On 16/08/2009, at 5:46 PM, Doug Pensinger wrote:
Charlie wrote:
I do occasionally blow up. Once when I was accused of racism, once
when a private discussion I'd had with someone was forwarded to the
list, and ISTR Nick and I talking completely at cross-purposes. I
was really annoyed on Friday night, partly 'cause I'd got home after
drinking with a couple of friends in the pub, and an acquaintance of
one of them was spouting anti-vaccination lunacy. And when I asked a
couple of simple questions, I received the reply "Oh, so you're
science. That figures."
There's no arguing with simpletons like that. And we seem to have
more nut cases than ever before. Birthers??? Ay Yi Yi.
Uh-huh. Thing is, the guy wasn't thick, he was just gullible. He'd
read the crap in a couple of newspapers, and a few websites, like the
toss Jenny McCarthy spews out, along with the convincing to the
uninitiated stuff written by a few medics and prominent journos such
as RFKjr (and it pains me that the otherwise reasonably sensible
Huffington Post has a "science" section populated by woomeisters).
But like most of these subjects, it takes longer to explain why stuff
is wrong than to repeat the wrongness (the so-called Gish Gallop works
in all areas of woo and conspiracy).
So there I am saying "but if it's mercury in Thimerosal that causes
autism, why haven't rates of new autism diagnosis dropped now that
Thimerosal isn't in UK vaccines and vaccination rates have dropped?"
while I'm getting a new point about rabies vaccine to deflect. So I
give up. Sigh.
Oh, and the population thing came up too. Yay.
Charlie.
However, The Beer Was Very Very Good Maru
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