How dare they "get up your nose big time" by researching something as frivolous as human interaction! I can't think of even one of humanity's ills that might be caused by a failure to communicate.

I'm appalled.

Ok, maybe I didn't make it clear that the biggest part of what gets up my nose is the fact they constantly pretend to have found some new mysterious never before discovered fact of great importance.

I, as anybody else here, realise we need research as without it all progress will halt. What is different nowadays, in my mind, is that there is not many people doing honest research themselves any more, they just seem to regurgitate. I knew this fact over 20 years ago so my tutors must have known it before I did as they taught me.

The "news" is full of snippets by journalists who know little or nothing about the subjects and are just seeking a cheep thrill, anything to fill the empty column space. It is this kind of reporting that brings us these fantastic new findings that relate to nothing as it is old news or no news at all.

"I can't think of even one of humanity's ills that might be caused by a failure to communicate."

I suppose my post was not clear either so I have to agree with you on that one, I hope to have cleared it up with my second stab at it.

Note to self, when worked up about something, breath deep before posting.

I understood you the first time. You are assuming that the "fact" you were taught in school 20 year ago was the result of actual scientific research, and not "common" knowledge. There is always value in researching the things we "know" and take for granted.

If, in fact, the same research was conducted 20 years ago, and the new research didn't add anything of value to the previous research, then I would agree with you that it was derivative, but even then, there is often value in repeating the experimental research from times gone by.

Regardless, it's not something that would rankle my cockles.

Now look here old chap..the article is from Portsmouth University (play up Pompey) and it has a picture of a pretty girl...so it must all be true.

I've been told that I have a terrible phone manner (by a pretty girl who worked in the same company as me...she said she always came to speak to me in person because of this...so it does have some compensations)... so I either.

a) Appolgise for this at the start of the phone converstion.
b) Take particular care to be pleasant and chirpy.
c) Just be completely bonkers... e.g one of my favourites...when someone asked if they could 'Take my name' I said...'No I'll need it later' .

Del

Put your way it is less rankling to the cockles and more funny.

They just caught me at the wrong moment. Been busy on other threads and just found out there is BS everywhere so.

I just cannot stand these people that constantly profess to be experts of some university or institute blah blah, whatever. Too much of this rubbish everywhere already. And now here too

And I know I am not alone, I have at least one friend who thinks the same so there!

The one that gets me is the food fads...there is always some 'bad' food ...I remember when Mrs Cat was pregnant with our first kitten..it was ..

'Potatoes with even a hint of blight can cause birth defects'

So what happened to that eh?...Ohhh and SARS....

Del

You hit the nail on the head mate, they are forever contradicting each other. And bet you top dollar that it is some expert again, paid for by some government committee, us in other words.

And the end result is that all have switched off, Wait a minute, that is what they want surely, we all become disenchanted about it all and in the end don't even notice they passed yet again some stupid new law or legislation.

But I am expected to believe every proposition made about climate change?

Depends which one that is Steve? There are now so many flavours it becomes quite difficult to see the real issue.

I do take your point though, there is always somebody that wants to prove their point with government findings but the next day will use the arguments above for not believing another example. Two faced hypocrites.

No Del, you are not alone. I too am weary of the fad diets or food declared bad by someone who is merely trying to market their own version of something that will be declared as "Bad" by someone else. More natural food choices are preferable, but they too will be the target of someone.

One of the big causes of crap and duplicated crap is the need to do a project or thesis. Has anyone counted the "help me with a project in xE" requests posted per month?

Finding a theme that hasn't been done a few times already is hard. The theme is approved, investigated, written and submitted.

These reports are then published and lies dormant in an archive until some journalist find it in an attempt to find anything to satisfy his readers and a new source of nuisance is born. Then the editor of opposing media see the article, give his reporters hell and instruct them to do a followup.

A politician may read the article and use it in an attempt to catch votes.

If the politician is good it may end up as law. Imagine a provision in law "It is an offence to use a telecommunication apparatus without smiling".

I always wondered what type of smile this is?

Easy, That is a Del grin.

He gets that after they paid him for his "other" job.

Not to be confused with a Cheshire grin, they are insincere, Del means everything he smiles.

Now you've done it mate

I have printed it out and I shall read every letter of it.....not. What a load of tosh. Although secretly I do like the flower arranging degree yeah right!

This is good stuff, the right place for it here in this thread.

My Big Sis use to work in 'Further Education' when she started there were something like 4 lecturers to every admin staff, by the time she retired the ratio was reversed, and the College was run by a qualified...Chef !! The college was paid on a 'bums on seats' basis so they didn't care if they were teaching worthless courses to inappropriate students.

My Sis had some amusing tales of teaching basic IT skills to to young hairdressers and beauticians.

'Whats the password?'
'Password'
'But what's the password?'
'The password is password...just type in password'
'But I don't know what the password is'
'OK...Type P, now A, etc......

Mind shes says some of 'em were brighter than the lecturers..one of whom was known a 'Vicki the virtual lecturer'... (all bustle, paperwork, arse licking, no content and forever absent)

Del

'Vicki the virtual lecturer'

Was she the one doing "commercial flower arranging"? Seeing that is a virtual subject anyway I thought she'd be good at it.

All intersting stuff. It correlates well with the use of smilies in e-mail and postings so as to convey mood (the use of either or at the end will convey a different meaning to this sentence depending on which is used, for example).

Whether bullshine or not, smiling on the phone, and even standing up while using it so as to increase positive vibes, increases the chance of doing a transaction. Did anyone ever succeed in being offered a job without smiling at some point during the interview? It's far easier doing a transaction with someone likeable than someone who isn't, and that revelation shouldn't be surprising.

It's the same as courtesy. "It costs nothing to be polite - take the risk!"

As to whether it's New Technology, well, er...........

I went from smiling to frowning to laughing (ha, ha, ha -- can you tell?) expecially after I perused the "Non-Course Report."

For some reason, we, in this modern era, seem to keep re-inventing the wheel.

I have often used the examples of Greeks' and Romans' buildings, which are still standing after 2,500 years, as an illustration that the longer humans endure, the dumber they get. Didn't we learn something instead of just looking at the ancient buildings in amazement? I think not.

Tomorrow, someone will discover something new that they have never heard or read about, and then they'll try to get a patent on something that's been around since Methuselah was a teenager.

Don't worry! Next year they'll discover that smiling while using an IPOD phone will cause your hair to fall out. But switching to the other ear will make it grow back!

And please don't look at me in that tone of voice anymore!

Here is another one that agrees with me.

<<

This Just In: More Useless Surveys

from the ya-think? dept

Something about the summer has brought out a flurry of useless studies that either "discover" something obvious, misuse statistics, or come to pointless conclusions. This week looks to be no different: already we've found out that apparently 80% of Americans prefer WiFi to iPods, while also, people don't like being put on hold when they call customer service lines. As far as people's supposed love of WiFi, it's completely unclear how that information is of any value. The Wi-Fi Alliance, which backed the survey, says WiFi "is demonstrating increased momentum as an integral part of leisure and work activities", but all it really points out is that group's ability to craft pointless surveys intended to make its product somehow look better. The survey on customer service came from a well-known consulting firm. If they're the so-called experts getting hired by companies to tell them how to improve things, and are only now just realizing people don't like waiting on hold, it's little wonder customer service is typically so poor.>>

You just have to laugh, but I feel like crying.

I really like the last sentence, what a gem

Great thread and good input from all. I can hardly wait to see a survey on a study to determine How Many People are Fed Up and the linkage to the Number of Smiles Per Day, all correlated by Nationality and Race. This might be a great study for the UN to undertake in order to further justify their existence.

BTW, I did not smile at all while I wrote this.

But now I am.

Can anyone tell ?

Does anyone care ?