They may have found out what’s really killing the bees.
I never bought the cell phone theory, anyway. I know that those things have been getting smaller and smaller, but I don’t know how they would have gotten the bees to use them, or sign up for a twelve-month plan.
They may have found out what’s really killing the bees.
I never bought the cell phone theory, anyway. I know that those things have been getting smaller and smaller, but I don’t know how they would have gotten the bees to use them, or sign up for a twelve-month plan.
Carbon credits turn out to be bogus.
Well, so were the indulgences that the Church sold, that went and got Luther’s tonsure all in a knot. It’s just one more indication that this is about moralizing and religion, rather than science. In theory, though, you’d think that carbon credits would be more confirmable. I mean, you don’t have to wait until you’re dead to find out whether you got your money’s worth…
Carbon credits turn out to be bogus.
Well, so were the indulgences that the Church sold, that went and got Luther’s tonsure all in a knot. It’s just one more indication that this is about moralizing and religion, rather than science. In theory, though, you’d think that carbon credits would be more confirmable. I mean, you don’t have to wait until you’re dead to find out whether you got your money’s worth…
Carbon credits turn out to be bogus.
Well, so were the indulgences that the Church sold, that went and got Luther’s tonsure all in a knot. It’s just one more indication that this is about moralizing and religion, rather than science. In theory, though, you’d think that carbon credits would be more confirmable. I mean, you don’t have to wait until you’re dead to find out whether you got your money’s worth…
Some thoughts on our unwillingness to force treatment or confinement on the dangerously mentally ill. Of course, it’s a fine balance of civil liberties:
No one who knew him seems surprised by what he did. On the contrary, dorm chatter characterized him explicitly as a future school-shooter. One of his professors, the poet Nikki Giovanni, saw him as a disruptive bully and kicked him out of her class. Other teachers viewed him as disturbed and referred him for the ubiquitous “counseling”–an outcome that is ambiguous to the point of meaninglessness and akin to “treatment” for a patient with metastasized cancer.
But even that minimal care wasn’t given. The shooter didn’t want it and no one tried to force him to get it. While it’s been reported that he was involuntarily committed to a “Behavioral Health Center” in December 2005, those reports also say he was released the very next morning. Even if the will to segregate an obvious menace had been in place, the legal mechanisms to provide even temporary “warehousing” were absent. The rest is terrible history.
That is not to say that anyone who pens violence-laden poetry or lets slip the occasional hostile remark should be protectively incarcerated. But when the level of threat rises to college freshmen and faculty prophesying accurately, perhaps we should err on the side of public safety rather than protect individual liberty at all costs.
If the Virginia Tech shooter had been locked up for careful observation in a humane mental hospital, the worst-case scenario would’ve been a minor league civil liberties goof: an unpleasant semester break for an odd and hostile young misanthrope who might’ve even have learned to be more polite. Yes, it’s possible confinement would’ve been futile or even stoked his rage. But a third outcome is also possible: Simply getting a patient through a crisis point can prevent disaster, as happens with suicidal people restrained from self-destruction who lose their enthusiasm for repeat performances.
Could global warming reduce hurricanes?
Why not?
As a (current, at least) south Floridian, sounds good to me.
In the wake of the shootings, Jennifer Roback Morse writes about the intractable problem of the mentally ill (as it’s more than abundantly clear that the shooter was). This is something with which I, unfortunately, have some personal experience. It is tragic, and frustrating. But in this particular case, it was also devastating to dozens of innocents and their families.
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You Are 65% Left Brained, 35% Right Brained |
 The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. |
Also, there were quite a few choices about which I was unsure. I think it would be more accurate if they put in a third option for “roughly equal” (e.g., the geometry versus algebra question–I’m good with both).
Via Alan Boyle, here’s an interesting article at the Gray Lady about sexual desire. This part rang true to me:
The results suggest that having a good set of sexual brakes not only dampens the willingness to commit rape or sexual abuse, but the desire as well, giving the lie to notions that