You gotta be kidding.

BBT used to be smart. BBT used to be funny.

It's basically drivel now.

When was the last geek/nerd joke that felt like a natural part of the converstion? Hint: Not in the past two years.

Now it Star Trek Joke, laugh track, explain that it was in fact a Star Trek joke, laugh track, explain why Star Trek joke was funny, laugh track.

Brilliant? Please. I loved the first season or two of the show because all four of the main characters were somewhat relatable. Now they're just caricatures of the characters they used to be and the nerd/geek pop humor exists either as throwaways or excuses for the characters to do completely outlandish things.

Mike is an uncommon name for an Indian.

India = South Asia
Phillipines = SouthEAST Asia

The whole point was that when I speak with a man with a Filipino accent and he says his name is Mike (or Victor or James), I have no reason to disbelieve him. I assume Filipinos have Christian names from their Catholic baptisms.

I am a medical epidemiologist and I am speaking from direct experience.

I did my MPH at Johns Hopkins before doing a medical degree, where roughly a third my classmates were MDs. Another third were nurses, the rest of the class being filled out with various other health professionals. I was the lone engineer. I found that as a graduate student, my MD classmates consistently overestimated their own statistical abilities, to the point where in group work/assignments, the joke was to not let the MD do the statistics.

In general, MDs from research oriented universities who have been publishing through med school, with the goal of a competitive match at a high prestige research departments have good working knowledge of basic biostatistics and research methodology. These are the exceptions.

Although it's been a while since I've done basic research and published out of US based institutions, my opinion remains the same. Most American MDs are practitioners, not academicians. Not even close. IME, most private practice MDs don't even understand the statistics they're reading in their own journals in their own fields.

And yes, the English system is what I was referring to. I favor the M.Med to D.Med/MD progression because better distinguishes academic vs practitioners credentials. I'll probably end up with a DrPH.

As for a one line statement on health outcomes being a bad example, we can engage on this subject, but it's my suggestion that if you don't read too much into the statement, you'll find yourself being less of a contrarian.

Okay, you got me. You found the exceptional 0.05% of the Indian population, a subpopulation of which has enough Christian names to refute my statement.

Not that much in India, they don't. I went to school with a lot of Indians. I've gone to a lot of Indian weddings. I've done some small bit of traveling in India. Guess how many Mikes, Joes, Alberts, and Thomases I've met over the years.

I grew up in Germany. Went to elementary school there. Please, tell me more about German geography.

Also, FWIW Russell Peters (Indian and that's his real name), one of my favorite comedians. He's not who we're talking about, are we?

Aren't these the bunch of idiots who were involved with the HBGary and Aaron Barr when they collectively stuck their dicks into the Anonymous hive?

These are not the good guys. They are involved in some shady shit.

They've also shown very bad judgment regarding who they choose to work with.

Fuck these guys and everything to do with them.

Oh please. Like most graduates with MDs have the slightest clue about statistics, hypothesis testing, selection bias, etc.

What's even worse is that most of them do believe they've got a clue and believe themselves to be more competent than they really are.

Most of the rest of the world does fine with 6-7 year combined medical programs. One could make the argument that as a whole, they do better as measured by health outcomes of the general population.

The real issue in the US is this absurd notion that the MD is the equivalent of academic doctorate.

There's a Yo Dawg joke in there somewhere.

Hey, that 17" MBP is overkill for me for a lot of reasons, too. I grab a top spec 15" every 2-3 years.

I'm pointing out that it's not even close to being a correct comparison to take a 17" MBP, which only comes in the fully optioned flavor, with a $1000 17" Toshiba, which anyone with more than a couple brain cells to rub together knows is not going to be spec-comparable. They're not even going to be in the same league.

A Suzuki XL7 4WD seats seven. It's not a Landcruiser. Not even close.

I automatically trust the Filipino call center drone more than his Indian counterpart.

The Filipino doesn't start our conversation with what I know to be a lie.

"Hi, my name is Mike. How can I ...."

Bullshit, man with a South Asian Accent. Your name is not Mike.

Irrational, I know, but I have a low level of contempt for the guy I'm speaking with when things start off that way. Has nothing to do with race or national origin.

Screen size is your only metric? There are $500 17"+ Toshibas out there but they're not spec comparable.

Let's actually compare the real specs between what the Toshiba unit he actually bought and a comparable Apple at the date of purchase.

People give examples of 100%+ prices differences all the time, but once you actually start comparing specs, they usually end up in the same ballpark. Let's talk about the display panel, the GPU, ports, etc.

This is religious satire. More kids need to be exposed to religious satire.

Okay, I'm calling your story.

When did you your Toshiba i5 and what are its exact specs?

Because Apple only has a few product lines and each price change is widely announced, we ought to be able EXACTLY how much the equivalent MBP cost. I doubt it it was $2500.

You obviously missed the point.

No one knows how many women Cain hit on or otherwise made unwelcome sexual advances upon. Calling him a racist for the profile of the women stepping forward is just as absurd as calling those women racist for being offended at being groped by a black man.

OR maybe the black women he hit on went along with it.

OR maybe black women shot him down and didn't think twice about it.

The only thing here we know for a fact is that 100% of the women who were offended enough by Herman Cain making a pass to complain or hold something against him (justified or not) for an extended length of time for hitting on them them were white. Maybe this is about how racist the women who are stepping forward are.