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Milo
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Scientific Myths

11/10/2008 11:50 AM

Scientific myths

One of the most fascinating aspects of human behavior is the readiness of millions of people to believe with absolute certainty in ideas that have no basis in fact. Many such myths are harmless, such as the belief that yawning is contagious, or that water in the southern hemisphere spins in reverse going down the drain. Unfortunately, the scientific community is confronted with another category of myths that on occasion can have far greater consequences for important public policy decisions. Several contemporary "scientific myths" are discussed in this free pdf from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview Enjoy the read, Courtesy of Uncle Sam. milo

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Pathfinder Tags: Energy ethanol Oak Ridge National Lab Science policy Scientific myths
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#216
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 12:52 PM

Sophist's choice, eh? I prefer a good Hedonist, myself...

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Kris
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#217
In reply to #216

Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 2:40 PM

Being refined, I go for Epicurians.

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Bayes
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#218
In reply to #217

Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 2:45 PM

Better Marbling....um, or so I've heard.
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user-deleted-13
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#226
In reply to #218

Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 3:44 PM

LOL!
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EnviroMan
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#221
In reply to #217

Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 3:31 PM

Better than an Ascetic - I hear they are tough and stringy...

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#222
In reply to #217

Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 3:33 PM

One o' those Haute Cuisine types, eh? Well, just be sure you keep your mitts off my Epicurian chef or I'll send His Holiness...

...Solomon Azar after you. He's got a Tesla Coil, you know...

and two Flux Capacitors...
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EnviroMan
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#223
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 3:36 PM

DNPMSL!!!

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Yuval
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#225
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 3:44 PM

Or, more likely, The Flux Capacitator
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Kris
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#230
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/21/2008 2:10 AM

Don't dis the saviour man !

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#227
In reply to #216

Re: Scientific Myths

11/20/2008 3:58 PM

Now you're talkin'! We like 'em too -- so tender you can cut 'em with a butter knife (although I still prefer to use an axe) -- but the good ones are expensive so we save those treats for anniversaries.
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Kris
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#231
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/21/2008 2:18 AM

Someone must speak to Roger ;

It makes a hell of a mess in the kitchen.

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#232
In reply to #231

Re: Scientific Myths

11/21/2008 3:27 AM

But oh the gratuitous violence and carnage!

Oh yeah, I like to smack a few of those brain-dead, S4B PC pucks around a bit, too -- just before dinner. Whets the appetite.
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Kris
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#233
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/21/2008 5:00 AM

Aperateef on the floor ain't so bad, the S4B PC's are all mouth anyway. The tooth fairy can get 'em some new ones.

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Yuval
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#206
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/19/2008 6:28 PM

Thumbs up, clear and concise to the point.

Complexity and advancement are two different concepts. Complexity is only a testimony to a lot of energy invested in lowering entropy over time. Advancement is a testimony to flush efficiency through natural selection's constant pressure.
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EnviroMan
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#97
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Re: Scientific Myths

11/17/2008 3:40 PM

I've often been known to say that if you get close enough to the can to read the label, and it says "WORMS", why would you bother to open it? Love the pic tho'...

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#98
In reply to #97

Re: Scientific Myths

11/17/2008 4:01 PM

What I don't understand is how they keep the worms alive in the can. It almost seems like a miracle.
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user-deleted-13
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#100
In reply to #98

Re: Scientific Myths

11/17/2008 4:03 PM

They evolved that way.

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EnviroMan
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#105
In reply to #98

Re: Scientific Myths

11/17/2008 4:52 PM

I guess if you are really good at believing things, you can believe just about anything...

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#107
In reply to #105

Re: Scientific Myths

11/17/2008 5:23 PM

I believe I'll have another beer...
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EnviroMan
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#122
In reply to #107

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 7:08 AM

Good lad! Have one of these on me:

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#149
In reply to #122

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 4:29 PM

Are you suggesting I'm an ________ now? After all the money I've dropped on sensitivity training?

This is a travesty.
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EnviroMan
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#154
In reply to #149

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 5:04 PM

No, not at all. It's part of their advertising campaign - "Are you good enough to drink one? Arrogant ________!!!"

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#155
In reply to #154

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 5:09 PM

Ah! I was hoping it would make me one, actually. I try. I really do!

Please advise.

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EnviroMan
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#172
In reply to #155

Re: Scientific Myths

11/19/2008 12:21 PM

I don't know about "arrogant", but if you drink about six of 'em, you'll become "obnoxious" - or else "unconscious" - it's a pretty potent brew! How's that sensitivity training working for you, anyway? I tried it, and I became so doggone sensitive, I cussed out anybody who got in my way...

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#173
In reply to #172

Re: Scientific Myths

11/19/2008 12:39 PM

ROFL!!!

Let's party!
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TVP45
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#130

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 3:35 PM

Here's a myth that I've actually heard repeated by a college instructor:

"Newton didn't write Newton's Laws." I'm never sure of the point, but I've heard it a number of times.

Another in the same vein:

"Tesla invented ac power." Pity those poor Germans and Italians with their sinusoidal dc that varied about 0.

And this:

"Einstein didn't know he was Jewish till the Nazis told him." I have no idea at all what this is supposed to mean, but it's always spoken so somberly.

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#132
In reply to #130

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 3:50 PM

"Pity those poor Germans and Italians with their sinusoidal dc that varied about 0."

Worse, it came in three phases about 120° apart, more or less.

LOL!
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TVP45
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#135
In reply to #132

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 3:58 PM

Oh, and I forgot one:

"Maxwell didn't write Maxwell's equations." It Hertz to even say that with a straight face.

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Yuval
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#141
In reply to #135

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 4:09 PM

Maxwell only summarised and formulated Faraday's ideas, and publicly admitted to that. He was Faraday's greatest fan.
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#147
In reply to #135

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 4:17 PM

"Maxwell didn't write Maxwell's equations."

Well, they're right, you know. Another guy named Maxwell wrote them.
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Milo
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#134
In reply to #130

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 3:51 PM

I think it means everybody's Jewish when there are Nazis in power. We are all sheep to be shorn.

Its a political reframing of "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

I suppose Next thing you'll be telling me that "OZ didn't give nothin to the tin man, that he didn't, didn't already have..."

milo

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TVP45
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#151

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 4:47 PM

As long as I'm on a roll..

The commonly heard "Einstein showed everything is relative." as justification for just about anything the speaker wants to justify. In fact, Einstein showed that there are absolutes.

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#153
In reply to #151

Re: Scientific Myths

11/18/2008 4:58 PM

Yup. Lots of New Age types quote Einstein to undergird their wishy-washy, easy-believism. It's one thing to have an open mind, quite another to have one so open that your brain falls out when you nod.

I worked with a guy who had the audacity to tell me, "There is no such thing as Absolute Truth!"

"Really? Does this include your assertion that there is no such thing as Absolute Truth?"
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