It is possible that if this was social security benefits paid to surviving children, then even if it was paid to the child's guardian, it could still be the child's debt. But what do I know?

Who licenses porn stars? :-)

Unfortunately, the math and the concepts involved in screening decisions is not that simple. There are a number of situations where early or widespread screening can result in greater loss of life, and even more where the costs do not justify the expense. Currently there are debates worldwide over the "best" methods of screening for colon cancer as well as breast cancer because of this. Some factors that come into play for the breast cancer screening is what fraction of the detected cancers would prove to be fatal if untreated? What fraction of those undergoing treatment die due to the treatment (surgery, infection, anesthesia, etc. all have death rates). What is the false positive rate? Going beyond the simple death counting rate - how many "lives saved" should be balanced against the costs (money, time, fear, etc) that the screening produces?

The results or decisions to widely screen depend on: how common the problem being screened for is; how effective the screening is; what the false positive rate is; what the effectiveness of the treatment is (for both those with and without the condition); what the risks of treatment are (for both those with and without the condition); how dangerous the condition is untreated; how long it takes for the condition to progress; what the demographics of the group potentially being screened are; and a myriad of other factors.

As we should all know: Math is Hard!

It is a shame that some parents are scared. I am glad that the research has shown the standard schedules are both safe and effective.

I hope that this focus on autism and vaccination has not caused such as shift in research focus so that actual causes and possible therapy have not been overlooked.

If you are driving at the posted speed limit, you are in no way "forcing people to pass you on the right". If you are not following signs to "keep right except to pass" then you are subject to a ticket for that behaviour, regardless of your speed.

I don't know.

One (8 hour) day of work at minimum wage in the USA is 8 x $7.25 = $50. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M... so if some McWorker gets a speeding ticket, it seems likely it is going to cost him at least one day of income. Having everyone pay "one day of income" seems like a fair way of doing things, at least from one perspective. Sucks to be Bill Gates in that situation perhaps, but arguably it sucks much less for Bill to lose a day's wages than for our poor McWorker. Bill might feel sad, but McWorker might feel hungry.

Combustion is when something (rapidly) combines chemically with oxygen. Oxygen gas (molecules of two oxygen atoms) does not combust.

I would not be too surprised if other parts of the air (N2, H2O vapour, other gasses or particulate crap that might be around) underwent chemical changes due to the sudden shock of being pushed out of the way of the projectile, and some of those things might burn. The projectile seems to have a bunch of packing fall away as it leaves the barrel - maybe some of that stuff burns.

I think it can have side effects. People in double-blind studies often report a variety of side effects regardless of their status as in either the "active" or "control" group. I would not be surprised to learn that placebos with strong tastes or more warnings of side effects also have more reports of side effects and also more therapeutic effects too.

The studies sited in the documents are evidence for lack of efficacy. In situations where there have been no studies that show a lack of efficacy, there have been none that show efficacy (because they have not been studied presumably). Thus it is perfectly valid to state that there is a lack of evidence. Absent a plausible mechanism for any effect, it is reasonable to put the burden of proof onto the proponent. If I start claiming my magic stick can cure people, I hope that local doctors advise their patients about the lack of evidence for my therapy.

Well, improvements in conditions attributable to the "placebo effect" are actual improvements you know. The human body is capable of self-healing a vast array of problems. Some people recover from virtually every physical ailment without medical intervention.

I think your point is that for many serious medical conditions, the use of "evidence based medicine" gives vastly better outcomes than other treatments. Unfortunately for all of us, there are a huge number of medical conditions (many of them fairly minor) where modern medicine has only a slightly better outcome than no treatment at all. Thus the need for careful large double-blind trials to prove efficacy and the difficulty in showing that various forms of quackery are in fact ineffective.

I had to pay for a copy of that book from the library, which got misplaced. I swear it was returned, but they never got it. It was more expensive then I thought it should have been.

"There goes the neighbourhood"?

Well, the exchange IS supposed to publish information on what trades everyone solicits, that's pretty much a description of their function. Publishing that information in such a way so as to not create situations where a preferred group gets it ahead of everyone else does seem like a worthwhile goal.

Thanks for the link!

At a lecture on physics education I heard a former police officer, now physics instructor, talk about how he uses traffic accidents to help students learn about kinematics and various other aspects of physics, and he mentioned one of the dangers of rollovers that is not significantly mediated by airbags and seat belts is a Traumatic aortic rupture. Strap a body to a a car seat and subject it to high acceleration in the correct direction, and the body does all right, but unfortunately the heat is not held in place very well and can rip apart from the major blood vessels. The lecturer spoke of being present at at least one accident where the victim seemed to be untouched, but quickly lost consciousness and died after a rollover due to this happening. I don't know how often this happens, but good seat belts could actually make it worse. Probably safer than being ejected, but rollovers are not a good thing to be involved in even without being ejected.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...