Palin on fruit flies - why does she hate science?

[jakee 1,489]

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By Jerry Coyne: Professor in the University of Chicago's Department of Ecology and Evolution

Enough already. I bit my tongue when I heard that Sarah Palin believed that dinosaurs and humans once lived side by side and that she and John McCain wanted creationism taught in the public schools.

And I just shook my head when McCain derided proposed funding for a sophisticated planetarium projection machine as wasteful spending on an "overhead projector."

But the Republican ticket's war on science has finally gone too far. Last week, Sarah Palin dissed research on fruit flies.

In her usual faux-folksy style, Palin lit out after a congressional earmark involving these insects: "You've heard about some of these pet projects - they really don't make a whole lot of sense - and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit-fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not."

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20081031_Swatting_attacks_on_fruit_flies_and_science.html

When did it become so popular to bash science, and the "ivory tower elitists" who carry out the vital research that underpins the progress of modern medicine and new technologies? When did ignorance become so fashionable?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Science: The New Religion
All hail science! To believe in anything else is ignorance and idiocy!
You don't accept the "truths" proclaimed by our scientists? HERESY! You shall be "re-educated" and be shown the error of your ways!

Every so often a new religion comes along that proclaims itslef to be the only followers to know the truth. Science is just the latest. Heck, they can't even prove their own theories unless they make up something they call "dark matter", which only exits in their minds and is only supported by faulty mathematical and physical concepts. (Kinda like any other religions gods).

Science believers are such hypocrits!

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[PLFXpert 0]

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When did ignorance become so fashionable?

That's an interesting question.

Early man used the furs of the animal he killed primarliy for its meat as clothing.

Eventually fur became fashion, and animals were killed primarily (and only) for their pelts.

My guess is ignorance became fashionable a long, long time ago. And, imo, it still reins supreme in all (and because of) extremes.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[jakee 1,489]

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Science: The New Religion
All hail science! To believe in anything else is ignorance and idiocy!
You don't accept the "truths" proclaimed by our scientists? HERESY! You shall be "re-educated" and be shown the error of your ways!

Every so often a new religion comes along that proclaims itslef to be the only followers to know the truth. Science is just the latest. Heck, they can't even prove their own theories unless they make up something they call "dark matter", which only exits in their minds and is only supported by faulty mathematical and physical concepts. (Kinda like any other religions gods).

Science believers are such hypocrits!

A fairly extreme example there, but this is the type of attitude I'm talking about. Why the mistrust? Do these people really think that "science" is another word for "guessing"? Is that the problem?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[christelsabine 1]

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....
Why the mistrust? Do these people really think that "science" is another word for "guessing"? Is that the problem?

Not mistrust. These people do not have any clue what it might mean, they just fear the "ivory tower elitists" (or do mock them). Scary.

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[quade 4]

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When did ignorance become so fashionable?

1811. You might wanna do a search of the word "luddite."

I suppose you could go even further back to "the dark ages" starting in the 1300s

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Nothing extreme about it at all. As hard as it is for you to understand why they believe in something that can not be observed, it is just as hard for them to understand why you can not.
The intolerance shown between religious groups and the scientific community goes both ways and is, in my opinion, asinine.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[quade 4]

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Nothing extreme about it at all. As hard as it is for you to understand why they believe in something that can not be observed, it is just as hard for them to understand why you can not.
The intolerance shown between religious groups and the scientific community goes both ways and is, in my opinion, asinine.

OMG! You're actually serious? From your first response I thought you were being ironic.

I believe in quiet a few things that can't be directly observed but that doesn't mean they don't have a very well founded basis for belief.

This is in direct contradiction to most religious beliefs.

If, for instance, I believe in the speed of light and the Doppler effect, then I really can't believe in, for instance, the creation of the universe in 6 days about 6000 years ago. The two are mutually exclusive.

It would be "interesting" to see a person try to get out of a radar speeding traffic ticket by using religion as their defense and yet, if radar works for speeding tickets, then you kinda have to believe that the speed of light and Doppler do in fact work in the rest of the universe and therefore . . . at least a pretty big chunk of Genesis is bullshit.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[BikerBabe 0]

come on, paul, you know the bible isn't a science book, nor is it meant to be treated as such. yet so many people on both sides of this silly "science vs. religion" debate seem to think it should be.

science and faith aren't mutually exclusive, IMHO. I wish people would stop trying to make them be.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[quade 4]

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come on, paul, you know the bible isn't a science book, nor is it meant to be treated as such.

I didn't say it should be, yet, there certainly are people that believe it is.

I'm open to a number of religious ideas, just not any that include things that are completely ruled out by other things that we know with 100% certainty absolutely do happen.

I know Thor isn't throwing thunderbolts at me because I understand, to a fairly reasonable degree how lighting does work. I see Genesis the same way so if fundamentalists insist it is the way the universe was created, then we have no possible way to ever agree on some very basic issues.

If, on the other hand they want to say there was a guy by the name of Jesus that was born about 2000 years ago and taught about people loving each other and forgiving each other's shortcomings . . . ok . . . I have no problem at all with that.

If they then want to go further and say how the world is going to end . . . well, we might have another point to disagree on.

To me, the Bible is part mythology, part history and part wishful thinking. No, it's not a science book, however there certainly ARE some people that want people to believe it is. I have a problem with that.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jclalor 12]

I think most are missing the point of the OP. To think SP could end up as the most powerful person in the world with such little understand of science is chilling.
When all these science nay sayers end up on the OR table and say ' Golly this science thing is just so iffy, better just let me ride this one out with a little prayer instead" But we all know that will never happen.
Science seems to work just fine for most folks until it conflicts with their long held and out dated superstitions.

[377 22]

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***By Jerry Coyne: Professor in the University of Chicago's Department of Ecology and Evolution

Enough already. I bit my tongue when I heard that Sarah Palin believed that dinosaurs and humans once lived side by side and that she and John McCain wanted creationism taught in the public schools.

Not so fast. That dude who knocked up Bristol is, arguably, a dinosaur. The pathetic thing is that the cross breeding is likely to improve the Palin gene pool.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[rasmack 0]

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Nothing extreme about it at all. As hard as it is for you to understand why they believe in something that can not be observed, it is just as hard for them to understand why you can not.

Ehm...you're going to have to find a better example. Dark matter is easily detectable. The galaxies would rotate at different angular velocities had it not been there. The hard part is finding out what it is...

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The intolerance shown between religious groups and the scientific community goes both ways and is, in my opinion, asinine.

Fair 'nuff. Guess we can agree that religion should stay out of the business of the structure of the Universe and science should not try to provide an answer as to why it is there.

HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

[shropshire 0]

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why does she hate science?

Because she is playing to her strengths and to the lowest common denominator in society - which is scary.

The really frightening thing is that she could be in the position of one of the most powerful people on the planet ....... be afraid, be very afraid.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[JackC 0]

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science and faith aren't mutually exclusive, IMHO. I wish people would stop trying to make them be.

But faith and science are mutually exclusive by definition. Science is 100% evidence based, faith is 100% belief in spite of the evidence.

As for Palin, it really boggles the mind to think that someone that dumb could even be considered for VP. What does that say about America?

[christelsabine 1]

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why does she hate science?

Because she is playing to her strengths and to the lowest common denominator in society - which is scary.

The really frightening thing is that she could be in the position of one of the most powerful people on the planet ....... be afraid, be very afraid.

Then she will meet the current most powerful woman of the world, our Dr. Merkel

I am looking forward to a debate between the both of them .....

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[shropshire 0]

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Then she will meet the current most powerful woman of the world, our Dr. Merkel

Palin is nowhere near bright enough.

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I am looking forward to a debate between the both of them .....

I hope that they mud wrestle

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[jakee 1,489]

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Nothing extreme about it at all. As hard as it is for you to understand why they believe in something that can not be observed, it is just as hard for them to understand why you can not.
The intolerance shown between religious groups and the scientific community goes both ways and is, in my opinion, asinine.

I'm not talking about religion, I'm talking about the general mistrust/ scorn/ derision with which a seemingly increasing part of society views science and the people that do it. Your reply demonstrates a deep misunderstanding of what cience is, and what scientists do. It can be seen in the way that some people talk down to Kallend as if, because he works as a scientist/engineer in a university, he hasn't got a real job.

I find it genuinely disturbing.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[jakee 1,489]

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1811. You might wanna do a search of the word "luddite."

The Luddites were a gang of thugs who were seeing technological progress directly threatening their jobs. Not exactly the same.

They weren't ever this close to high political office, either.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[christelsabine 1]

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I am looking forward to a debate between the both of them .....

I hope that they mud wrestle

Yep. And the winner is: Sarahhhhh Paaaalin

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[shropshire 0]

Nope the winners would be the spectators

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[jakee 1,489]

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Nope the winners would be the spectators

Winner? With Merkel involved? Just the thought made me throw up in my mouth a little

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[shropshire 0]

Mud covers a multitude of sins... but hey any port in a storm..... well nearly.







P.S I hate this weather

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Belgian_Draft 0]

"Your reply demonstrates a deep misunderstanding of what science is, and what scientists do."

Quite the contrary. I myself am an engineer and spent several years working in research at a major university.
I was merely pointing out what you asked for....a reason for the mistrust. Surely it is not the only reason but it is, nonetheless, valid.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

"Ehm...you're going to have to find a better example. Dark matter is easily detectable. The galaxies would rotate at different angular velocities had it not been there. The hard part is finding out what it is... "

Dark matter can NOT be detected. As of now it can only be hypothesized.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.