Posts by 81stcolumn
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Bahaha. Unfortunately NZ's relative disdain for intelligence testing is not overly useful, although perhaps that should be the real criteria for logical thinking. Despite the ideal that it studying should not convey an advantage for such tests, it's not the case, which puts us at a disadvantage.
When somone can explain with precision what intelligence and is not I will entertain the idea of measuring it. Otherwise get used to the idea that at best the GRE is a test of willingness to study and at worst it is a test of middle class resourcefulness.
FWIW - I refused an international scholarship at a major lab early in my career because I would not take that f*****g futile test. I have yet to regret that act.
As for Tolley I am not sure if she knows what she is doing or not, but she does seem at the moment to be the face of anti-science, anti-intellectual and above all anti-evidence New Zealand.
<Sound of head banging on desk>
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81st now ponders whether he should 'fess up to rather looking forwards to OpenSuse 11.2 RC1 with KDE 4.3 hmmmm.
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Burn the witch!
You must be kidding I want to see what happens if Danielle comes to "bless" our ill Vista Machines at work !
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Grrrrrr....
It's a country with a proper indigenous language that also provides a finishing school for NZ international coaches....
Mutter mutter mutter where's Gavin Henson when you need him ?
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Whilst carefully considering whether I have time to write the short essay necessary to address the cool piece that Ben wrote I had the WTF moment of the year.
I get a phone call from a couple who want to test their intervention behaviour change method .....they employ the power of mindwaves to re-set behaviour ?
I will now get back to writing a research proposal...bruhahahahah
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Should anyone hear me do so I will be cheering for Bahrain, not because I am contrary but rather becuase I was actually born there. My desire to see Bahrain succeed goes a little beyond sentimental and really doesn't touch at all on nationalism. Bahrainis really do like football a great deal. Qualifying would mean something to your little chap in the Souk or working in an underground carpark on the scale that Kiwi's only reserve for that other game of football.
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Ben-
I would have liked to see Feyerabend and Dawkins communicating in the current context - I like the ideas of both but from time to time they are both guilty of pulling out straw men and bogey monsters to lend impetus to what they write, which IMHO masks the analysis of good ideas. Science in Society is dented by the truth/untruth around the characterisation of scientists as obsessed with their own mythology or indeed as privileged. This entirely subjective context through which to explore the role of science leads to some odd conclusions - as anyone who has spent time on large ethics committees will know.
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Edit thing.....not....working....totally dying over here...got a really bad coach........and my cough is bad too..
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Placebo use of antibiotics - for viral infections - is almost certainly more damaging to the general public's health than the entirety of adverse effects from alternative medicine (aside from anti-science type campaigns.) It makes me despair for humanity a little.
My emphasis added:
Imagine the Doctor's dilemma.
Parent - "my child has a coach, I think he needs antibiotics"
Doctor's reply options
a) No he/she needs a more sleep.
(gets seen as insensitive arrogant and incompetent)
or.
b) Okay.
(is blamed for the ineffectiveness antiobiotics worldwide - merely seen as incompetent)
Thats why I'm so looking forwards to the direct marketing of drugs.....
<tongue firmly in cheek>
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In different words I'm going to repeat what I said - or rather what someone else said;
‘It is not truths or indeed their construction that we should examine, truths are subjective and relative. Where science is at its most powerful is when examining the usefulness of the truths we seek to employ’
This also echoes Richard’s point earlier.
It makes me sad that people so often smear the largely modest community of people that accumulate and test much the evidence and truths we use in everyday life. They do this by pointing to the antics of a minority who are for the most part: misreported or have grown reactive to the extraordinary misrepresentation that goes on around them.
Speaking as man who has built his career around evidence based practise how should I interpret this in terms of truth and usefulness ?