About those who fall prey to misinformation - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cyborg Ninja · 01-07-2008, 06:41 PM

There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to the health sector. Naturally, many are paranoid about their health. After all, death is inevitable and everyone eventually experiences the unexpected death of a loved one. I'm certainly not new to that.

But unlike many, I do extensive research instead of believing whatever blurb I believe on the radio. I'm able to pick out things as wrong that may not be obvious to other people. I remember listening to NPR yesterday and on air was someone who kind of reminded me of one of the speakers on a Vice City radio station. He was like a male, vegan soccer mom with a high-pitched voice. It was a little grating. But anyway, he was going on about how meat is the Devil to four teenage girls and their host. It was mostly about fast food restaurants. Jack in the Box kills children, avoid all chicken because of a salmonella risk, Murder King, meat conspiracies, whatever. I can't even remember the most ridiculous things off the top of my head. Ever have an awkward situation for someone so extreme in their beliefs that they're unwilling to submit to reason?

And then there are the little bits of misinformation out there. The CDC and NIH aren't doing all they should to make people understand exactly what they should do, and many times their recommendations are made for only a small group and that is misunderstood to include their entire population. Vitamin D is one off the top of my head. The worst is the vast number of trivial studies that are released as blurbs in the mainstream news everyday. Sometimes these are twisted by press release editors, other times by scientists wanting another grant (rarest IMO), or it's just one study and many more are needed before anyone should jump to conclusions, and sometimes it's just plain nonsense.

And yet studies are released everyday in medical journals that really are important, but the average person doesn't hear about them. The media thinks we're more interested in hearing about vitamin D, fiber, minerals, etc. Good grief. Perhaps the average citizen (no matter what country) really is that dumb. Just look at some people here who pick one basic blurb in order to "confirm" their opinion against someone who already told them ahead of time they have much more knowledge in the area. It's just something that one has to deal with everyday after they research a certain level.

Oh, this is funny... we've all heard about a lot of paranormal conspiracy theories. That really falls in line with what I discussed above. Zecharias Sitchin is a fringe researcher who has devoted much of his time to propagating his view about ancient Sumeria and his interpretation of their myths. He basically says an alien civilization came to Earth thousands of years ago and this is alluded to in Sumerian legend. I saw a video on Youtube about it and I just laughed. It was ridiculous because it twists so many facts and tries to sell paranoia to people and present half-truths as well, truth. One thing that stands out is an artifact that had a picture of what Sitchin said was the "solar system" including a 10th planet (he says it's the alien planet, Tiamat). The video states that the picture is a perfect scale of the sizes and orbits of the planets. I don't even have to show the picture to you for you to know that's so insanely absurd. And yet, a lot of people won't immediately realize this. So please, keep an eye and an ear out if someone is making claims that are so extreme that they require a lot of evidence. Most of the time they're full of half-truths meant to make you go along and believe anything they say.

analog · 01-07-2008, 07:29 PM

Yeah, this thread is no more a discussion than the last one was. It's pretty much just a sermon.

Just saying.

Cynthetiq · 01-07-2008, 07:32 PM

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If you'd like a place to vent your frustrations without a discussion, you are free to use the journal area of our community.

Please alert any staff member to reopen this thread once you've reformatted it as a discussion.

01-07-2008, 06:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cyborg Ninja Crazy	About those who fall prey to misinformation There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to the health sector. Naturally, many are paranoid about their health. After all, death is inevitable and everyone eventually experiences the unexpected death of a loved one. I'm certainly not new to that. But unlike many, I do extensive research instead of believing whatever blurb I believe on the radio. I'm able to pick out things as wrong that may not be obvious to other people. I remember listening to NPR yesterday and on air was someone who kind of reminded me of one of the speakers on a Vice City radio station. He was like a male, vegan soccer mom with a high-pitched voice. It was a little grating. But anyway, he was going on about how meat is the Devil to four teenage girls and their host. It was mostly about fast food restaurants. Jack in the Box kills children, avoid all chicken because of a salmonella risk, Murder King, meat conspiracies, whatever. I can't even remember the most ridiculous things off the top of my head. Ever have an awkward situation for someone so extreme in their beliefs that they're unwilling to submit to reason? And then there are the little bits of misinformation out there. The CDC and NIH aren't doing all they should to make people understand exactly what they should do, and many times their recommendations are made for only a small group and that is misunderstood to include their entire population. Vitamin D is one off the top of my head. The worst is the vast number of trivial studies that are released as blurbs in the mainstream news everyday. Sometimes these are twisted by press release editors, other times by scientists wanting another grant (rarest IMO), or it's just one study and many more are needed before anyone should jump to conclusions, and sometimes it's just plain nonsense. And yet studies are released everyday in medical journals that really are important, but the average person doesn't hear about them. The media thinks we're more interested in hearing about vitamin D, fiber, minerals, etc. Good grief. Perhaps the average citizen (no matter what country) really is that dumb. Just look at some people here who pick one basic blurb in order to "confirm" their opinion against someone who already told them ahead of time they have much more knowledge in the area. It's just something that one has to deal with everyday after they research a certain level. Oh, this is funny... we've all heard about a lot of paranormal conspiracy theories. That really falls in line with what I discussed above. Zecharias Sitchin is a fringe researcher who has devoted much of his time to propagating his view about ancient Sumeria and his interpretation of their myths. He basically says an alien civilization came to Earth thousands of years ago and this is alluded to in Sumerian legend. I saw a video on Youtube about it and I just laughed. It was ridiculous because it twists so many facts and tries to sell paranoia to people and present half-truths as well, truth. One thing that stands out is an artifact that had a picture of what Sitchin said was the "solar system" including a 10th planet (he says it's the alien planet, Tiamat). The video states that the picture is a perfect scale of the sizes and orbits of the planets. I don't even have to show the picture to you for you to know that's so insanely absurd. And yet, a lot of people won't immediately realize this. So please, keep an eye and an ear out if someone is making claims that are so extreme that they require a lot of evidence. Most of the time they're full of half-truths meant to make you go along and believe anything they say. __________________ Become an organ donor Last edited by Cyborg Ninja; 01-07-2008 at 06:49 PM.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

01-07-2008, 07:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	Please refer to Creating Threads: A Primer (MUST READ!) (Updated 3-23-2007) on how to create threads to the standards of TFP. If you'd like a place to vent your frustrations without a discussion, you are free to use the journal area of our community. Please alert any staff member to reopen this thread once you've reformatted it as a discussion. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

01-07-2008, 07:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
analog Banned	Yeah, this thread is no more a discussion than the last one was. It's pretty much just a sermon. Just saying.