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Memories of the 28th Century

Miscellaneous thoughts about miscellaneous matters

  1. Fun Uses for False Premises

    by , 09-19-2017 at 03:12 PM (Memories of the 28th Century)
    I started writing about false premises as a logical fallacy, when I realized that false premises have frequently been used as the basis for an ideology. By selecting a suitable premise one can "prove" pretty much anything. Founders of political, religious, and social movements have usually used false premises as the bases for their movements. The premises are often stated outright as the principles of the organization, but they are sometimes unstated or misstated.

    False ...

    Updated 09-20-2017 at 05:29 PM by PeterL

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  2. Thinking Scientifically

    by , 12-09-2015 at 10:51 AM (Memories of the 28th Century)
    Once again I am going to rant about how people believe hype in preference to science. Earlier today his problem came up in conversation. I don’t remember exactly how we got around to discussing Cholesterol, but I mentioned the fact that even the NIH has admitted that the idea that serum cholesterol doesn’t cause heart disease. This has been known with complete confidence for the last thirty years, or so, but it was only rarely put forth in consumer level literature, so most people believed the myth ...

    Updated 12-09-2015 at 02:05 PM by PeterL

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  3. Medicine and Poor Logic

    by , 11-19-2014 at 08:25 PM (Memories of the 28th Century)
    The matter of the fraud about serum cholesterol causing heart disease came up at Starbucks this morning. It was early enough that we avoided a fight (we agreed). I don’t blame any particular people for making any grand conspiracy, and I consider this myth simply a side effect of many people and businesses trying to make more money. I don’t begrudge anyone a living, but making money by damaging the health of millions, or even billions, of people is a bit extreme.

    There is no doubt ...

    Updated 11-28-2014 at 05:40 PM by PeterL

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  4. The End of Racism

    by , 01-11-2014 at 10:57 AM (Memories of the 28th Century)
    I don't think much of racism mostly because it is not a valid way to classify humans. But before I go further into that, there are a couple of things that I have to clear up. First, what is a race?

    Whether one is considering animals or plants, a race is a subspecies that is separated from others of that species physically and by some genetic distance. Subspecies are on their way to becoming a separate species, but genetic drift has not yet separated them that much. An example of subspecies ...

    Updated 01-11-2014 at 11:34 AM by PeterL

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  5. How to Lose an Argument Without Really Trying

    by , 01-07-2014 at 10:09 AM (Memories of the 28th Century)
    Or
    Logical fallacies for humor and for destroying arguments



    For the last couple of decades I have wasted a huge amount of time on online forums and such. I have found myself in illogical discussions frequently, because people often use logical fallacies. I can accept that now and then; most people use fallacious reasoning on occasion, sometimes deliberately and sometimes in ignorance; but many people don't even notice their fallacies when the fallacies are ...

    Updated 01-07-2014 at 10:42 AM by PeterL

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