Dissappointment

Lots of things make me sad, but nothing more so than when folks talk about things, with an air of authority, that they do not know anything about. MTBR, wikipedia, and blogs more recently and op ed's in the past have been a venue for people to express their opinions about subjects. But all of this is subjective and based off of user input and inherently biased. And lets face there is a lot of crap out there. A few things to bear in mind when you hear people about current events, science, and pop culture.

• Rush Limbaugh is a entertainer, not a valid source of news. I agree with him sometimes but I still think he is a idiot. I feel the same way about Anderson Cooper, Connie Chung, Daniel Zwerdling, and some other purveyors of media.
  
• Anytime a scientist is on the news or in print talking about the importance of his work, what he is really doing is begging for more research money.
  
• Anytime someone tells you that there is a simple solution to a complex social or scientific problem, you can safetly assume that the person is A) ignorant B) lazy C) a stupid hippy or D) they want money or it could be any combination of the above.
• Never trust anyone that relys on "buzz words" to carry on a conversation about a controversial topic. Be specific!
  
• Buzz words include chemicals, liberals, evangelicals, subsidies, poisoning,welfare, corporate ethics, social media, organic, credit default swaps, evolution, sustainablilty, accused, WMD, epic, and the list goes on forever. Its not that they are bad, but people have gotten so used to using a one or two word description for a subject that is often complex and diverse.
• If you can't express yourself or your feelings without swearing you probably should not be talking.
• If your source is anonamous I think that you are lying. PERIOD.
• If you can't explain something mathematically, you do not yet fully understand it.
• People are on TV because they look and or sound good, not because they are smart.
  

Sorry about that rant, I am just constantly amazed at how people that are so ignorant can be so influential. I promise that my next post will be about recreation, fun and floppy eared dogs.