Sep 15 2011: I live in the UK and therefore don't really follow US politics much but I did hear about Michelle Bachman tell media that the HPV vaccine caused mental retardation without any evidence.
Whilst people in Britain distrust their politicians just as much as in the US, not entirely sure if we are as bad. I know of the websites fullfact.org and Channel 4's Fact or Fiction blog actually tries to test and then explain whether what politicians are saying is based on fact or fiction.
I don't believe this is just to do with politicians but people in general. I read Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational and it has transformed the way i think and see things.
Its shown me in a way what I already knew, that whilst everyone sees facts, we all see them in a different way based upon our view of the world. If we read something, numbers that suggest our intuition is right or the way we want to see the world is right, we believe or place more emphasis on it. We use it to enhance our argument. Whereas, if we are shown facts that prove us wrong, we are less likely to believe it or trust it.
Sep 14 2011: This seems to contradict exactly what Nick Clegg said today at the LSE.
Could this perhaps be why despite the union with England, Scotland is still much poorer than England? England has been very authoritarian over Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Jul 25 2011: Not sure Rory should be PM. Not much of a Tory but i do like him and think he would make a fantastic foreign secretary or defence secretary.
We do our taxes because we know the taxman will come looking if we don't and the repurcussions are worse than just doing your taxes.
Whereas with your health, if you're getting screened for something, you think i'll probably not have it. With the Doctors you weigh up the probability of having some condition over the likelihood that you don't. Even if the likelihood is high that you will develop something due to being overweight, we still to continue to put off losing weight to reduce the risk mainly i think because you like eating and your exercise rate at the moment. There is a small chance that no health problems will be created and if they do, you'll deal with them then. There's the it won't be me chance as well as losing weight is too much like hard work.
I've had personal experience of knowing there was something but not going to the Doctors well its slightly more complicated. I injured my knee a year ago in the semi's of my club championships(doubles), played on and we won. i couldn't walk the morning after so went to A&E, diagnosed it as ligament and would heal fairly quickly so I decided to play in the final 3 days later, knowing if it was ligament, it wouldn't make it worse. A year later still having problems with it, private clinic said maybe cartilage, NHS keep saying ligament. At easter when it was particularly troubling, i resisted going to the GP again because I knew what was going to be said - "its ligament, go away".
What would have helped me - better diagnostics through better technology but at the end of the day - I'm not sure anything would have stopped me from playing that final. I wanted to play. Rational thoughts about health didn't come into it.
Jul 19 2011: Interesting talk. I've had a God Complex recently but its been me against the NHS. The NHS have given a diagnosis which I disagree with and a private clinic have given a different diagnosis. It feels like both the NHS and I both have the God complex. I think I could be wrong but I don't believe I am because my simplified understanding of the structures of the knee make the NHS diagnosis not add up. Been a year and still not got a proper diagnosis.
Jun 14 2011: Interesting talk. I wonder whether pro-lifers would allow a change in the law so that your age is determined by conception date rather than the day of delivery or whether anyone would support a change so that if your premature, your not actually alive till the day that you were due?
I've always wondered where do you draw the line come the voting age. If you turn 18 shortly before an election but are premature you get to vote whereas people who are the same age as you biologically (i.e. conceived on the same day) but were born at full-term don't get to vote. Seems ludicrous to me.
Someone who is biologically younger than you could get to vote because they were premature. They will be generally less developed than you but still able to vote - makes no sense.
Mar 31 2009: Whilst this is cool - i don't see it becoming that popular - if i want to access information i'll use my phone or my laptop. Something needs to be radically different for people to want to buy it e.g. using your brain as the computer to retrieve information.
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A comment on Conversation: What facts are factual?
Whilst people in Britain distrust their politicians just as much as in the US, not entirely sure if we are as bad. I know of the websites fullfact.org and Channel 4's Fact or Fiction blog actually tries to test and then explain whether what politicians are saying is based on fact or fiction.
I don't believe this is just to do with politicians but people in general. I read Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational and it has transformed the way i think and see things.
Its shown me in a way what I already knew, that whilst everyone sees facts, we all see them in a different way based upon our view of the world. If we read something, numbers that suggest our intuition is right or the way we want to see the world is right, we believe or place more emphasis on it. We use it to enhance our argument. Whereas, if we are shown facts that prove us wrong, we are less likely to believe it or trust it.
A comment on Talk: Yasheng Huang: Does democracy stifle economic growth?
Could this perhaps be why despite the union with England, Scotland is still much poorer than England? England has been very authoritarian over Scotland and the rest of the UK.
A reply on Talk: Rory Stewart: Time to end the war in Afghanistan
A comment on Conversation: A conversation with GE: Why do we avoid making tough health choices? And, what could motivate us to behave differently?
We do our taxes because we know the taxman will come looking if we don't and the repurcussions are worse than just doing your taxes.
Whereas with your health, if you're getting screened for something, you think i'll probably not have it. With the Doctors you weigh up the probability of having some condition over the likelihood that you don't. Even if the likelihood is high that you will develop something due to being overweight, we still to continue to put off losing weight to reduce the risk mainly i think because you like eating and your exercise rate at the moment. There is a small chance that no health problems will be created and if they do, you'll deal with them then. There's the it won't be me chance as well as losing weight is too much like hard work.
I've had personal experience of knowing there was something but not going to the Doctors well its slightly more complicated. I injured my knee a year ago in the semi's of my club championships(doubles), played on and we won. i couldn't walk the morning after so went to A&E, diagnosed it as ligament and would heal fairly quickly so I decided to play in the final 3 days later, knowing if it was ligament, it wouldn't make it worse. A year later still having problems with it, private clinic said maybe cartilage, NHS keep saying ligament. At easter when it was particularly troubling, i resisted going to the GP again because I knew what was going to be said - "its ligament, go away".
What would have helped me - better diagnostics through better technology but at the end of the day - I'm not sure anything would have stopped me from playing that final. I wanted to play. Rational thoughts about health didn't come into it.
A comment on Talk: Tim Harford: Trial, error and the God complex
A comment on Talk: Alice Dreger: Is anatomy destiny?
I've always wondered where do you draw the line come the voting age. If you turn 18 shortly before an election but are premature you get to vote whereas people who are the same age as you biologically (i.e. conceived on the same day) but were born at full-term don't get to vote. Seems ludicrous to me.
Someone who is biologically younger than you could get to vote because they were premature. They will be generally less developed than you but still able to vote - makes no sense.
A comment on Talk: Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense