Tag: BS Detector

Penn, Teller & Vaccinations

I had the thought that this video may not be the best the things as Penn and Teller are entertainers. The root of a lot of damaging denialism ( ant-vaccine people, people who deny global climate change, etc ) is that people are more willing to accept information from entertainers or charismatic people rather than scientists ( the people who have the best chance of actually being right ).

Still, the visual representation of the situation is compelling.

Quote of the day

The quote below is from the Vegan Outreach newsletter. It looks so useful. After having been a vegetarian for over 28 years and a vegan for over 12 years I can’t tell you how tired I am of amateur lectures in biology, theology and philosophy. The response below looks like it will work for a variety of common dodges I encounter while leafleting:

At Kent State, one guy said he would never consider becoming vegetarian because we are biologically designed to eat meat (“canine” teeth, protein needs, etc.). I explained that I didn’t want to get into a debate with him about our “natural” diet, but that he should just look at the information; regardless of how he thinks primitive humans ate, he’d have to agree there’s no reason to support the cruelty inflicted on farmed animals now. He shook his head and walked off. About an hour later he came back and said he had read the entire brochure and it was “really good.” I think it had a huge effect on him.
-Jen Kaden, 11/14/07