The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #77142   Message #1372817
Posted By: robomatic
06-Jan-05 - 11:57 AM
Thread Name: BS: Fact vs. Factoid: What to believe??
Subject: RE: BS: Fact vs. Factoid: What to believe??
A common misconception about modern society is that we register only gains with technology, whereas in truth what we generally do is make a calculated exchange:
For instance, when we chlorinate water, we make the water far safer to drink vis-a-vis pathogenic organisms, but we are doing so by putting a poison in the water. Chlorine is also a carcinogen. We are balancing a safety measure for thousands against a danger factor of maybe tens. For most people this is a 'no-brainer'.

The same is true with vaccinations. Look into the history of vaccines, which derive from the latin word for cow. It was noticed that people who contracted cowpox, a mild disease of milkmaids and dairymen, did not have the same morbidity rate as the rest of the population when smallpox swept across the continent. The concept of vaccinations date from these observations, way before the 'evil medical industry' got involved. It doesn't mean no one ever died of cowpox.

I think that while this might be a losing cause AT PRESENT, it is important to introduce the concept that truth doesn't belong to those who propound bullsh*t the loudest, else we might as well all blithely believe the folks who own the biggest printing presses. Don't oppose your people on the very concepts that pay their bills, but introduce unto them gently the facts of life, that all 'facts' are not that 'factual'. In philosophy it's called epistemology: "How do we know what we know."

And enjoy the back treatments!