Trump's Appointments

[Colonel Sanders]

Here is what RFK Jr is putting out about autism and vaccines. Total bullshit.

View attachment 54802

They are relying on the pervasive lack of understanding among the laypeople of how science actually works to propagate their misinformation. It is quite easy to do.

The problem is an education system that allows people to graduate high school with zero usable understanding of science or epistemology.

Most students drop science like a hot brick as soon as it is permitted; And what little "science" they are taught prior to that is generally presented as facts to memorize (and to forget as soon as their pens hit the desk at the end of their final exam). No wonder teenagers generally think of science as "boring".

Knowing that the Relative Molecular Mass of O₂ is a bit more than 32, isn't very useful to anyone who isn't planning a career in the sciences, and does nothing to help people understand why vaccines are safe, or why they are important.

Critical thinking and epistemology are hardly mentioned in education for that vast majority of people who don't take an undergraduate philosophy module as part of a degree level course.

IMO, schools should start at the primary level with teaching kids how to think logicslly and reasonably, how to avoid their own cognitive errors, and how to spot errors, falsehoods, and lies told to them by others.

But no such skills are formally taught prior to the tertiary level, and any attempts to introduce them at primary school would be viciously opposed by parents and churches, due to their corrosive effect on belief.

Parents don't want kids who can spot when they are being consistently misled by adults.

I hated science when I was a kid. I simply didn't understand why it mattered. I look back now and can't help but think that if it was taught in a more relatable way that I wouldn't have hated it so much. Why would e.g. chirality matter to a 14 year old?

Instead, how about teaching what the properties of a Bic Mac are; what are fats, carbohydrates, and protein made up of, and how does it affect you? What are the receptors that make it taste the way it does and why does that appeal to so many people?

OTOH, there's "mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Zzzzz. The latter is tedious boredom to endure; the former personally affects you, and likely invites further questions about other foods like fries and soda. It sounds frivolous at first glance, but an entire semester could be built around it and remain interesting and memorable because middle and highschoolers can relate to it.

To go further with the subject of chemistry and food, Alton Brown's Good Eats captured a wide audience due to its simple and interesting approach to food science.

As for logic, I'd like to see basic If-Then propositions be taught in high school, and have it framed as a way to win arguments with anyone; parents be damned.

Anyway, logic isn't taught at all and science is taught in a manner that makes it a boring slog.

 

[blastula]

 

[blastula]

Not The Onion.

 

[Spacetime Inhabitant]

Not The Onion.

So Kash Patel was disqualified from being an FBI agent (he did not say why, and he would have access to his FBI file), but when he became director he changed the rules so that if involved in prostitution, bestiality, or theft from employer, you could not be disqualified. Hmm.

 

[Elixir]

he changed the rules so that if involved in prostitution, bestiality, or theft from employer, you could not be disqualified

So, Kash was the pimp of a chimp he stole from his first employer. Got it.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Not The Onion.

So Kash Patel was disqualified from being an FBI agent (he did not say why, and he would have access to his FBI file), but when he became director he changed the rules so that if involved in prostitution, bestiality, or theft from employer, you could not be disqualified. Hmm.

I heard him say that someone could have been forced into bestiality and thus that shouldn’t count against them in their FBI application. I wonder who specifically they had in mind there…

 

[TV and credit cards]

Not The Onion.

What's the problem?
Human traffickers do not just force people into prostitution, they force them into other reprehensible acts.
I would have liked to have more context on Durbin's point about using the word "engage" rather than "victim". It does seem that victim would be the more appropriate choice of words. But that's just my lay opinion.