Dr Ellie Murray, ScD on X - "I love twitter bc where else can I, an person with two graduate degrees from Harvard in both infectious disease epidemiology and biostatistics, be assured I am wrong about infectious disease epi and statistics by a software engineer who has “read multiple FDA package inserts”"
Benjamin Ryan on X - "have not taken a science class since high school and there is literally a peer-reviewed paper that proved I was the most accurate person tweeting about monkeypox by far, while most of the MDs and PhDs who were tweeting about it were the most inaccurate. Let’s be serious here people: Generally, of course, people with doctorates in scientific topics know more than most people about science. However, it never ceases to astound me how people with such doctorates so often check their education at the door and freely make scientific claims that are wildly inaccurate. All the worse, they cynically hold up their doctorate as a shield against fair and honest criticism of their intellectual folly. This gives scholarship and academia a bad name and it erodes trust in the sciences. We need such trust. But how can we maintain it when there is so much dishonesty and sometimes outright fraud in the sciences?"
Trust the Experts - even when they are more wrong than non-Experts - because they push the left wing agenda
Meme - Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil: "Among health "experts" who tweeted about Monkeypox, there was a dramatic tendency to get basic facts wrong. For example, many claimed risk wasn't especially heightened among gay men. PhDs were among the worst misinformation spreaders."
"Total Number of Tweets by Author Occupation or Degree. Health Care. Health Reporter. PhD, MPH, Other Ed. JD Total. Number of Tweets. Accurate/ Appropriate Inaccurate/ Exaggerated"
Benjamin Ryan on X - "This paper represents one of my proudest accomplishments. I was at home sick from chemo all summer, going to war with the MD/PhD monkeypox misinformation hounds. The reason the health reporters were the most accurate tweeters about mpox on balance was because of me."
Devon Eriksen on X - "They just can't stop, can they? They are so bloody proud of their degrees that they simply cannot shut the fuck up about them and make a case for their actual point, using the knowledge they are so quick to boast of. They just stomp their little feet, shake their tiny fists, and demand that you accept their every pronouncement based solely on some sort of obligation to have total faith in the institution which certified them. These people seem to have all been sick the day their scientific education taught the class what science actually is.
Science is not a religion. Science is not an institution. Science is not a profession. Science is not a body of data. Science is not a model of the universe. Science is an algorithm. Science is a procedure.
And the whole point of this procedure, the whole fucking point of the whole goddamned business, is to produce a result which is indicative, replicable, verifiable, and understandable. Truth does not come from scientists. Truth comes from scientific results. Scientific results come from research. A scientist is simply a person who is paid to do research. Their job is not to learn a whole bunch of stuff, and then become the Oracle of Delphi, roaming the landscape making pronouncements from their expertise, which must be regarded as scientific truth. Only scientific results are indicators of truth.
The opinion of a scientist is not a scientific result. The opinion of a scientist is a hypothesis. A hypothesis must be tested in a properly conducted experiment, which must then be independently replicated, to be acceptable as truth.
This also goes for what they call a "scientific consensus", which is just the opinion of a bunch of scientists. Therefore, if a scientist expects you to accept their pronouncements as truth because their expertise, they are trying to pull a fast one. The two questions at issue here are:
1. Whether the mRNA covid treatment is safe and non-toxic.
2. Whether the mRNA covid treatment is effective at preventing covid infection.
Ellie has an opinion on this. That opinion is a hypothesis. Not a fact. In order to establish a fact, an experiment would have to be done. And then the experimental results would have to be replicated by someone else, somewhere else. And then the experimental results would have to be shown to the public. And not, say, for example, locked in a airtight vault, guarded by trained attack panthers, for 70 years. Now, we could spend a lot of time arguing about how meaningful it is, or isn't, that the mRNA treatment was misleadingly called a vaccine, that it was used as a tool of political power, that the same people telling you it was safe and effective made it illegal for you to sue the manufacturers if it wasn't. But all of that is irrelevant, because none of those arguments are necessary. The burden of proof is on those who make demands like "take this injection". Therefore the treatment is unsafe until it is proven safe. And the treatment is ineffective until it is proven effective. And no amount of scientists' opinions will prove that. Only evidence will prove that. And if they won't show it to you, it's not evidence. Because the word "evidence" means "that which is seen". So that which is unseen is not evidence. And if Ellie can get a doctorate from Harvard without understanding the basic nature of how science works, then Harvard doesn't deserve your trust anymore, and there is no Harvard. Only Zuul."
Bonn! on X - "We are like this because Congress ceded its power to the executive. That’s it. When Congress decides to do its job again, we will all be in a better place."
Wilfred Reilly on X - "This is an extraordinarily key point. The executive branch of the US government began with the bluntly titled Departments of War, Treasury, and State/Peace. There are now 15 (?) Cabinet-level executive Departments, and hundreds of executive agencies (EPA, FDA, DEA, etc) overseeing things like the "wetlands" at the bottom of your back garden. Congress, which has 535 members with staffs of 10+, and was supposed to largely run the country, does very little. We should change that."
Eric S. Raymond on X - "Okay, let me tell you how I became persuaded that evolutionary psychology is more than just a collection of just-so stories. The anthology that launched the field was titled "The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture". One of the papers in this anthology started from a folk theorem from before evo-psych was a thing. It's the one that goes: androgenized brains are good at 3D kinematics because in hunter-gatherer societies men were selected for the ability to chuck a spears at a mammoth and actually hit it. The authors of this paper said, OK, you could call this a just-so story. But if we take seriously the idea that sex differentiation could lead to differences in visual processing that are predictable from sex roles in hunter-gatherer societies, then we ought to be able to think of some sort of visual talent that was much more useful for women than for men in the environment of ancestral adaptation. And then we ought to be able to test for that talent and observe that, in fact women average much better at it than men do. It wasn't hard to think up one. Visual memory for fine detail, especially color detail. Because if you're going to feed your kids by gathering berries, you better be able to tell the ripe ones from the unripe ones. Etcetera. This suggested a test that it turned out had never been done before. Take a large population of men and women, and give them a test for visual detail memory. So they did this. And it turned out this is something women are on average much, *much* better than men at. The difference in means was not small, it was what-the-fuck large.This is exactly what a generative theory is supposed to do. Not just explain the observations you already have, but generate testable predictions about experiments you haven't done yet. It is also worthy of some note that another paper in that anthology, on food-sharing strategies in monkey bands, planted in my head the idea that altruistic sharing behaviors can evolve as a hedge against high-variance-gambles. Some years later this would be one of the key insights that I needed to understand the psychology and economics of open-source development."
I thought it was common sense not to set off fireworks at 3am while people are sleeping. Diwali is becoming Canada’s night of hell. : r/Canada_sub
The only people whose illegal fireworks you're allowed to slam are white people
Why was this post locked for comments? : r/Markham - "Fuck Andrew Keyes.. This is clearly using mental illness to get out of a shit situation and this fuck Andrew is buying into it as a councilor? Like fuck this guy and the woman who got caught. They are diminishing people who have actual mental illness."
"Honestly it is difficult to believe someone with a mental illness who just happen to realize its Halloween and is smart enough to target only houses with porch candy and has the self consciousness to flee in a bike. We cant just have shoplifters and car thieves claiming mental illness when caught."
"I said this on another post but the 5 teens who stole the Ferrari in Markham are going to say they have mental health issues which made them commit the crime? Mental health issues are a crutch nowadays and anyone who gets caught is now “oh I have mental health issues” Yeah she’s definitely mentally unstable to take that much candy and lights and if she did 1-2 houses sure maybe we could say it was a one off but to raid 4 houses is a bit much and apparently she did more than 4"
Mental illness is a get out of jail free card for stealing candy and Halloween decorations. Amusingly some people claimed that the fact that she went back the next day to harass her victims shows that she must be mentally ill. Clearly shitty people don't exist.
Oddly, the politicians were covering for her for some reason (and blocking people who called them out).
Why was this post locked for comments? : r/Markham - "Are we supposed to believe every idiot that stole Halloween treats and decorations has a mental disorder?"
"Ive suffered from some debilitating mental health issues in my life, as im sure others have too, but ive never had the urge to ravage an entire neighborhood of Halloween candy."
"The lady is making a mockery of mental illness. If you have seen the videos and haven't come to the same conclusion, then sorry, you can't be helped."
Public statement from the family of the Cornell Halloween incident - Posted by Ward 7 Councillor Juanita Nathan : r/Markham - "Strange seeing politicians get involved with this. Not sure if I’ve ever seen this before."
"Never had any local politicians care for any of my family's grievances in the 30+ years living here"
"Likewise. It does look suspicious. Large donor??"
Meme - "Today my psych professor said, "You'll never truly know someone well enough to marry until you've seen them struggle financially, grieve a lost one, or witness them while they’re sick.” And that just hit really deep."
"Truly amazing advice."
"First date ideas: freeze their assets, kill one of their loved ones, poison their fucking dinner"
Meme - "This is what $195 worth of groceries look like. It's ridiculous *groceries and 7" Cock with Balls*"
Simon Holland on X - "I want my 13 year old to understand how important honesty is but also know that she is 12 when kids eat free."
Meme - "EVER WONDER WHERE PEOPLE GOT THEIR SURNAMES FROM?
Mr. Baker was probably a baker. Mr. Butcher might have been a butcher. And then there's Mr. Dickinson.."
☘️𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕪 Ƒʉͫcͧкͭιͪηͣ 𝕄𝕔𝔾𝕖𝕖 on X - "Subject: Bullying. That kid you just called gay? He likes a dick in his ass. That girl you just called a fatass? Weighs 400 pounds. And counting. That girl you just called a slut? She fucked the entire football team. That man you just called retarded? He repeated 2nd grade 5 times. And voted for Biden. Sometimes you're right. 🤷🏻♀️"
Meme - "Venom: The Last Dance
39%. 67 Reviews. Tomatometer
Shut it off, sony! Shut it off!
The next one will work, I promise."
American Airlines fined $15,000 after worker was sucked into plane engine - "American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, is being fined a little more than $15,000 after a fatal accident where a worker was sucked into an aircraft engine at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama. Courtney Edwards, 34, was a ground agent who worked for Piedmont Airlines... The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a preliminary report noting that Edwards failed to comply with multiple instructions to stay back from the airplane before the engines were shut down... The ground crew told investigators that they had two meetings about safety before the plane landed, and all workers knew the engines would remain on until ground power cables were connected since the airplane did not have auxiliary power on board. One worker reported that it was “discussed that the airplane should not be approached” until the airplane’s rotating beacon light shut off, indicating that it was safe to approach. The video pulled by the NTSB showed that “throughout the course of the accident, the airplane’s upper rotating beacon light appeared to be illuminated.” The NTSB report cites the American Eagle Ground Operations Manual which instructs workers to not approach the front of a running jet engine and to keep a safe distance of at least 15 feet from what is termed the “ingestion zone.” The manual states, “Jet engines spin with powerful speed and are extremely dangerous until spooled down. The area in front of the engine is called the ingestion zone. The ingestion zone for all aircraft types is 15 feet. You must never enter the ingestion zone until the engine has spooled down.”... The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union, of which Edwards was a member, said in a statement that “it is likely that Piedmont will contest the decision, but CWA will continue to fight for Courtney Edwards, her family, and the safety of all airline workers, who should never fear for their lives on the job.” What exactly the union proposes to do fight, however, the CWA bureaucracy did not explain."
If they hadn't let her work because of her dangerous actions, that'd have been racism and the penalty would've been even higher
Naturally, the company is at fault according to the socialists, because idiot workers are never to blame
Rolf Degen on X - "All over the world, people with nice personality traits like it a tad sweeter. https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656624000953 Research has shown that a preference for sweet foods is associated with trait agreeableness. For example, in several, but not all studies, people higher in trait agreeableness also score higher in their tendency to prefer sweet foods or sweet tastes in general. These findings suggest that in general, people who are more agreeable also tend to have a higher preference for sweet foods and tastes. We examined the replicability and cross-cultural consistency of this effect in four samples from different countries (China, Germany, Mexico, & the U.S.). We found that agreeableness was significantly and positively correlated with two different measures of sweet taste preferences in all four samples with small effect sizes. The association between agreeableness and the preference for a sweet taste coincides with terms sometimes used to describe kind and nice people as well as people we love in some cultures (e.g., “sweet”, “sweetie”, or “honey”). Therefore, if people understand that sweetness and niceness are linked via metaphor, and people believe they are either nice or like sweet foods, people might seek consistency by viewing the self as one who is nice and likes sweet foods. People may resonate with experiences that “fit” their personalities. The association between agreeableness and a sweet taste preference appears replicable and occurring across cultures at least in the samples studied."
Women like sweet things too, which is telling
Minimal: Taiwan has the world’s only Michelin-starred ice cream shop - "Minimal, in the city of Taichung, is the world’s first and only ice cream establishment to receive a Michelin star... On the ground floor is a takeaway ice cream shop offering six whimsical flavors that are continuously updated. Recent options include biluochun (a type of green tea) with sugarcane and an herb called Angelica morii, as well as pine needles with Camellia seed oil and green Taiwanese herbs. The 20-seater restaurant on the second floor serves a seven-course set menu that plays with food at different, mostly sub-zero, temperatures. The structure of the menu changes little throughout the year but the ingredients and themes shift according to seasons... Despite becoming a connoisseur, Wan says he’s far from picky when it comes to ice cream. “I still eat ice cream almost every day. Most of the time, I eat really cheap ice treats like qing bing (a retro dessert made of water and banana flavoring served as shaved ice or in popsicle form). They’re a no-brainer for me,” says Wan."
Poilievre slams Remembrance ceremonies hijacked by 'woke' politics - "In Kingston, Ont., a ceremony at the Murney Tower National Historic Site was conducted within view of a line of about a dozen anti-Israel demonstrators holding “Free Palestine” signage. “Against war, fascism, colonialism and imperialism at home & abroad,” read one. The official City of Toronto ceremony earned condemnation from former top soldier Rick Hillier for opening proceedings with an extended land acknowledgement that included a condemnation of the Atlantic slave trade. “We are nothing but ‘sheep’ to put up with this condescending lecture at any time, but especially today. A day devoted to those who served and sacrificed to build a country that doesn’t have that,” wrote Hillier in a social media post... Indigenous land acknowledgements are standard protocol at most Canadian civic events, including Remembrance Day ceremonies. The largest ceremony in Calgary, for instance, had emcee Linda Olsen name the constituent First Nations of Treaty 7, whose lands cover most of Southern Alberta. Where Toronto’s differed is in naming non-Indigenous attendees as “settlers” or “migrants” — and in mentioning slavery. The latter issue being particularly unusual given that all of the soldiers honoured by Remembrance Day fought for a country that had no institutional legacy of slavery. Slavery had been illegal in British North American since 1833 — 34 years before the formation of the Dominion of Canada. In Mississauga, Remembrance Day iconography was also co-opted for a planned public vigil for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the central architect of the October 7 massacres in Southern Israel. Firas Al Najim, head of the group Canadian Defenders 4 Human Rights, covered literature for the vigil with Remembrance Day poppies. And in a video shot in front of a Royal Canadian Legion branch, Al Najim compared remembrance of the terrorist leader (whom he called a “great hero”) to remembrance of fallen Canadian soldiers... This all comes amidst official efforts to remove Christian prayers from official Remembrance Day ceremonies on the grounds that they’re divisive."
YorkU and UTM lecturer shouts “F&*$ you!” to veterans on Remembrance Day - "A York University PhD student and lecturer at York University and formerly at the University of Toronto Mississauga recorded herself shouting “F&$# you” to Canadian veterans during a Remembrance Day procession on Monday. In a video shared online to her Instagram account, which has since been made private, Aaliya Khan is heard cursing at the procession of fallen Canadian troops. She said, “Oops, this is Nov. 11,” and another person in the vehicle was heard saying, “I know F&%selection% them.” As documented by X user “Leviathan,” Khan’s additional posts include calling Canada an “occupation of Turtle Island” and for an end to the Canadian government. “It’s Remembrance Day, so I urge you to think about the Canadian military’s historical and ongoing complicity in the genocide and occupation of Turtle Island as well as the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq,” Khan said on her now-deleted account on X. “All empires will fall, including this one inshallah #landback.” Before Khan deleted her X account, True North’s Harrison Faulkner documented a response from Khan where she doubled down on her hate for Canada’s armed and police forces. “This is so funny, bro. Who’s keeping tabs on me?” Khan said in the post. “F&$% the military and F$&# the police for real.” Khan also shared posts saying “New York for Hezbollah,” a listed terrorist entity, and quoted the terror group’s recently eliminated leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah famously called for Jews to be hunted and killed worldwide. Khan also posted an image of a Toyota pickup truck that had been customized with a machine gun turret on the back with the caption “for regime changes.” According to “Stop Antisemitism,” Khan also recently posted “Death to the police” on her now-deleted Instagram page, support for Hamas and Houthis in fighting Israel “by any means necessary.” Khan’s posts also used symbols associated with the terrorist group Hamas and expressed her love and gratitude for the listed terrorist entity multiple times."
Ontario school played Palestinian protest song as Remembrance Day music - "An Ottawa school played an Arabic-language Palestinian protest song associated with fighting in Gaza as the soundtrack to its Remembrance Day presentation, causing outrage and distress for some students and parents. The song was the sole musical accompaniment to a slide show of Canadian soldiers and words about peace shown at three Remembrance Day ceremonies for different age groups at Sir Robert Borden school on Monday, according to students and parents. The musical selection was distracting and distressing to some in the audience, particularly Jewish students, some of whom complained to the principal afterwards. Principal Aaron Hobbs defended the selection during one of those meetings, saying it was chosen to bring diversity and inclusion to Remembrance Day that is usually only about “a white guy who has done something related to the military.” Hours later, after Hobbs had “a closed-door meeting,” staff said when National Post tried to contact him, he sent an email to the school community apologizing. “It has come to my attention that the inclusion of the song ‘Haza Salam’ in the program caused significant distress to some members of our school community. For this, I would like to offer my apologies,” Hobbs said in the letter... Several parents and students who spoke to National Post said they could hardly believe what song was selected for the school assemblies for students from grade seven to 12. “It is hard to believe I’m hearing this at an assembly in Canada for Remembrance Day,” said a student who asked their name not be published, not out of fear of the administration but from other students... Several students used a phone app to identify the song and it took them to music platforms featuring artwork of Palestinian protests and additional songs by the artist that seem less focussed on peace, the students said. The song was Haza Salam by Mahim Ahmed, according to the students. The title is often translated into English as “This is Peace” and it appears to have been released less than two months after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel by Hamas... Article content “There was only one song. There were no other ethnic songs, or other songs, just one. It was played three times,” said a parent of a student at the school who asked not to be named. “They chose an Arabic song about peace for Gaza as the only song to play for a Remembrance Day service.”... Another parent, who is Jewish, said the song is one in a long line of similar incidents at the school that make Jewish students uncomfortable or fearful. Article content “No one would allow a song in Hebrew to be played, even if it was called Shalom, at a Canadian Remembrance Day ceremony. It should have been a song in English or French or an Indigenous language. How did Arabic become an official language of Canada? “Something is wrong at the top,” said the parent, who asked not to be named publicly for the sake of their child. Although Hobbs disagreed the song was problematic at a meeting he had with several students, he later changed his message... Lisa MacLeod, member of provincial parliament for the riding of Nepean, where Sir Robert Borden school is just a kilometre down the road from her constituency office, decried the school’s assembly. She said using the song did not follow the Royal Canadian Legion protocols and was distressing to Jewish students. MacLeod said she spoke with the school board’s director, Pino Buffone, and “shared my anger, disappointment and, honestly, utter confusion on how Remembrance Day at a school whose namesake was Prime Minister in World War One could get this so wrong.”"
Ottawa principal apologizes for playing Arabic song during Remembrance Day ceremony : r/nottheonion - "Progressives when literally any marginalized group except for Jews are offended by something: "It doesn't matter if the speaker says they did not mean what they said in an offensive way. Marginalized people were offended, therefore it was offensive, period." Progressives when Jews are offended by something: "It doesn't matter if Jews were offended. The speaker says they did not mean what they said in an offensive way, therefore it was not offensive, period." The double standard is so fucking disgusting."
Ottawa principal apologizes for playing Arabic song during Remembrance Day ceremony : r/nottheonion - "And then in the next breath they’ll talk about how the Star of David is triggering to Muslims and a hate symbol. Never mind the Star of David predates the founding of Islam"
"Throwback to the time when leftists held an "intersectional" LGBT march that explicitly encouraged participants to celebrate their "intersectional" identities as marginalized people, and then some Jews showed up and were immediately kicked out for "making other participants" feel unsafe by displaying Jewish symbols. Chicago gay pride parade expels Star of David flags. Please note that Palestinians symbols were openly welcomed at this "inclusive" event whereas Jewish symbols were banned."
Ottawa principal apologizes for playing Arabic song during Remembrance Day ceremony : r/nottheonion - "More so than the Principal’s stupid response, or his statement about how Rememberance Day is usually just “white guys that did something” The most absurd part is the Arab/Muslim organizations that are acting like victims and just incapable of understanding why the ONLY song being played at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Canada being an Arabic song about the Gaza war is inappropriate"
"I mean that's kind of their go-to, no? They start shit, get clapped back then whine and cry they are victimized."
"You forgot the critical step of “accusing Jews of distorting the Holocaust to make themselves the victim” The hypocrisy truly knows no limits"
Tipped over: social influence “tipping point” theory debunked - "Clive Thompson has been getting some well-deserved attention for his recent Fast Company piece, in which Columbia University sociologist Duncan Watts explodes the hierarchical theory of social influence and trend propagation popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in the bestselling book The Tipping Point. Gladwell's model, which has itself become something of a cultural epidemic, posits that a few hyperconnected "influentials" are the key to the runaway viral spread of fads, fashions, ideas, and behaviors. These pivotal individuals, according to Gladwell, determine which trends will wither on the vine and which will "tip," becoming mass phenomena. But Watts, a pioneer in the mathematical modeling of social networks, has tested the "tipping point" hypothesis, both empirically and in computer simulations. As it turns out, according to Watts, it's just not true. There are exceptionally well-connected folks out there, but they're so swamped by ordinary individuals that they can't account for genuine cultural cascades, which result not primarily from the activity of social "hubs" kick-starting trends and broadcasting them to the masses, but average Joes and Janes passing them on to other average Joes and Janes. In a way, the best vindication of Watts' critique is that, despite being "precisely the type of person you'd peg as an Influential," his objections have taken so long to gain traction. He has, after all, been raising them for quite some time. When I interviewed Watts back in 2004, he dismissed Gladwell's theory: "We knew 50 years ago that this model was wrong."
Another Malcolm Gladwell myth debunked
