Not much for name calling

I’m not an advocate of name calling, but it can serve a purpose. Palin has her "haters" for everyone who disagrees with her. (The overly simple translation she makes is that I hate her, not just her ideas. That’s not necessarily true but some people are very narrow in their thinking about the connection between belief and believer.)

There are the "birthers". That seems to quickly encompass the issue at hand and make people sound ludicrous at the same time. Convenient. It was ludicrous so that was justified.

To label those incapable of having a rational discussion of the issues, might we call these town hell criers the "shriekers"?

Is labeling a good thing?

Labels tend to lump lots of people into a big group without attention to the individual. It’s too easy to label someone who is not deserving of such a label. Easy to be served with a label – harder to shake it off.

However, I’m feeling favor towards dubbing these exhibitionists "shriekers" since this is a derogatory term that may discourage such behavior to continue. Plus, it’s pretty obvious to all if you are one or not.

I sure would like society to reject this kind of irrational, emotional, tantrum-throwing behavior over serious issues that affect us all. (Yo, buddy, it’s not just you paying taxes.) When I see shrieking, I immediately think, "Oh, this person has no reasonable opinion and is too easily swayed by emotion and fear-mongering." I don’t trust their judgment. But, that’s just me. Apparently, Congress finds it intimidating. They want to grease the squeaky wheel and soothe their anger. That’s bullshit. It’s like giving a toddler the biggest lolly in the store for embarrassing the hell out of you with his hissy-fit. For a healthy, respectable, functioning society, it should not be tolerated.

Fancy jargon

Fancy jargon and complexity

Science is loaded with jargon which serves as an efficient way to get a complex idea across in a neat package. Scientists name everything and give precise definitions. Thus, jargon is a hallmark of science.

Whereas the jargon of science is meant to be precise and useful, the jargon of pseudoscience is additionally used to convey an impression of technicality, and may deliberately be used to obfuscate the outsider. Inventive jargon and elaborate detail can hide the lack of real discussion about evidence and logical argument. [1]

Pseudoscientific gurus frequently misapply genuine scientific words. New scientific-sounding terms are created because they also sound right to an untrained ear. The most egregious offense may be the misuse of scientific concepts that are typically peppered throughout their literature and commentary. “Energy” and “quantum” are perhaps the most commonly incorrectly applied and highly overused terms.

While it sounds impressive, fancy-sounding language does not make a concept scientific. Elaborate systems of painstaking analysis and exacting interpretation doesn’t make what comes out at the other end any more true. It’s just a sham.

When a proponent asserts absolute certainty in their interpretation, and will not provide a reasonable answer to “What evidence would make your theory false?” (or worse, requires the scientist to “Prove me wrong”) it is a clear signal of pseudoscience. Intellectual honesty would require one to admit that any theory may eventually someday be proven false but can never be proven absolutely true.

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[1] Levitt, N. (1999). Prometheus Bedeviled, Rutgers Univ Press. p. 90

Back to Sham Inquiry contents page.

It’s ON

I have something new to say so I’m back and working on a flurry of posts…

After I go make a martini…BBL

A Doubtful End

All:

I still get consistent hits on this blog. Even after I took off the picts of Gerard Way!

I have linked to the Whispers from the Earth series of posts since the Sichuan quake has stirred interest in earthquake precursors. This has also been published in The Anomalist No. 13: Intermediate States. I would like to keep this blog going as a commentary on Fortean phenomena but life events take their toll as usual.

I have decided to go to grad school to study the interaction between science and the public. Some of you who know who I am also know that I have a family, a house, a garden, a dog, a full-time job, and I like to talk to my neighbors, read, watch TV, play the Wii and do everyday normal things. I also ran three blogs including this one. I have to cut something somewhere. My PC hard drive is perpetually giving me hassles so the decision has been made for me. No time for blog updates right now.

Someday, I hope to share my views in another blog, maybe a new book. As always, feel free to comment. I’ll still be listening and would love to chat (that is, unless you are trying to convince me that the full moon physically influences behavior. If that’s the case, I’ll probably just humor you.)

All the best.

Animals hearing the earth whispers again

 

Earthquake in Illinois! Is this the end times?

 

Hot-underground-fictional-place-for-sinners, no!

And, I’ll go on record to say End Times stories are totally silly. The world has been going downhill since we humans got here in (more-or-less) present form a million years ago. Enough of that tangent. It was just to get attention anyway.

It’s pretty darn cool to experience an earthquake but, putting things into earthly perspective, this is no big deal. No one was hurt. If there were no buildings, liquer stores and knick-knacks, no damage would have been done. When natural events like this happen, one would hope that interest would be generated in the science and explanations behind it. No, we get a lot of rampant speculation. People make correlations that have no basis in reality because our brains are designed to find patterns and connections. Thus, it must be the end of the world. Folks, stranger things happen all the time. Let’s not be scared of them, let’s embrace the challenge of discovery!

I did notice my favorite anecdotal earthquake precursor stories crop up once again in the midwest – animals sensing the earthquake. It appears from all the stories that people’s pet cats, dogs and birds were riled up hours, minutes and seconds prior to the event. Seconds before, animals can perceive something amiss with the usual sounds or vibration before us humans perceive these waves. Hours and minutes prior, could they be sensing the emissions of builtup stress in the rock, electromagnetic waves, infra- or ultrasound, gas release, air ionization, etc.? Most certainly they can. Not everyone’s dog or cat showed concern. I read reports from the local news that some pets slept right through. Others were shaken after the event just like their humans.

From our understanding of earthquakes, we know that the strain builds over time. Those conditions modify the immediate environment. See my article on Whispers from the Earth. I have been compelled by the evidence and theories of plausible mechanisms to explain the occurrences, that some animals, even people, are able to perceive precursors of earthquakes. It’s not unreasonable; it’s not kooky; it’s not even paranormal. It’s factual that animals perceive the world differently than we do. I think a lot more folks understand that now.