Iran actually offered to help after 9/11, through third-party ambassadors. But GWB wanted an Axis of Evil worse than he wanted to get OBL, so the offer was rebuffed - and the ambassadors were chewed out for daring to suggest such a thing.
Vegans are wrong. There is no evidence i know of for any traditional societies being vegan. if veganism was so good for people, you would find at least some tribes practicing it.
Veganism is more about what's good for animals than what's good for people to eat.
You do have to consider other explanations, e.g. maybe the internet makes it easier for scientists to get their hands on sufficient information to detect fraud, or maybe even journals have become more responsible about retracting articles one they're shown to be bad.
Orthogonal lines of evidence would indeed be useful for understanding what is going on.
It is disappointing that the original paper doesn't not appear to consider MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) or TeVeS (a Tensor-Vector-Scalar theory of gravity, the relativistic version of MOND).
From what I've read (e.g. this, MOND can be parameterized to explain galactic rotation curves *better* than the dark matter hypothesis does. However, there are a variety of other reasons to believe there's something out there that might be loosely described as "dark matter", and for all those other reasons, MOND doesn't work at all.
The question becomes, if we invest double the money and double the number of people, should we invest it in checking results or in expanding into more directions?
I see a bigger problem in that the Utopian fiction (like Star Trek) has diminished.
Yes, what the galaxy needs is a Federation that puts strong Americans in charge (to rein in the temperamental Russian crew members) of ships to spread our culture (and their seed) throughout the galaxy.
74 virgins for all eternity? If they stay virgins, you're probably in Hell. Otherwise... even if you just bonk one per quadrillion years, you run out before you've put a scratch in eternity.
Lurid offer, but meaningless if you pause to think about it. Once per quadrillion years is like offering you a chance to be a Slashdotter for all eternity.
My religion, OTOH, offers you one skilled courtesan. Or gigolo - my Heaven offers something for everyone.
These "inconvenient truths" prove that there is an intelligent designer of the universe.
Of course they do. But who is the intelligent designer? There are quite a few candidates so far. And there's also Me. I'll give you 73 virgins in paradise and point to point fiber. In return, you just have to donate a small portion of your savings to My Bank Account.
You have hit the nail on the head. Religion is a carrot & stick approach to behavior modification, with the clever twist that they want real behavior modification in the here-and-now so your imaginary soul will get the imaginary carrot instead of the imaginary stick in your imaginary afterlife.
And when we scoff, they offer up Pascal's wager, which is like a stock broker asking you to give real money for stock in an imaginary company - think how rich you'll be if it turns out that the company actually exists!
Or, since the emphasis is usually on the stick rather than the carrot, it's like a protection racket that asks you for real money to prevent some imaginary thugs from burning down your imaginary soul's imaginary restaurant in your imaginary afterlife.
Sweet scam. If my current gig doesn't work out, I'm going to start a religion.
Slashdot Mirror
Iran actually offered to help after 9/11, through third-party ambassadors. But GWB wanted an Axis of Evil worse than he wanted to get OBL, so the offer was rebuffed - and the ambassadors were chewed out for daring to suggest such a thing.
No concept of OPSEC, for one. You get a leg up on the Great Satan and the first thing you do is announce it to the press?
Kind of like the USA with it's "Mother of All Bombs"?
Only if you consider marketing to be art.
Why? Not all of them live in mud huts... Underestimating the enemy is dangerous.
But popular. Especially when you're trying to convince yourself that invading them would be easy.
Vegans are wrong. There is no evidence i know of for any traditional societies being vegan. if veganism was so good for people, you would find at least some tribes practicing it.
Veganism is more about what's good for animals than what's good for people to eat.
Curiously, it doesn't seem to have helped me.
Early humans didn't read Slashdot either.
This article is pure FUD. Plain and simple.
Can't imagine that a company called "iSEC" would be biased on this matter.
retractions is a bad measurement.
You do have to consider other explanations, e.g. maybe the internet makes it easier for scientists to get their hands on sufficient information to detect fraud, or maybe even journals have become more responsible about retracting articles one they're shown to be bad.
Orthogonal lines of evidence would indeed be useful for understanding what is going on.
It is disappointing that the original paper doesn't not appear to consider MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics) or TeVeS (a Tensor-Vector-Scalar theory of gravity, the relativistic version of MOND).
From what I've read (e.g. this, MOND can be parameterized to explain galactic rotation curves *better* than the dark matter hypothesis does. However, there are a variety of other reasons to believe there's something out there that might be loosely described as "dark matter", and for all those other reasons, MOND doesn't work at all.
Also, double the money.
The question becomes, if we invest double the money and double the number of people, should we invest it in checking results or in expanding into more directions?
asia is real big on tech the test and cheating
Since NCLB linked money to performance on tests, US school districts have become big fans of cheating.
All indirect evidence.
Most of what we know comes from indirect evidence.
Personally the idea of an invisible, intangible, ethereal magical material that helps peoples sums add up is dubious at best.
For some reason the universe doesn't care what you're personally dubious about.
Just when I thought Iran was the safest place to stash my money now THIS happens? Where should I go next? Somalia?
I put all mine in the Bank of Atlantis.
At least I don't have to worry about someone else getting it.
It blows my mind at how little americans know about ... well ... everything they havn't heard on the telly.
And how much less we know about things we *have* heard on the telly...
How many films these days are masturbatory fantasies for the greens?
Call me old-fashioned, but when I hear "greens" the first thing I think of is chariot racing hooliganism.
We now have computers that fit in our pockets
Huh? I thought everyone was just glad to see me.
War stories usually have some sort of happy end, at least in some distant future, if not for the heroes themselves. Zombie stories, not so much.
Depends on whose side you're on.
I see a bigger problem in that the Utopian fiction (like Star Trek) has diminished.
Yes, what the galaxy needs is a Federation that puts strong Americans in charge (to rein in the temperamental Russian crew members) of ships to spread our culture (and their seed) throughout the galaxy.
Neal has bought into his own celebrity and lost all sense of what made him a decent author.
That means he should be ready to start writing his prequels...
But not unclear *why* he left.
We were too poor to buy fancy robots, so I had to play doctor with the girl next door.
But does it give an electric shock when they mess up?
No, the nose lights up, a buzzer sounds, and you lose a turn.
The god that is love. The god that does not promise sex slaves in paradise
Or course not. He only offers meaningful stuff, like streets paved with gold.
And eternal torture, for people who don't join the club.
If only every god could be so enlightened.
He's a fraud.
I'll give you 74 virgins
74 virgins for all eternity? If they stay virgins, you're probably in Hell. Otherwise... even if you just bonk one per quadrillion years, you run out before you've put a scratch in eternity.
Lurid offer, but meaningless if you pause to think about it. Once per quadrillion years is like offering you a chance to be a Slashdotter for all eternity.
My religion, OTOH, offers you one skilled courtesan. Or gigolo - my Heaven offers something for everyone.
Or dominatrix...
These "inconvenient truths" prove that there is an intelligent designer of the universe.
Of course they do. But who is the intelligent designer? There are quite a few candidates so far. And there's also Me. I'll give you 73 virgins in paradise and point to point fiber. In return, you just have to donate a small portion of your savings to My Bank Account.
You have hit the nail on the head. Religion is a carrot & stick approach to behavior modification, with the clever twist that they want real behavior modification in the here-and-now so your imaginary soul will get the imaginary carrot instead of the imaginary stick in your imaginary afterlife.
And when we scoff, they offer up Pascal's wager, which is like a stock broker asking you to give real money for stock in an imaginary company - think how rich you'll be if it turns out that the company actually exists!
Or, since the emphasis is usually on the stick rather than the carrot, it's like a protection racket that asks you for real money to prevent some imaginary thugs from burning down your imaginary soul's imaginary restaurant in your imaginary afterlife.
Sweet scam. If my current gig doesn't work out, I'm going to start a religion.