Note that the researcher is confident that "climate change" is involved, but far less confident that biology is involved.
Funny enough, climate and biology do not operate independently.
And so long as there is enough beer, people have a remedy for worrying about other shortages.
"Not trying to be trollish but"
Slashdot should automatically prefix that to every post.
So we can't be free to go without a seat belt because we aren't allowed to be free from government interference in the medical marketplace?
Really, once you accept that a government hand in health care grants the government authority to dictate our actions, there is virtually nothing which is beyond the scope of the government.
And any attempt to go against the wishes of the actual rich (as opposed to the merely wanna be rich) will result in them being shutdown by whichever police force got the bribe quickest. Freedom doesn't just come, you have to fight for it.
If you're a bank executive you can make unethical gambles with other people's money, try to hide your losses, and bring down the world economy putting millions of people out of work. Go to jail? No, you don't even lose your annual bonus that's worth more than most people earn in 50 lifetimes.
But if you paint a sign and get out in the streets to protest, you run a serious risk of being billy-clubbed and pepper-sprayed by the police.
Slashdot has been filled with the THEYLL TAKE 'ER GUNS! libertarian crowd for years and years.
Interestingly, they don't dominate the discussion around here anymore, like they did at the time of the original article.
Socialism: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
That's interesting. Which of the current socialist countries fit that definition?
(Not a rhetorical question.)
Exactly, phrased differently: When they have to face the enemy and they have to choose between a rifle and the book of the deity of their choice, what would they put faith in?
Bert
I think in the majority of cases the enemy is praying to the same deity, so maybe choosing the rifle is the smart choice.
How does the saying go... "They hide the information you're looking for in books."
I'm not arguing that the "lots of people believe it" rationale is a good, rational reason for adhering to a belief; only that it is a common part of human (ir)rationality, compared to general rejection of "lone crackpot" propositions.
Though it kind of implies that the first followers of any religion are the followers of a lone crackpot...
But you're right: religion is a very social phenomenon. I've wondered whether autistic types are less likely to buy in to it.
We are already doing this test. Haven't you noticed that the older people get and the closer to death, the more likely they are to turn to God?
Several years ago I was deathly ill and the doctors had no idea what was wrong with me. For several weeks no one knew whether I was going to live or die.
God never crossed my mind. I can't begin to imagine how you think I would find it comforting to suddenly pin my hopes on your god, Marduk, the FSM, an IPU, Russell's Teapot, or anything else I don't actually believe in.
I find that weird. People seem to be often fond of adrenaline sports, and many adrenaline sports are more risky than flying in a turbulence. Why not simply lay back and enjoy it?
When it's really mild, you can close your eyes and imagine that you're on a train. Or think back to when you were a kid and slept on the back seat while Dad drove down that not-quite-perfect highway on the family vacation.
Also, if his Mom had died we'd be reading about it being God's inscrutable will rather than that God healed her.
She lived longer than all his other patients, double over the next highest person.
Ummm. The fact that she lived longer than other patients just means that she lived longer than other patients. I am sure that some patients lived a lot less than other patients. It had nothing to do with god. It had to do with the fact that people react to diseases and treatments differently. Some people live longer than some people who live longer than some people.
IMO the common conceit that "God healed/rescued me/Granny", while letting all the others suffer and die, is the very pinnacle of arrogance.
When god was talking to her why didn't he let her know about those woman how were prisoner for years?
He was too busy answering other people's prayers for a win in the big game, or for fine weather for the picnic, or to get laid.
The hardest part of climbing the ladder of success is getting through the crowd at the bottom.
