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This Is a News Website Article About a Scientific Paper

jamie passes along a humorous article at The Guardian which pokes fun at the shallow and formulaic science journalism typical of many mainstream news outlets. Quoting: In this paragraph I will state the main claim that the research makes, making appropriate use of 'scare quotes' to ensure that it's clear that I have no opinion about this research whatsoever. ... If the research is about a potential cure, or a solution to a problem, this paragraph will describe how it will raise hopes for a group of sufferers or victims. This paragraph elaborates on the claim, adding weasel-words like 'the scientists say' to shift responsibility for establishing the likely truth or accuracy of the research findings on to absolutely anybody else but me, the journalist. ... 'Basically, this is a brief soundbite,' the scientist will say, from a department and university that I will give brief credit to. 'The existing science is a bit dodgy, whereas my conclusion seems bang on,' she or he will continue."

16 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. This is a reply to fix your comment by jpapon · · Score: 4, Funny

    I modify a noun or verb to make it almost certainly not funny and insert it at the end.

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    -- Let us endeavor so to live that when we pass even the undertaker shall be sorry. -- M. Twain
  2. Re:"a humorous article" by lgw · · Score: 3, Funny

    Reply noting the irony of making a grammar correction while making a grammar mistake.

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    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  3. HEY EURAKARTE by Dancindan84 · · Score: 5, Funny

    INSULT

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    "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
  4. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by Canazza · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is where I type "DOUBLE RAINBOWS!" in a vain attempt to jump on a bandwagon I barely understand and am slightly fearful of

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    It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
  5. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by JayJay.br · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is where I back your assumptions with the oblig. xkcd.

  6. Re:"a humorous article" by Americano · · Score: 3, Funny

    Is it too late for "I for one welcome our new Ironing Board-wielding overlords"?

    Yes?

    How about, "In Soviet Russia, ironing boards iron YOU!"

    No?

    "All your ironing boards are belong to us?"

    Damn.

    "I AM an ironing board, you insensitive clod!"

    That's better.

  7. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by ThreeGigs · · Score: 3, Funny

    Here I insert a reference to the parent's 7-digit ID number, with obligatory "get off my lawn" parallelisms.

  8. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by vlm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here I insert a reference to the parent's 6-digit ID number, with obligatory "get off my lawn" parallelisms.

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    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  9. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by twoallbeefpatties · · Score: 5, Funny

    This meme is starting to sound like an Old Spice parody.

    Look at this article. This is the article you could have written if you had known anything about science. Look at the article that you wrote, now back at this article. I'm holding a peer review, signed by several interesting scientists in the field that you know nothing about. Look at the article you wrote, now back at this article, the peer review is full of discussion and criticism, the likes which you could not understand unless you had the briefest notion of how the review process works. The kind of discussion your article could have had if your article was written with any actual knowledge of science. Now look again. I'm on the internet.

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    Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.
  10. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is where I post as an AC.
     
    I take the obvious route of calling attention to your low user number and bash you for karma whoring.

  11. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by toadlife · · Score: 2, Funny

    What the GP meant to say is that "This is the part where I reply to a post without thoroughly reading it first; making myself look like an ass in the process."

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    I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
  12. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by blair1q · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is where I mock you for posting as an AC and contradict everything in your post, knowing you'll have to manually scroll to find it again and probably won't bother.

  13. Slashdot Posting Form: Checkbox humour by w0mprat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Slashdot Posting Form v0.4 BETA. Automatically creates typical slashdot post.

    [ ] IANAL but ____
    [ ] Obligatory XKCD ___
    [ ] In soviet russia the _____'s YOU
    [ ] There, fixed that for you
    [ ] link to /. dupe from last year
    [ ] sudo _____ > /dev/null
    [ ] Queue _____ in 3.. 2..
    [ ] Bitch about /.'s modding system
    [ ] Get off my lawn
    [ ] You insensitive clod!
    [ ] RTFM
    [ ] RTTFA

    [x] Reuse my posting form joke
    [x] Don't hide "Reuse my posting form joke" checkbox

    Invoke:
    [ ] Cory Doctrow
    [ ] Richard Stallman
    [ ] kdawson
    [ ] Steve Jobs
    [ ] Natalie Portman

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    After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
  14. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by SEE · · Score: 4, Funny

    Here's the guy with the 4-digit number saying that the person with the 5-digit number has no business talking about ID numbers.

  15. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by halcyon1234 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here I question why the parent post got modded insightful, when it was funny, prompting a lecture about Slashdot's karma system. My post will, ironically, be modded funny, and in doing so, will start a flame-war about the proper use of "ironic".

  16. Re:This Is a Comment Expressing New Found Skeptici by beckerist · · Score: 4, Funny

    This reminds me of: Charlie Brooker Reports the News