TSF Book Club
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[quote name='Dodge' timestamp='1364420494' post='355240']<br />
he probably doesn't realise that...<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Ah I see ...<br />
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... so no more Discworld <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' /> -
[b][i]Bad Science[/i][/b] by Ben Goldacre:<br />
- An exploration of the misunderstanding, misuse and misapplication of science in mainstream media and public relations, and how public conceptions have been manipulated as a result.<br />
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Stumbled over this in the library. Was like reading a 320 page rant by Baron Silas Greenback. Great fun!!<br />
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Basically had a crack about everything from the cosmetics industry, alternative medicine, “nutritionismâ€, big pharma, MRSA scares and the MMR hoax.<br />
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Some seriously scary stuff in there, especially how easily led the general public can be on the back of a cult of personality, and the media’s need to sensationalise in search of profits.<br />
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His emotions are quite clear throughout the book …<br />
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He does try and explain “science†in as much as it’s all about experimenting, testing hypotheses, proper use of statistics, trying to avoid bias in your deductions and putting your findings up for criticism – which at times got nerdy (author’s own description) – as opposed to weird-arse claims like “eat green leaf vegetables as the chlorophyll gives you oxygenâ€, and the claim that “free radicals†are good for you.<br />
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Homeopathy was well in his sights. I know we had a thread on here a month or two back but I must have skipped over the details as I didn’t realise just how stupid it is: i.e., infusing water with ingredients that replicate symptoms, banging the solution on a surface so the water “remembers†the ingredient, then diluting the water to such an extent that to have any single molecule of the ingredient left in it would require a volume of water equivalent to a sphere with the diameter of the earth’s orbit of the sun … and then making a sugar pill out of it. So scary it’s funny.<br />
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Seems to have a particular hatred for alternative medicines, he has a crack at some British media personalities (Gillian McKeith – who is some sort of diet “guru†– Pommie based Ferners may have come across her), identifies the MRSA superbug scares as being the result of a testing laboratory run out of a garden shed by a bloke with a mail order “PhDâ€, and generally has a crack at any organisation (including the established big pharmaceutical companies) who use distorted data to sell a point of view.<br />
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But most important of all, in his chapter on [b]perception bias[/b], is his conclusion that “[b]the behaviour of sporting teams which wear black is rated as more aggressive and unfair than teams which wear white[/b]†is a result of “disproportionate bias†(chapter 12, page 237)*.<br />
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I see he has more data here - [url="http://www.badscience.net/"]http://www.badscience.net/[/url]<br />
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- some may claim this is "cherry picking" ...
- An exploration of the misunderstanding, misuse and misapplication of science in mainstream media and public relations, and how public conceptions have been manipulated as a result.<br />
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[quote name='booboo' timestamp='1364932239' post='356546']<br />
Was like reading a 320 page rant by Baron Silas Greenback. Great fun!![/quote]<br />
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What, the first chapter just called you an idiot without giving any reasons, but was willing to expand its point in subsequent chapters only after being pressed, spiraling upwards and onwards in an increasingly curmudgeonly manner?<br />
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<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
[url="http://www.iain-banks.net/"]http://www.iain-banks.net/[/url]<br />
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[quote]<br />
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[size=4][b] [url="http://www.iain-banks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal-statement-from-iain-banks/"]A Personal Statement from Iain Banks[/url][/b]<br />
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[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]April 3rd, 2013 in [url="http://www.iain-banks.net/category/from-the-author/"]From the Author[/url][/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I am officially Very Poorly.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]After a couple of surgical procedures, I am gradually recovering from jaundice caused by a blocked bile duct, but that - it turns out - is the least of my problems.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I first thought something might be wrong when I developed a sore back in late January, but put this down to the fact I'd started writing at the beginning of the month and so was crouched over a keyboard all day. When it hadn't gone away by mid-February, I went to my GP, who spotted that I had jaundice. Blood tests, an ultrasound scan and then a CT scan revealed the full extent of the grisly truth by the start of March.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed around a group of major blood vessels in the same volume, effectively ruling out any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The bottom line, now, I'm afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient, I'm expected to live for 'several months' and it’s extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year. So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be my last.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]As a result, I've withdrawn from all planned public engagements and I've asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry - but we find ghoulish humour helps). By the time this goes out we'll be married and on a short honeymoon. We intend to spend however much quality time I have left seeing friends and relations and visiting places that have meant a lot to us. Meanwhile my heroic publishers are doing all they can to bring the publication date of my new novel forward by as much as four months, to give me a better chance of being around when it hits the shelves.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]There is a possibility that it might be worth undergoing a course of chemotherapy to extend the amount of time available. However that is still something we're balancing the pros and cons of, and anyway it is out of the question until my jaundice has further and significantly, reduced.<br />
Lastly, I'd like to add that from my GP onwards, the professionalism of the medics involved - and the speed with which the resources of the NHS in Scotland have been deployed - has been exemplary, and the standard of care deeply impressive. We're all just sorry the outcome hasn't been more cheerful.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A website is being set up where friends, family and fans can leave messages for me and check on my progress. It should be up and running during this week and a link to it will be here on my official website as soon as it’s ready.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Iain Banks[/font][/color][/size]<br />
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A sad day -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1365064986' post='356865']<br />
What, the first chapter just called you an idiot without giving any reasons, but was willing to expand its point in subsequent chapters only after being pressed, spiraling upwards and onwards in an increasingly curmudgeonly manner?<br />
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<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
[/quote] But could it be kept down to 320 pages? -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1365064986' post='356865']<br />
What, the first chapter just called you an idiot without giving any reasons, but was willing to expand its point in subsequent chapters only after being pressed, spiraling upwards and onwards in an increasingly curmudgeonly manner?<br />
<br />
<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
[/quote]<br />
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Pretty much. Only he was calling other people idiots. Which is, I suppose, what allowed it to be fun. <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1365076716' post='356889']<br />
Provided mooshld and MajorRage don't try to read it, yes.<br />
[/quote]Big ask. -
[quote name='dK' timestamp='1365065958' post='356867']<br />
[url="http://www.iain-banks.net/"]http://www.iain-banks.net/[/url]<br />
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A sad day<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Yeah, thats a pisser, the Culture novels are some of the best stuff going, Surface Detail was just superb, stack of moments where I actually just paused & went "thats fucking awesome" -
Curmudgeonly???<br />
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You are an idiot.<br />
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And Booboo... welcome to the 'Homeopathy is only believed by retards' club. As a junior member you have to clean my shoes. -
[size=3]A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.<br />
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.<br />
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor. [/size]<br />
[right]- JON WINOKUR[/right] -
I always aspire to curmudgeoness. That was for a long time my twitter description. I think it is one of the gfraces of growing old.<br />
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I do think you can be a curmudgeon without being a misanthrope though.<br />
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A curmudgeon just doesn't give a shit about pointing out the Emperor is stark bollocking naked. A misanthrope is a negative, joyless git.<br />
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The Baron is neither. He's just a toad. -
[quote name='dogmeat' timestamp='1365125602' post='357000']<br />
I always aspire to curmudgeoness. That was for a long time my twitter description. I think it is one of the gfraces of growing old.<br />
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I do think you can be a curmudgeon without being a misanthrope though.<br />
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A curmudgeon just doesn't give a shit about pointing out the Emperor is stark bollocking naked. A misanthrope is a negative, joyless git.<br />
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The Baron is neither. He's just a toad.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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but with curmudgeonly tendencies.<br />
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I thought he would have worn that badge quite proudly rather than question it. -
[quote name='dK' timestamp='1365065958' post='356867']<br />
[url="http://www.iain-banks.net/"]http://www.iain-banks.net/[/url]<br />
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A sad day<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Yeah I am utterly gutted about this. One of my favourite authors, such an amazing imagination - The Culture 'universe/setting' is such an amazingly rich creation. Great wit and humour too. -
[quote name='Crucial' timestamp='1365116284' post='356950'][size=3]A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.<br />
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.<br />
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor. [/size]<br />
[right]- JON WINOKUR[/right][/quote]<br />
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Yeah, so like I said: BSG.<br />
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<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
Damn... I guess I am a curmudgeon ... now all I need is a rocker and a porch.
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[quote name='Baron Silas Greenback' timestamp='1365217915' post='357438']<br />
Damn... I guess I am a curmudgeon ... now all I need is a rocker and a porch.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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I don't think so, you'd be frustrated merely ranting at passers by. The keyboard is mightier than the porch.<br />
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Btw did you know our Governer General is a huge fan of homeopathy? Good thing he has no real power. -
[quote name='jegga' timestamp='1365221206' post='357443']<br />
I don't think so, you'd be frustrated merely ranting at passers by. The keyboard is mightier than the porch.<br />
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Btw did you know our Governer General is a huge fan of homeopathy? Good thing he has no real power.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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He is a fool then.<br />
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You can also get it on th NHS, I never said the world didnt have an abundance of fools.. and some have power to do foolish things. -
[quote name='Baron Silas Greenback' timestamp='1365243204' post='357651']<br />
You can also get it on th NHS, I never said the world didnt have an abundance of fools.. and some have power to do foolish things.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Indeed, look at Steve Jobs, very smart guy yet decided he could cure his totally cureable cancer with smoothies. And by the time he realised he was wrong... ooops...<br />
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People often look at people who are good at one thing & decide they should advise them on everything. Who was the Al Black who fronted a company that utterly raped its investors a few years back? While of course in the UK this week -<br />
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[url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/05/swansea-measles-epidemic-mmr-jab"]http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/05/swansea-measles-epidemic-mmr-jab[/url]<br />
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"Take-up for the MMR vaccine dropped by 14% in south Wales in the late 1990s after research, subsequently discredited, raised health concerns over the jab and prompted a campaign against it by the South Wales Evening Post.<br />
Public Health Wales said: "It is just a matter of time before a child is left with serious and permanent complications such as eye disorders, deafness or brain damage, or dies"."
