Comments by Fezik

Comment #73856 by Fezik on September 26, 2007 at 11:22 am

Just a quick note for BigJohn:

This story is about a Canadian school. So no US constitution is involved, and no 1st amendment.

2. Proboscidean Mitogenomics: Chronology and Mode of Elephant Evolution Using Mastodon as Outgroup

Comment #59074 by Fezik on July 27, 2007 at 7:43 am

Regarding comment 58917 by nails:

I'm no expert on biology (my field is my alias), but while I agree that it might not be easy, I wouldn't rule out the possibility so fast. My personal hunch (and that's all it is, so I ask readers to bear with me or better yet correct me if you're more knowledgeable than I am), is based on the reality of cross-species hybrids between closely related species. If horse/zebra and lion/tiger hybrids can come to term, wouldn't it indicate that the mother can "endure" something with a somewhat foreign genome inside her?

3. Scientific Savvy? In U.S., Not Much

Comment #54469 by Fezik on July 7, 2007 at 11:05 am

Ranjani, Bluebird,

I'm pretty sure sonord's "Tree hugging hippie crap!" line referred to:

"promotion of self-esteem (deserved or not), political correctness, multi-culturalism, social skills and socio-political activism." taking over teaching of science and critical thinking skills.

Therefore, not to "tree-hugging" as in environmentally friendly behavior.

4. Emory Brain Imaging Studies Reveal Biological Basis For Human Cooperation

Comment #54268 by Fezik on July 6, 2007 at 7:50 am

I have been reading the articles and associated comments on this site for a while now, and I simply have to applaud the amount of civility I see in this particular thread, despite diverging views. Kudos to you all!

Edit: Before anyone asks: no, I'm not being sarcastic. I've seen threads degenerate quickly and this one is refreshingly different.

5. Baptists Warned About Islam, Atheism

Comment #49584 by Fezik on June 12, 2007 at 12:51 pm

" "Islamists," Colson said, "are very different. We will die for what we believe. They will kill for what they believe." "

How delighthfully complementary worldviews! Each group quite willing to do exactly what suits the other just fine. It's a wonder these people are not in better terms...

6. Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution

Comment #49508 by Fezik on June 12, 2007 at 7:52 am

"The theory of evolution as an explanation for the origin and development of life has been controversial for centuries, and, in particular, since the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin's famous The Origin of Species."

How could the theory of evolution have been controversial before it came to be, exactly?

7. Some US Muslims say suicide attacks OK

Comment #44311 by Fezik on May 24, 2007 at 9:13 am

Thank you for pointing that out, kevolved. I've been sloppy and had not read the full text for myself. I have yet to review it in its entirety, but I skipped to the relevant section and it's true that those 2 questions clearly contradict themselves in their results.

It has me wondering how the people polled were able to reconcile the two answers, and whether the 2 questions were actually asked in sequence, which would make it less likely, I think, for the respondant not to realize he's contradicting himself. The introduction to the text says that polling was done through face-to-face interviews. I can easily imagine how the apparent lack of anonymity in such a procedure might affect some people's answers. This is somewhat addressed at the beginning of the document, but not convincingly enough for my own tastes.

So, while I agree that using the answers of that poll to try and "parry" the results presented in the one that is the object of this thread is not a good idea, I think that what you pointed out to me actually strengthens the point I was trying to make, which is that it's quite easy and all too frequently done to use polling data improperly as an argument meant to convince, when it should perhaps at best be used to discern certain trends that would be the interesting subject of further (and more rigorous) investigation.

8. Some US Muslims say suicide attacks OK

Comment #44116 by Fezik on May 23, 2007 at 10:43 am

I just read this morning two interesting blog posts by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com, discussing the poll which this article refers to. He himself points to polls, much like the one (or the exact same one, don't remember) mentionned by Thrall above, and which actually indicate that the americans, overall, show even worse percentages when answering questions of this nature.

The real shame here, and what seemed to me the main point of the posts, is that the american mass media are quite likely to jump on those "statistics" to further the idea of the muslim-boogeyman without putting it in the proper context, which clearly shows that things are just as bad (sorry, worse!) with the "average Joe". Irrationality is rampant in that country these days, and picking and choosing the statistical data that confirm your previous ideas while ignoring the rest is just one of the symptoms.

For those who'd like to read Glenn's take on it:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/05/23/polls/index.html