wissler

7 ms·

1.
by wissler 13y ago
When I point out the fact that science does not mean "just trust the experts, they are experts", and the scientific method does not mean "peer review by the anointed institutional authorities", the typical reaction is re
2.
by wissler 13y ago
Furthermore, the scenario here is where someone is informed of the risks/benefits, and they want to take part of a treatment plan you disapprove of. The first thing you do is dishonestly preemptively categorize it as crankishness, as i
3.
by wissler 13y ago
As I said, this is a very complex issue, I can't hope to address all your points here but let me try to address an important one. You are equating science with government enforcement of majority opinion. Think back to the time of Galil
4.
by wissler 13y ago
I don't think you know what scientific rigor is. If you did you'd realize it doesn't operate well under threats of force by bureaucracies. In any case, this is a complex issue that can be examined and debated from various per
5.
by wissler 13y ago
You didn't merely make the bald-faced assertion, you were very rude about it with your snide "ftfy". I've studied this stuff for years. I understand your status quo view, that thinks that good intentions are a substitute
6.
by wissler 13y ago
Which is why you make moronic assertions unsubstantiated by logic or evidence.
7.
by wissler 13y ago
Useful idiot.
8.
by wissler 13y ago
Unfortunately, medical technology is not even remotely advancing exponentially. Which is why we desperately need the government to get the boot off the necks of potential innovators and customers.
9.
by wissler 13y ago
Because telcos are in bed with government. We don't really have a free market, it is virtually illegal to compete with the telcos. Some cities have tried and have been sued over it. Yes the free market should decide, but we just don&#x
10.
by wissler 13y ago
I always cringe when someone famous gets attacked by the political correctness Nazis -- usually the reaction by them is appeasement, which only makes the general cultural situation worse.
11.
by wissler 13y ago
Some "science" is just warmed over religion.
12.
by wissler 13y ago
Nothing on that page gives the impression that it's more than proposed feature enhancements (which in themselves may be wonderful of course), as opposed to a fundamentally novel approach to operating systems.
13.
by wissler 13y ago
Most innovation is driven by at most a few individuals, but the bar is so high for a viable practical modern operating system that individuals are going to tend to take their innovation elsewhere. This is not the ideal situation. Ideally, b
14.
by wissler 13y ago
" Strict libertarians are all about keeping our nose (and military) out of other people's business." That depends on whether you're referring to Party Line Libertarian or a "libertarian" who is actually pro-lib
15.
by wissler 13y ago
Then what really happened here?
16.
by wissler 13y ago
A Geiger counter is a simple, inexpensive device, and several should be present at all significant military installations and turned on at all times. Why wasn't that the case here?
17.
by wissler 13y ago
This is rank cynicism. You are trashing his motives without any evidence whatsoever. And no, evidence that he is a bad manager is not evidence that he doesn't believe in what he says about Snowden.
18.
by wissler 13y ago
It's obviously not the same thing. The volume of gold we can mine is virtually unlimited. And then there's the fact that in principle we can synthesize gold, who knows how good we may be come at it: http://en.wikipedia.
19.
by wissler 13y ago
It's interesting how gold is getting compared to BTC, since really it's nothing like BTC. If gold goes up in relative value, then that creates a strong incentive for creating more gold mines, which then drives the price down. In p
20.
by wissler 13y ago
OK, this explains part of their plan: http://venturebeat.com/2013/12/16/rethinkdb-grabs-8m-to-show...
21.
by wissler 13y ago
What is their revenue model?
22.
by wissler 13y ago
Copy our data without our consent. Lie about it to our representatives. But just trust us. The ends do not justify the means; on the contrary, nefarious means imply nefarious ends.
23.
by wissler 13y ago
It's really bizarre, and telling, that in this culture you're not permitted to suggest that mental health problems can be caused -- and therefore, remedied -- by personal choices. It's not only bizarre, it's perverse and
24.
by wissler 13y ago
Judging from the downvotes, looks like I've run into an institutional dogma here. To a large degree and for many people, mental health issues are something the individual can deal with on his own. To the extent that one can he should b
25.
by wissler 13y ago
"What does he propose to do to demonstrate that some new way of treatment has greater safety and effectiveness than the way he desires to replace?" His point is that they are evidently not safe. There's good old fashioned sel
26.
by wissler 13y ago
"Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones." -- Anarcharsis
27.
by wissler 13y ago
Yes, you could be a brain in a vat. That depends on whether by "could be" you mean "I can imagine it", or "I have evidence-based reasons to suppose it is possible."
28.
by wissler 13y ago
The deeper problem here is the perverse incentive system built into the way our economy works. As just one example: Ideally a person creating great code would benefit from it over the longer term, he wouldn't just put his heart and sou
29.
by wissler 13y ago
Have you seen this?: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/nsa-porn-muslims_n_...
30.
by wissler 13y ago
Yet another example of how the government can use this information to "discredit radicalizers": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/nsa-porn-muslims_n_...

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