Rant: My Troll in Meatspace

December 16, 2008 at 11:25 pm (rant, skepticism)

I know the rule on the internet: Don’t feed the troll.
But in the real world, sometimes it’s hard to recognise the trolls. They look like normal people. They act like perfectly reasonable polite human beings. But don’t let them fool you! The will rope you into pointless arguments that will rile you up and from which they can blithely walk away, satisfied that they got a reaction out of you.

At the shop where I slave away for a pittance, we ship all of our stock through a courier. Every delivery, in or out, is through the same guy.

It all started innocently enough. Polite conversations led to some political discussion, which led to (dun, dun DUN!!!) the 9/11 “conspiracy”. Apparently this guy saw Loose Change and swallowed the whole thing. At first I tried to explain how it was wrong. How none of the claims (though there are few claims actually made) added up to anything but anomaly hunting. I then used the JFK conspiracy theory as an analogy and found out he believed that one too, not to mention the fact that he didn’t even have all of his facts straight (e.g. he didn’t realise that Jack Kennedy was the same person as John F. Kennedy and that Robert Kennedy was also assassinated). At this point, I asked if there was anything that would falsify it for him, he admitted that there wasn’t and I explained that it was therefore impossible to argue with him because if you can’t falsify it, it can’t be proven.

The following week, he brought up some book he read about CIA mind control experiments and tried to use the fact that there was a movie made about it as supporting evidence. At this point I told him there was no point in arguing with him because he had left the realm of reality and sanity.  (Note: It was in this conversation that he made the first reference to “sympathising with paedophiles” not making him a paedophile. WTF?)

This man seems to lack the basic tools with which to evaluate evidence or think critically. To make matters worse, my co-workers got the impression that he had a crush on me since he was always seeking me out (going so far as to call him “loverboy,” at which I would pantomime emesis). So, instead of wasting my energy getting all worked up about his nonsense, I’ve taken the high road and started avoiding arguing with him at all, responding to everything he says with nothing more than a one word answer. (He also ruined my high during Obama’s victory speech by coming into the store and trying to engage me in conversation, to which I responded, “Please leave, I can’t talk right now. I’m overwhelmed.”) The “Yep.” “Nope,” “Dunno” smile and nod and goodbye approach was working.

Until this week.

He came into the store as usual, I pulled out the book he must sign when picking up a bag, and he asked me if I’d heard the latest news about Bush. I said, “The shoe thing?”

“Yeah. Apparently that’s a pretty big insult in their culture.”

“Yep, second only to calling someone a dog, I think”

“It’s a shame. You know, America, a country founded on Christian values can be…”

And here’s where I made a mistake.

“Actually, it’s not founded on Christian values. The founding fathers weren’t Christians, they were Deists and wrote the consitution based on reason and the values of the Enlightenment.”

“No, they’re Christian values. Like Democracy, Freedom of Religion…”

“Excuse me? I don’t remember those being in the Bible…”

“Well, I could show you.”

“Where. Let’s start with Freedom of Religion? Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? The first one is “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” That’s not exactly freedom of religion, that’s the opposite. And show me where in the Bible it says anything about Democracy. They aren’t Christian values. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Christanity or that Christians don’t value those things, but they aren’t Christian Values. They came out of Enlightenment philosophy and reason. That is a fact. You are wrong.”

Then I walked away and he kept talking to my co-worker who was standing nearby and tried to change the subject, “Well, a lot of people misunderstand when you talk about Christianity, thinking that by Christian, you mean Catholic. There’s lots of other types of Christianity. In fact the first founders of the American Colonies, were Puritans fleeing persecution by the Papacy…”

I stormed back over, “No, again, you’re wrong. They were fleeing England, which was a Protestant country. They were Protestants fleeing other Protestants. Also that was about 150 years before the constitution. Don’t try to lecture me on my own country’s history. The claim you made is false. America was not founded on Christian values. You are wrong.”

“Well, I choose to interpret it differently.  Your interpretation is different, I accept that. ” (Note: At this point he said the same creepy paedophile thing again)

“No, your interpretation is wrong. Your claim is not true. My interpretation is based on FACTS, the historical record and evidence. Yours is based on opinion.”

“It’s what? Based on ignorance.”

“NO, OPINION.“

“Well, Christianity is about Loving Thy Enemy and Charity and Forgiveness…”

“None of which is in the Constitution.”

“But the constitution mentions God.”

“That doesn’t make it a Christian document. It doesn’t say “Jesus” anywhere. It means God as an abstract. They were Deists, which meant they believed in a God, a creator, but not in miracles or Jesus or dogma.”

“Well then summarize in a few words, what it is based on.”

“The values of the ENLIGHTENMENT which were based on REASON, not RELIGION”

“The…uh…Enlightenment? Is the same as the Rennaissance?”

“No, it was several hundred years later. The Rennaisance was in the 15th and 16th Centuries, The Enlightenment was in the 18th Century. The Constitution was written DURING THE ENLIGHTENMENT which was a time when culture was moving away from religion, toward reason and secularism.”

“Well, but Christianity is about…”

I could see I had hit the end of intelligent conversation and this man was completely unaware of how bloody ignorant he was.

“Look, I don’t have time to talk about this anymore. This conversation is over, I have work to do.” I retreated to the back room and slammed the door (well, it sort of slams on its own anyway).

At this point I was shaking with anger and disgust. I knew better. I should ignore trolls. But to make a claim so ignorant and stupid, especially about something I care about deeply. It just pissed me off so much I couldn’t stand by and let him try to claim the U.S. Constitution for Jeebus.

I’m going back to ignoring him. I just needed to rant this out of my system. (However, the repeated comments he made about paedophiles really have me freaked.) On the positive side, I feel more confident about my arguing skills. Then again, winning a battle of wits with an unarmed man is hardly a victory. The whole thing just made me feel kind of dirty. I hope he isn’t stupid enough to start another argument with me.

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What good is winter without the holidays?

July 2, 2008 at 12:56 am (rant)
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So, I made this amazing, life changing decision to move from California to Australia to be with the man I love.

I moved in July, sacrificing half of my summer and all of my fall to jump straight into winter. It didn’t really matter that much to me, I like winter.
But now I’m experiencing my second winter down under and a something is really starting to get to me, namely, no holidays.
Winter is the time of year that more people die. It’s depressing and cold and you have to stay inside.
Thanksgiving and Christmas and all those other stupid holidays that I used to bitch about at least broke the cold, dull, aching monotony that is winter. Thanksgiving comes just as you have to start wearing more layers when you go outside. At Christmas, you hang lights all around, eat lots of cookies and candy and drink eggnog. You spend a day with your family eating and drinking and sitting around the fire. New Year’s, you dress up, play music loud and stay up late drinking Champagne and sneaking late night Christmas leftovers. And then there’s Valentine’s Day. Actually, my Valentine’s Days almost always suck, but at least there’s usually chocolate to make me feel better.

What holidays are there in June and July and August here in Australia? Zip. Nada. Nuthin.

It’s cold and blustery and all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey (but if I were in California, I’d be on fire).

I think I understand Christmas a little better now that I’m experiencing a winter without it.

This calls for a big fake Christmas. I’ll call it Wintermas (or just the traditional “Christmas in July”) and I’ll invite friends over for hot buttered rum and roasted chestnuts and maybe a large roast bird of some kind.

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Fads Destroy Meaning

May 30, 2008 at 4:48 am (rant, skepticism)
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Take Uggs. They are ugly boots made in Australia. Australians only really wear them around the house or to shuffle out to the bottle shop, or to warm one’s feet after doing a little winter surfing. Anyone who wears them all the time is considered, well, a bit “daggy.” Somehow, in America a few years ago, they gained  popularity among surfers, became high fashion chic which then became a fad among celebrities and suburban moms. Aussies are still puzzled, and a bit embarrassed.

Take trucker hats. A few years ago Hollywood hipsters started wearing them as an ironic rebellion. As in, “I’m so hip, I can wear this terrible piece of clothing that people associate with the lowest common denominator and still be hip. Look at me, I’m soooo ironic.” Then, people who didn’t get the irony started wearing them, and finally, they came full circle and only frat boys and people with no fashion sense were wearing them again. They lost their irony, and gained a new negative connotation.

Going back further, look at “grunge” fashion. It started in the independent alternative music scene in Washington and Seattle. Flannel shirts, knitted caps and thermal underwear were popular because they were  cheap, warm and the musicians were poor and really mostly cared about their music, not what they were wearing. Then, suddenly, grunge music took off and everyone started wearing flannel, thermals, knitted caps and ripped clothing. The original fashion of apathy became a symbol of caring too much, once you could buy pre-ripped jeans and overpriced distressed flannels at the mall.

Now, there’s a silly (arrgh, must resist using the word “kerfuffle”) spat over Rachel Ray’s Dunkin’ Donut ad where she wears a keffiyeh. Sure, it may have started as a way for celebs to show support for Palestinians, or to protest the war or whatever, but as far as I can tell, nobody is wearing them because of that anymore. They fly off the shelves, but they seem to just be another trendy scarf. The original symbolism is lost. I won’t wear one because I don’t like to buy things that everyone else is wearing. Other people have the opposite fashion criteria.  Rachel Ray is just a fashion victim, not a jihadi supporter. Indicting people because of the supposed symbolism of an item of clothing that has become simply a fad is absurd. You might as well tell Americans that they shouldn’t wear Uggs because in their homeland of Australia, only bogans wear them.

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An open letter to Sharon Stone

May 29, 2008 at 12:57 am (rant)
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This is in response to this article from SFGate.com

Dear Ms. Stone,

First of all I admire your stance against the Chinese government’s actions in Tibet. I generally like to see celebrities use their undeserved status in society to raise awareness about important issues. However, you have made a grievous error in your recent statements about the tragic earthquakes in China.

Do not fall into the trap of blaming the Chinese people for the brutal policies of the Chinese government. Was hurricane Katrina “karma” for the U.S.’s involvement in Iraq? Was the cyclone in Burma “karma” for the military junta’s treatment of political dissidents in 2007? The citizens of these countries are not necessarily responsible for the actions of their governments. In fact, many of them are victims themselves of their government’s unethical practices.

You’ve stated that the Dalai Lama is your “good friend.” Well let me tell you about my friend, Lama D. He was a monk in Tibet. There are strict rules for the practice of religion in Tibet, including a ban on images of the Dalai Lama, who is seen as a terrorist and a threat to the government. My good friend Lama was arrested and tortured by the Chinese government for having a single picture of his spiritual leader under his bed. He managed to escape to Nepal and move to California, where I worked with him in a warehouse. He was no longer a monk, but still very spiritual and an admirer of the Dalai Lama. When he told me his story he was very careful to say that the Chinese people were good, the people were not to blame, but the Chinese government was “very, very bad.”

You have done a disservice to yourself by saying that these innocent people deserved their tragic circumstances. It’s as bad as saying a woman deserved to be raped because she was “asking for it”. Your callous remarks reveal your ignorance not only about politics but about the very concept of Karma itself. 20,000 children for 16 protesters. Is it a fair trade? The Chinese people did not deserve this misery any more than anyone else. Nobody deserves to have their lives destroyed, their homes turned to rubble or their children killed, whether by a government, a fringe military group, a war or an act of nature.

To show real compassion, you must transcend your hatred for nations, and love the people within them. I respect your opinions about the rights of the Tibetan people, but your hate filled comments sadden and anger me. If you truly cared about relieving suffering, you would open your heart to all who suffer, not just your favourite pet group. We are all human, after all.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth McRae

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Neanderthin?

May 1, 2008 at 4:46 am (just for fun, rant, skepticism)
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That\'s one hot humanoid.This is the mental image I get whenever I hear about this new-ish title for the old “Paleo” diet.

There’s nothing wrong with these kind of diets, per se, it’s just that, well, I don’t think it’s a very good name.

After all, the Neanderthals DIED OUT.

They were outcompeted and were basically an evolutionary dead end. We survived because we developed different strategies for survival that were more adaptable to different environments. Then, eventually we created agriculture, which was a great leap forward in our ability to feed large groups.
In order to get the benefits from this so called “cave-man” diet, we depend on our ability to grow crops (maybe they should call it the “Bronze age” diet).
Basically, it’s a romantic misnomer for a diet consisting of good, healthy raw foods and quality proteins.
You don’t have to carry a spear and wear mammoth skins to get the benefits of that.

In the end, it’s all marketing.

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Yahoo! Answers thinks I’m dirty.

April 29, 2008 at 6:44 am (rant)

Following up on my adventures in Yahoo! Answers.

I got an email (below the break):

Read the rest of this entry »

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Down in the trenches

April 15, 2008 at 3:05 am (alternative medicine, rant, skepticism, utopia)

In this context, for me, the trench is the Alternative Medicine section of Yahoo!Answers.

Why am I doing this? Do I really hate myself that much? Do I really think I can convert anyone?

I’m doing this because I am sick of sitting back on my laurels and pooh-poohing this stuff from my little private Skeptopia. Skeptopia is a land where many skeptics live. It’s a safe place where skeptics get together and pat each other on the back for being so clever. It’s not just here, most of the other skeptic forums and blogs have become Skeptopias. I’ve built my own Skeptopia here so I can talk about how clever I am, and if anyone flames me I can delete their comment and pretend they don’t exist. It gets boring sometimes, ridiculing dumb ideas and patting myself on the back is starting to give me shoulder cramp. In the end, how does it help anyone or change anything if I stay in my safe little world?

I was looking for more information about GNC’s iridology offer and I ran across this section of Yahoo! Answers and it was just the place I think I need to be. It’s not a site people go to in order to find answers refuting alternative medicine claims, it’s a place where they go to have them confirmed or to get advice. There is a lot of bad information going around there, from folk remedies to advice on the best chiropractic schools, but I noticed that there are a few skeptics too. People linking to quackwatch, people giving glib negative answers. All morning, I’ve been researching answers and trying to provide detailed, informed answers to questions by seriously curious people. It’s not the people who are already clearly wrapped up in alternative medicine that I target, it’s the people with serious questions who are just interested in learning more who I think need good information.

I don’t just tell people to go to a doctor. I don’t tell people that they are stupid or that such-and-such is simply nonsense. I try to provide simple explanations of the science involved and I make suggestions that they might be better off looking for other alternatives. Basically, I try to answer the question as best I can without judgment or prejudice

Maybe it doesn’t make a lick of difference. I’ll get back to you once people start rating my answers.

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GNC offering iridology

April 15, 2008 at 12:24 am (rant, skepticism)

Iridology is one of the biggest crackpot ideas I’ve ever encountered. It’s a form of alternative diagnostics that is completely unscientific, easy to disprove and is about as useful as palmistry. Furthermore, it doesn’t even diagnose what you currently have, but often claims to predict conditions that you may develop in the future, which you can’t falsify until the practitioner has already collected her money. It is often paired with homeopathy, so you can treat conditions you don’t have with medicines that don’t exist

I walked past my local GNC outlet and noticed a huge sign in the window offering iridology consultations. What the hell is up with GNC? They prey on people’s superstition and need for a competetive edge and perfect health by selling unproven supplements, ridiculously high doses of vitamins and fake alternative medicines. Now iridology? What’s next? Free tarot readings every full moon? It just goes to show that it’s not just patchouli scented hippies who fall for alternative medicine. Spandex clad gym rats are shelling out big bucks for placebos too.

Side note: It’s funny how tacking the suffix “-ology” can make something sound completely legit.

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I guess Hollywood got something right, for once

April 2, 2008 at 11:08 pm (rant)

The other night I watched American Beauty again for the first time in a long time. Apart from the metaphysical and religious-y overtones *eyeroll*, I still find the movie very beautiful and poignant. However, I mentioned at one point to my husband that I didn’t prescribe to the notion that homophobic men are secretly suppressing their own homosexual desires. It’s too easy. It just always seemed like the kind of petulantly adolescent thing that you’d say to piss off your homophobic uncle.

Well slap my mouth and call me Wrongy McWrong. Today I read about this study in which it is found that self described homophobic men are aroused by homoeroticism and non-homophobic men are not. The homophobes actually get a chubby from watching two dudes get it on. I wouldn’t call the study definitive, but it’s fairly straightforward (pardon the pun) and well designed.

Man, Fred Phelps seriously must be at full salute when he goes on his fag-hating tirades. Ew.

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BioDynamics = Magical Agriculture

March 16, 2008 at 3:27 am (rant, skepticism)

O.k. I’m going to take a deep breath and try not to flip out about this.

I was looking through some of my favorite Aussie blogs on sustainable living and the simple life today, and having a nice leisurely time about it. You see, I’ve taken refuge in the Aussie blogs because every time I look through similar American blogs, I find out that many people living the simple life in America are either hippies or the kind of people who homeschool their children in order to teach them bad science.

My little bubble of secularism and reason was rudely popped when I saw a link on an otherwise lovely blog for this: Biodynamic Agriculture Australia.

Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with biodynamics, it may sound as reasonable as organic farming. I personally have no real problem with organic farming, per se. It’s an ideal farming method for small farmers as it does not require the use of chemicals manufactured in labs by chemical companies. <mini-rant>There is not, however and evidence that organic vegetables or products are any healthier, tastier or better than non-organically farmed ones. It also does not guarantee that the product is any more ethically produced nor does it necessarily mean (anymore) that the product was made by a small farmer or independent company. The word “organic” has become a marketing tool that makes people buy things that are more expensive. </mini-rant>

Biodynamics, however, is just plain silly. It is a combination of astrology and homeopathy applied to agriculture. It was made up by a guy in 1924 and, well, look for yourself:

Field preparations, for stimulating humus formation:

  • 500: (horn-manure) a humus mixture prepared by filling the horn of a cow with cow manure and burying it in the ground (40–60 cm below the surface) in the autumn. It is left to decompose during the winter and recovered for use the following spring.
  • 501: Crushed powdered quartz prepared by stuffing it into a horn of a cow and buried into the ground in spring and taken out in autumn. It can be mixed with 500 but usually prepared on its own (mixture of 1 tablespoon of quartz powder to 250 liters of water) The mixture is sprayed under very low pressure over the crop during the wet season to prevent fungal diseases. It should be sprayed on an overcast day or early in the morning to prevent burning of the leaves.

Both 500 and 501 are used on fields by stirring about one teaspoon of the contents of a horn in 40–60 liters of water for an hour and whirling it in different directions every second minute.

That’s right, they crush up crystals and sprinkle them on the crops. It’s about as scientific as ridding yourself of a wart by selling it.

(EDIT: Here’s how the above two preparations are described on the BAA website (emphasis on pseudoscience terms, mine):

Horn Manure Preparation (500) is used to enliven the soil, increasing the microflora and availability of nutrients and trace elements. Through it the root growth, in particular, is strengthened in a balanced way, especially the fine root hairs. Develops humus formation, soil structure and water holding capacity.

Horn Silica Preparation (501) enhances the light and warmth assimilation of the plant, leading to better fruit and seed development with improved flavour, aroma, colour and nutritional quality.

A lot less useful information, a lot of claims that essentially have no meaning.)

Here’s how biodynamics gets rid of pests:

  • Pests such as insects or field mice (Apodemus) have more complex processes associated with them, depending on what pest is to be targeted. For example field mice are to be countered by deploying ashes prepared from field mice skin when Venus is in the Scorpius constellation.
  • Weeds are combatted (besides the usual mechanical methods) by collecting seed from the weeds and burning them above a wooden flame. The ashes from the seeds are then spread on the fields, which is intended to block the influence from the full moon on the particular weed and make it infertile.

What. The. F***? Do I need to give another analogy to express how stupid that sounds?

Like homeopathy and chiropractic, “biodynamics” is a word that sounds nice and science-y. It also appeals to anti-authority and agriculture, like medicine, is often seen as a big faceless entity controlled by corporations and an elite few. However, “biodynamics” is a protected term. There is an organisation that holds the right to it, and you need their approval to use it on your products. (Seriously, how anti-authority is that?) I’ve seen this term cropping up (oops, bad pun) everywhere. It’s on products, produce, shop signs and everywhere I see it, I instantly want to grab somebody’s shoulders and yell, “This is ridiculous! Why are they trying to sell me this?? Why can’t I just have normal yogurt???”

I am all for ethical products, local farmers and eating healthy whole foods. I am totally supportive of the simple life and I’m really interest in self sufficiency, but when self sufficiency means using magic to make your tomatoes grow redder and fatter, count me out. I’ll stick with real scientific farming methods like good rich soil, plenty of sunlight and regular watering.

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