An equally entertaining news item is this Ted Talk which highlights
divinatinatory practices among academics.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/31/nye.rise.china.fears/index.html?hpt=C2
I wonder if he prefers the tarot card or the crystal ball?
--Mike
On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 8:17 AM, Mike Palij wrote:
> This year U.S. politics appears to be a little sillier, a little more
> vicious, and, well, just plain stupider than other elections in the
> past (then again, I may be repressing memories of more ridiculous
> elections). One example of this sad state of affairs is given to us
> by the good citizens of Denver, Colorado who want to set up a
> commission for aliens. The Wall Street Journal had an article
> on this yesterday; quoting from the WSJ:
>
> |Ballot Initiative 300 would require the city to set up an Extraterrestrial
> |Affairs Commission, stocked with Ph.D. scientists, to "ensure the health,
> |safety and cultural awareness of Denver residents" when it comes to
> |future contact "with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles."
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303341904575576192201885522.html
>
> Perhaps the saddest part is the following:
>
> |He and several other volunteers spent a recent afternoon hanging
> |flying-saucer posters on a college campus in Denver. More than
> |a few students brushed past with bemused looks. But those voters
> |who stopped to talk seemed taken by the concept, especially when
> |they learned that the ET commission would be financed by donations,
> |not tax dollars.
> |
> |"I don't really believe in extraterrestrial life, but if we set something
> |up like that, we'd be prepared for anything," said Brandon Coby, 23 years
> |old, a biology major at the University of Colorado. "You can't go wrong
> |with it."
>
> You don't know how happy I am that it was biology major and not a
> psychology major who was interviewed (though it is possible that this
> person has a promising career in neuroscience ;-).
>
> The article ends with:
> |The intergalactic-ectoplasmic smackdown ends Tuesday. No polling
> |has been done on the initiative. But a 2005 Gallup poll found one in four
> |Americans believes extraterrestrials have visited Earth. One in three
> |believes in ghosts.
>
> And if you think that the WSJ just represents the "effete, elitist, east coast
> intelligentsia" (which would be ironic given that it is now a Murdoch rag)
> here
> is a link to the Denver Post newspaper that covered the issue:
> http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16471380
> Quoting:
> |Remember, city voters once approved impounding the vehicles of illegal
> |immigrants; we might as well prepare to impound the UFOs of these illegal
> |aliens, too.
>
> Apropos Halloween: be afraid, be very afraid.
>
> -Mike Palij
> New York University
> m...@nyu.edu
>
>
>
>
>
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