Reason

[kvnchrist]

I was just wondering when reason became the sole property of the scientific community and those who unabashedly promote the idea that findings by the scientific community is the end all of all discussions. Are the concerns and assumptions of those without a litany of studies or those without some sort of degree has absolutely no validity?

 

Are these scientists not people and are they immune to self interest or political agendas. I think not. I used to be widely, open-minded about this, but after being inundated by those who simply dismiss others arguments and, when pressed result in denigrating others intelligence, I find myself just as dismissive to others opinions as they are of mine.

 

I speak of myself, because of my own experience, but mine is not the only incidences of this. There has been numerous incidences of this on several boards, and to do this simply reduces the impact of others ideas. I don't care how intelligent you are or how stupid you are. I care about how human you are and how caring you are of others.

 

I feel that people are responsible for what they say and what they do. I also believe that there are many out there that, in their zeal to remove the ideas of personal responsibility , look for far deeper answers, and ignore what might just be staring them in the face. I've heard, many times about mental illness, and I was wondering why if the psychiatric community labels certain activities as an illness, why so many people embrace their determinations, and not ask themselves is there a agenda involved in this determination or possibly a financial and prestigious angle involved. You know, if you claim something is an illness and you are the only physician, how much power does that give you?

 

 

Please read this

 

My link

[draconix]

I don't know if I understand what your question is.

 

Your first paragraph sounds like you're asking why people in the scientific community take the results of every study as gospel, which is definitely not the case. There are plenty of quacks out there who promote acupuncture as a valid form of treatment. There are even studies which they will cite that are performed by special interests groups which skew their studies and use ineffective methods of determine effectiveness. However, clinical studies which perform double-blinded tests provide clear evidence that it's no more effective than a placebo. There are hundreds of special interest groups that back studies with the intention of proving something, rather than determining something.

 

I would recommend the following listening material that will, if nothing else, demonstrate that there is plenty of skepticism to go around in the Scientific community.

 

Scientific Testing

What is a Scientists

Good Scientific Journals

[HeyYou]

Everyone has their own opinion, and some folks value their own opinion much higher than the opinions of others. Doesn't really matter just what that opinion is based on... Be it studies they have read, "facts" they have gathered, or direct experience. Some of those folks see attacking their opinions, or facts, or, opinions presented as facts, as attacks against them personally, and so, resort to somewhat less than ideal tactics. Insulting the PERSON challenging their statements, rather than arguing the point. For some, that is simply because stating their opinion is as far as they get. They have nothing concrete to base those opinions on, other than what someone else has told them..... Other folks are just thin skinned, and should stay away from the debate forums altogether......

 

A fair bit of the "mental illness as an excuse for criminal behavior" comes from the whole mindset that has become prevalent in the last couple decades. To wit: No one is really responsible for their own actions. It is always someone else's fault, be it society, peer pressure, some mental deficiency, whathaveyou. It certainly can't be THEIR fault they made whatever poor choice it was that got them in trouble. We live in a society where everything has to be explained, analyzed, graphed, charted, mapped, "understood"..... So, we come up with an 'explanation' for why little johnny doesn't want to do his homework, has a short attention span, can't control himself in class, etc. (just as an example) We call it ADD, or ADHD, and 'control' it with drugs. (amphetamines no less, which on its face, seems counterproductive.... but hey, for some it works.) What I find amusing about the whole thing, (and kinda sad.....) is that less than 5% of the population are supposedly afflicted with some form or the other, nearly 30% of school children are on prescription drugs for it....... Another aspect of this that I find amusing is, not so very long ago, before this 'illness' was 'discovered'..... kids that had these problems were taught self-control. One way, or another...... and lo and behold, it worked. But, since those methods are now out of style, and are considered "abuse"..... (so parents have been abusing their children for millenia??) now we give them drugs.......

 

We have become a pill-happy society. We have a drug to fix just about anything, and drugs seem to be the answer to every problem...... I suppose it doesn't help the big pharma are pushing doctors to push their drugs....

 

So, what is my point here? The degradation of society, swinging to the extreme of political correctness, no one is responsible, no one fails, everyone is great at every thing. Until, of course, they get out into the 'real' world, and that half-arsed project that your teacher passed you on just doesn't cut the mustard for your boss, who considers your work third-rate, and fires you for it. Quite the shock eh? But, given that this person has NEVER failed at anything in the past, the sudden realization that it is indeed possible for them to fail hits 'em pretty hard. Exactly what they were trying to avoid doing all thru the persons education years.......

 

Have I wandered around enough topics yet? :D