Fallacies

In the most recent issue of the magazine "Skeptic", Harriet Hall, also known as "SkepDoc" writes about three fallacies that you will encounter very frequently if you engage in discussion about alternative or complementary medicine. I will of course not plagiarize Hall's article, but what I am writing here is her article, filtered through my brain (I have written about related matters here and here

Boom follows bust, which follows boom. Over and over again, the same mistakes are made – but by new people.But people don’t like to admit they’ve made a mistake. So, when markets begin to turn against them, they imagine that the turn is just a fluke. They expect things to return to ‘normal’ quickly, not realizing that it is normal for them to make mistakes and lose their money.When housi

Last night, I happened to watch an episode of "Crossing Jordan" in which Jordan encounters what appears to be the resurrection of a man who Jordan, as a medical examiner, knew for certain had died. As the plot unfolds, Jordan gives the impression that she is an atheist or at least a skeptic, believing instead in the power of science to explain the apparently inexplicable. Using her forensic skills

1. Western Union is a bank. 2. Western Union is a money-changer. 3. Western Union keeps members’ (customers’) passport/ID details in W.U. members’ cards. 4. Western Union scans/stores customers’ signatures electronically and therefore can verify if a signature is yours. 5. Western Union can send money anywhere. 6. Western Union is not opened on Chinese New Year in Singapore

The Internet is replete with so-called "expert" advice on just about everything...and the Foreign Exchange Market is no exception. The trouble with all of this is that bad advice is often given and repeated until it becomes accepted wisdom. Following is our list of the top ten fallacies concerning the Forex Market: 1. You have to predict accurately to win in the Foreign Exchange Market. This

Contrary to popular myth, eating grass is a normal occurrenceEating grassHaving laboured like Escoffier over your moggy, do not be alarmed if he or she still insists on chewing grass and weeds at the first opportunity. Grass is good for cats. It contains certain vitamins and also acts as an efficient emetic, helping the animal regurgitate unwanted matter such as fur balls. If you and your cat share a high-rise apartment without ready access to a garden, grow him some grass from seed in a window box. Chewing grass is not a sign that the cat feels ill.MousingCats hunt mice, birds, insects, and so on for sport, not as a food source. True, they may on occasion eat part or all of their prey, but basically they are in it for the fun of the game. So you need not think that by underfeeding, or ind

1. Self-publishing is Vanity PressWell, first of all, what is wrong about vanity press anyway? So you just want your work published for you and your small groupies' consumption. There's no harm in that.Self-publishing is NOT vanity. Self-publishing is knowing you have a choice and maximizing it to the best of your capacity. Self-publishing is know that your work can be put in the market because you know somebody will read it. Not only will you see your manuscript printed and bound but also that it's out there for you to share with others who have the same interests.2. Self-publishing will make me richSorry to say but self-publishing will NOT make you rich, but hard work, talent, and persistence will. Just because you hand over your book to ANY major publisher - even if it is a traditional publisher, doesn't mean that you're book will become an all-time best-seller. A lot of traditionally published books have flopped (and that's alongside the support and financing of several

Uri Savir, one of the negotiators of the Oslo Accords on behalf of the Israeli government (sometimes termed in Israel as the "Architects" of the accords for reasons I can't see), published today on Haaretz his reflections on the occasion of the fourteenth anniversary of the Oslo accords. Apologies: I could not find an English translation of the article in the English Edition of Haaretz.The article is characteristic of Israeli left-wing policy-makers, in the sense that there is nothing truly left-wing about it. For if the term refers to a political interest in human rights, in peace and a strive for equality, Savir stresses the exact opposites: he portrays the Oslo Accords in nationalistic terms, using powerful and military phraseology, not even trying to hide that the main advantage of the Oslo Accords were that they left more territories in Israel's hands than what rightfully belonged to the Palestinians.This kind of writing could be dismissed as mere propaganda, claiming that while

Many of the weight loss infomercials tell us about Abdominal Machines can Give You Washboard Abs. The image is familiar: a muscled man appears on your television screen, smiles, waves, and tells you all about his journey from obesity to sexiness. He flashes pictures of his past look: the large tummy, the absent waistline, the flabby abdominals. He then begs you to look at him now: the sculpted pelvic area, the absence of fat, the abundance of raw muscle. He then tells you that he owes it all to one machine. (more…)

1. Hamas is not short of cash. Suitcases full of banknotes pass through the Rafah crossing. Hamas’ masked gunmen can be seen every day smartly outfitted in clean black uniforms, brandishing new weapons with no shortage of ammunition and carrying personal gear in top condition.2. Pouring US and Israeli hopes and investments into the Abbas-Dahlan outfit ended in disaster in Gaza. The Fatah-forces built and trained under the supervision of an American general were utterly humiliated in Gaza.3. Not only Iran and Syria, but six Arab governments, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, refuse to cut their ties with the Hamas regime or hold back funds. So forget about an Arab boycott of Hamas. Abbas’ main base of residence and personal business is located in Doha.4. In the key West Bank towns of Greater Nablus, Tulkarm, Qaiqilya, Ramallah, Hebron and East Jerusalem, Hamas is not only popular, but works hand in glove with radical factions of Abbas’ own Fatah al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.5. Neit

Immigration causes Unemployment. It is an argument often repeated. It goes something like this. “Immigrants who come over here are willing to work for lower paid jobs and thus they create unemployment for local people.” This argument is wrong because. Immigrants increase the supply of labour but they also increase Aggregate Demand in the Economy. This means that they buy more goods and create additional demand in the economy. They provide labour supply and increase labour demand. If immigration caused unemployment why did America not have high unemployment during times of mass immigration? Because the immigrants created as many jobs as they took. Often immigrants take jobs that native workers just don’t want to do. – You won’t see big multinationals cueing up to stop immigration.Furthermore immigrants tend to be of working age. Therefore they tend to contribute more tax than receive in benefits. Without immigration US demographics would have a larger % of

The current crisis with our hospital system has nothing to do with private business doing what it does best, it is all a result of government interference and cost escalating insurance programs. Fallacy Number One: The first image is that held by the delusional left. They imagine that if most health care were publicly provided and administered by the state, people of all social classes, age groups, and races and sexes, would have equal access. . . . Mostly the left-wing view is of the negative sort. It makes them crazy, and offends their moral sense, that the rich can afford better health care than the poor. They believe that it violates a sense of fairness that the rich have the means to live longer, healthier lives, than the poor, who are left to the mercy of life’s exigencies. But let’s say that we can show that under a capitalist health market, the poor will be better off in absolute terms. I doubt very seriously that this will satisfy the true socialist. What bother

Of Follies and FallaciesWe had a bull session in class. Homeroom. It's a good thing that Ms. R was more or less liberal about things. The last adviser I had was more biased against me. It was degrading for my mental health.But I have him to thank because I wouldn't be close to o9 if it weren't for him.Anyway, hardly half the class said anything. But the some of the people who had to say something were people who just had to proclaim how perfect they were. Not literally of course, but the way they said it just goes to show that people can't accept being wrong at times. Especially when they're just going against one person with a strong defense mechanism built only to equate the defense mechanism they have formed because of number and ego.High school is the time when people are at their worst.「おわり」~+~

A few things to offload and clarify.1. Steve Irwin died as a result of a Stingray's Barb striking into this chest and heart. NOT Manta Rays.2. Class95 DJ Glenn Ong suggested that Manta Rays are a result of Steve's Death, that's false.3. Not all rays have stinging barbs.4. Manta Rays, not like rumours spreading around the web, do not have a layer of toxins coated on their bodies nor do they have stinging barbs5. Eating more BBQ rays is not an act of taking revenge for Steve but it is an act of allowing the BBQ seafood store to make more $$$ as well as for more blubber to gather in your body.6. Steve Irwin might be a Hero to most people, but to true conservationist, he is tempting nature too much. If you ask me, he deserves it. 7. The Species of Ray that is involved in Steve's Death is a Bull Ray, not Manta Ray.8. Reports have it that Steve pulled out the Barb before losing conciousness.9. Reports have it that Steve is not aware of his bleeding. 10. John Stainton said Steve pulled ou