Talon) jets to 'simulate' the migs -- probably the closest you could get back then on a budget.

You have to have seen the flick to understand the joke (`You will be famous! Your music will be heard [...insert connection here...] the land!'), but the web page does bring out a lot of interesting trivia and spoilers.

I hope I'm not the first to remind you that the "man who lives in caves", whom the US has been "unable" to bring down, hasn't been seen for about two years. Interestingly enough, it was about two years ago that the US military chose to use three of its (small-num) daisy-cutter FAE munitions on one site in one day.

Now, that's not to say the guy's successors aren't willing to use a set of pre-recorded tapes (even a cave-dweller could have guessed in late 2000, that there'd eventually be US troops in $COUNTRY, for many values of $COUNTRY, and to record a set of messages accordingly) in order to convey messages to other enemy cells.

But the guy himself? No fucking way. The total lack of video, and the ambiguity of the ramblings in the audio, makes him about as alive as Nat King Cole was when he "recorded" that execrable "Unforgettable" duet with his daughter, which is even less alive than JFK was when they filmed Forrest Gump.

Allow me to rant for a bit:

'Ee's not plannin'! 'E's passed on! This man in a cave is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker!' E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in pieces! If the shock wave hadn't splattered 'im all over the walls, 'e'd be pushing up the daisies, or at least the daisy-cutters! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-MAN-IN-A-CAVE!!

Your required movie watching for this weekend: "Weekend at Bernie's"

Just try out this link:
http://www.fast-rewind.com/heathers.htm

Remember: NT/2000/XP with messaging service on only.

You should see it before the java popup, and it should say something about comming at their site from outside their menu.

Isn't there a risk that your head might explode if someone play's Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin?

a paint ball gun so you can be like Anthony Edwards in the movie Gotcha!

Course be sure to turn down the pressure on that thing else you might poke somebody's eye out!