Mass Hysteria of 2009

Throughout the U.S., democrat Representatives are being assailed at their town-hall meetings by organized groups of angry conservatives. Like the closet confederates who could never concede they had lost the civil war, these citizens are still in denial that their party has lost the election - and lost it in a big way, at that. The base of the republican party is now exhibiting signs of mass hysteria, similar to the Dancing Plague of 1518. If you don't like 'mass hysteria', how about mass psychogenic illness, collective obsessional disorder, or collective hysteria? These are described as

...the sociopsychological phenomenon of the manifestation of the same or similar hysterical symptoms by more than one person. A common manifestation of mass hysteria occurs when a group of people believe they are suffering from a similar disease or ailment.

Symptoms first start appearing following a period of stress, as when a black man finally becomes president of the United States. These symptoms include manifestations of conspiracy theories - like the President is not a U.S. citizen, he is leading the country into socialism, he wants to kill your grandma, and he wants to take your guns away, among many others. None of these have any basis in fact, yet talking heads like Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck foster and perpetuate these myths. Corporate lobbyists also create campaigns to organize so-called 'grass roots' movements, loosely known as the 'tea-baggers'. Besides buying and hording guns at an unprecedented pace, these groups are descending onto local town-hall meetings with the sole purpose of disrupting the events by shouting down their elected representatives. Although a minority, they have been successful at gaining media attention. Their manic hysteria is cheered on by the conservative talking heads in an endless feedback loop.

But is it just the extreme right wing of the republicans suffering from this illness? From the title of a Politico article, Town hall trouble from both sides now, you might think democrats are also joining in with the rabble republicans. The article quickly clears up the misconception, though the headline is clearly misleading:

But Democrats — especially those who have expressed anything less than full-blown support for the legislation before Congress — are getting back-home pressure from the left, too.

It’s just usually a bit more civil.

On Tuesday, about two dozen activists gathered in front of Democratic Rep. Eric Massa’s office in Pittsford, N.Y., to deliver close to 5,000 petitions from New York voters urging him to support the House health care bill.

Obviously, the democrats are operating from a more traditional playbook on conducting protests, one that tells them to leave their pitchforks and torches at home. The behavior from the right, however, is increasingly uncivil and irrational, to the point that one democrat congressman has been threatened that he may lose his life over the health care bill.

While saner voices on the right still exist (example), their audiences are smaller and they are easily shouted down by 'right wing opinion media' (which is about as respectful as I can be to them). These demagogues rule over malleable minds which makes it all the more easy to perpetuate the hysteria. A recent FoxNews headline reads "Conservatives Vow No Letup in Health Protests", following with

Activists are vowing to keep up their fight against President Obama's health care plans, even as the Democratic Party pushes back hard, accusing Republicans of organizing angry mobs.

These are more than mere 'protests' and accusations of rabble-rousing is not 'pushing back hard'. It's closer to journalism - reporting the facts.

Perhaps when the country regains its economic footing, an important stressor will be relieved and rational heads prevail. But until that time, fomented irrationality may turn to hate - and we all know where that leads.

The Loch Ness Monster Disproves Evolution

If you think the Loch Ness monster disproves evolution, then you're well on your way to mastering science in the U.K. Here's how it goes:

“Nessie appears to be a plesiosaur. Could a fish have developed into a dinosaur? As astonishing as it may seem, many evolutionists theorize that fish evolved into amphibians and amphibians into reptiles. This gradual change from fish to reptiles has no scientific basis. No transitional fossils have been found or ever will be discovered because God created each type of fish, amphibian, and reptile as separate, unique animals.”

If you believe this, then the U.K.'s National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) says your knowledge is comparable to that gained in some of the most respected universities and schools in Britain. That's because NARIC finds that those who hold the International Certificate of Christian Education (ICCE) are as well-educated as anyone else. The problem is that the ICCE curriculum is based on the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum, which hails from the good old U. S. of A. and, not surprisingly, provides for a very fundamentalist brand of teaching:

If, as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you believe that the Bible is the Creator’s reliable and trustworthy handbook to the whole of life, then you will be glad to hear that the ACE curriculum is written from the literal Bible creation base.

In other words, we believe that God says what He means and means what He says.(ref)

One might as well teach from Grimms' Fairy Tales. In fact, the Brothers Grimm may even be more historically accurate. But suppose you have some overly inquisitive student who asks, for example, how the use of a non-existent creature disproves evolution? I get the feeling that such a question would never come up because:

ACE pupils are able to work with minimal supervision because they have learned the godly lesson of self-discipline.(ACE core curriculum)

Which is to say 'don't ask questions', followed by ruler smacking outstretched palm.

(see also The Telegraph and The Guardian)

Bobby McFerrin and the Pentatonic Scale

Straight from the 2009 World Science Festival, Bobby McFerrin has a little fun:

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

(seen at The Rogues Gallery)

Dr. Collins - What About Dog Butt Jesus?

Over at the Pharyngula blog, P.Z. Myers directs our attention to a talk given by Francis Collins two years ago at a conference of AAAS Science and Technology Fellows. Eventually, Collins brought the discussion around to his ability to accommodate both faith and science under one temple. The twists and turns of logic needed obviously makes this temple something more like a carnival fun-house, complete with distorting mirrors and spinning rooms. As an example, he notes the similarities between an end-view of the DNA helix and a stained-glass rose window. He says

"What I want to do is first to give you a snapshot of some of the new discoveries that for me as a physician-scientist studying the human genome are enormously exciting and provide a real glimpse into how life works," Collins said. "I'm also going to make the argument that, for me also as a believer, research in genetics is an occasion not just of scientific enjoyment, but an opportunity to appreciate the grandeur of God's creation, and in effect, to worship."
[...]
"I'm not trying to say that there's something inherently religious" in the DNA image, Collins emphasized. "But, I think it is emblematic of the potential here of the topic to both interest people and to make them unsettled. Can you, in fact, admire both of these [images]? Can you do it at the same time? Is there an inherent problem in having both a scientific world view and a spiritual world view?"

My first thought was Spirograph. But I guess that's one of the few reasons I wasn't picked for director of NIH.

So what was Collins' point? That it's obvious just by looking around to see God's signature in all things? Or did he just want to show how silly his mind can be at times? Describing his journey to faith, Collins recounts:

As an undergraduate, Collins said, he considered himself an agnostic; as a graduate student in chemistry, he was an atheist. But as he began to appreciate biology as "beautiful stuff that made sense," and later, genomics, he also began to struggle with questions of faith. Then, in his third year of medical school, as he visited with an elderly patient who was facing death, Collins said, he experienced a crisis of faith as she asked him, "What do you believe, doctor?"

It's as if the problems suddenly became too big with no immediate answers at hand. He took the easy way out. He read the last page of the book without slogging through the whole thing. He copied off someone else's paper. He peeked at the answer to the puzzle. He took the Christian shortcut.

Despite his appointment, Collins has not shirked from publicly expressing his faith. He has gained more notoriety today for his glass half-full of faith and half-full of science than he has for his work on the Human Genome Project. Still, it's surprising to find him singing the praises of design on air. Caution to the listener: it's a scientist singing - and it sounds exactly like that. (Trivia - Collins' guitar is emblazoned with both a DNA helix, and the Christian fish.)

I have to wonder - what would Collins make of Dog Butt Jesus? Would he say it's "emblematic of the potential" to hold two contradictory views and "admire the image" as well as the concept it represents? Or would his sciency disposition kick in and compel him to say, "It's just a dog's ass!"

Liverpool Cathedral Bells - Behind the Scenes

On the heels of my last post, I found this video which gives a nice behind the scenes look of the Liverpool Cathedral Bells in action.

Altogether now...one two three four...one two three four...

Well...Imagine That!

Can you guess the song?



With Cathedral bells, no less! Some background info on the obvious sensitivity issues, as well as the technical challenges, can be found here, here, and here. There's even rumor that the group performing may bring this to New York.

Simon Singh Appreciation

The following post is my little part in supporting Simon Singh, an author who published the following article and subjected himself to a libel lawsuit by the British Chiropractic industry. See Orac's post for more details on what those wacky doctors found offensive.
--------------------------------------
Beware the Spinal Trap

Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all, but the research suggests chiropractic therapy has mixed results – and can even be lethal, says Simon Singh.

You might be surprised to know that the founder of chiropractic therapy, Daniel David Palmer, wrote that “99% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrae”. In the 1860s, Palmer began to develop his theory that the spine was involved in almost every illness because the spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore any misalignment could cause a problem in distant parts of the body.

In fact, Palmer’s first chiropractic intervention supposedly cured a man who had been profoundly deaf for 17 years. His second treatment was equally strange, because he claimed that he treated a patient with heart trouble by correcting a displaced vertebra.

You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact some still possess quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything, including helping treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying – even though there is not a jot of evidence.

I can confidently label these assertions as utter nonsense because I have co-authored a book about alternative medicine with the world’s first professor of complementary medicine, Edzard Ernst. He learned chiropractic techniques himself and used them as a doctor. This is when he began to see the need for some critical evaluation. Among other projects, he examined the evidence from 70 trials exploring the benefits of chiropractic therapy in conditions unrelated to the back. He found no evidence to suggest that chiropractors could treat any such conditions.

But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.

In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.

More worryingly, the hallmark technique of the chiropractor, known as high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust, carries much more significant risks. This involves pushing joints beyond their natural range of motion by applying a short, sharp force. Although this is a safe procedure for most patients, others can suffer dislocations and fractures.

Worse still, manipulation of the neck can damage the vertebral arteries, which supply blood to the brain. So-called vertebral dissection can ultimately cut off the blood supply, which in turn can lead to a stroke and even death. Because there is usually a delay between the vertebral dissection and the blockage of blood to the brain, the link between chiropractic and strokes went unnoticed for many years. Recently, however, it has been possible to identify cases where spinal manipulation has certainly been the cause of vertebral dissection.

Laurie Mathiason was a 20-year-old Canadian waitress who visited a chiropractor 21 times between 1997 and 1998 to relieve her low-back pain. On her penultimate visit she complained of stiffness in her neck. That evening she began dropping plates at the restaurant, so she returned to the chiropractor. As the chiropractor manipulated her neck, Mathiason began to cry, her eyes started to roll, she foamed at the mouth and her body began to convulse. She was rushed to hospital, slipped into a coma and died three days later. At the inquest, the coroner declared: “Laurie died of a ruptured vertebral artery, which occurred in association with a chiropractic manipulation of the neck.”

This case is not unique. In Canada alone there have been several other women who have died after receiving chiropractic therapy, and Edzard Ernst has identified about 700 cases of serious complications among the medical literature. This should be a major concern for health officials, particularly as under-reporting will mean that the actual number of cases is much higher.

If spinal manipulation were a drug with such serious adverse effects and so little demonstrable benefit, then it would almost certainly have been taken off the market.

Simon Singh is a science writer in London and the co-author, with Edzard Ernst, of Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. This is an edited version of an article published in The Guardian for which Singh is being personally sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association.

(prodded by Skepchick)

This Must Make Perfect Sense to Someone

Somewhere in the world, someone must see this and think "Why didn't I think of that?"

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Yeah...what she said. Wait - what did she say?

Atheist Meetup Location

(found at randompictures posted by krushisabitch)

Brad Pitt: Inglourious Glistening Atheist Basterd

In an interview with BILD,

BILD: Do you believe in God?
Brad Pitt (smiling): "No, no, no!"
BILD: Is your soul spiritual?
Brad Pitt: "No, no, no! I'm probably 20 per cent atheist and 80 per cent agnostic. I don't think anyone really knows. You'll either find out or not when you get there, until then there's no point thinking about it.

Say...doesn't that put atheism in the running for Sexiest Non-Belief System of 2009?

Of course, right after that, he had this to say about getting older:

BILD: Are you scared of ageing?
Brad Pitt (smirking): The grey hairs on his beard glisten: “No I like it. I think it’s good.”

So, there you have it. He's ath/agnostic, doesn't mind getting older, and has glistening gray hairs. Actually, Brad and I aren't that far apart, other than there is absolutely nothing about me that glistens. And the whole world-famous actor thing.

Embarrassing the gods?

This is a new one on me:

Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plow parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the plows.

It must be a very surreal culture for them to think this embarrasses only the gods. You have to wonder what these naked, plowing, singing girls are thinking.

"See me, O Weather Gods. Do I not shame you? I shall shame you some more with my nakedness. And my singing. And my plowing. I might even repair the roof and fix the tractor. I will do the work of my fathers and brothers, naked, until you give us rain. Or until they get bored with their new X-Box and 40" Sony HDTV. Until then, my bare buttocks will continue to embarrass you!"

Someone should take a poll in India as to how many men are praying for rain - and how many are not. Especially when Kareena and Jasmine take to the fields!

Uh Oh

Study suggests H1N1 virus more dangerous than suspected
In contrast with run-of-the-mill seasonal flu viruses, the H1N1virus exhibits an

ability to infect cells deep in the lungs, where it can cause pneumonia and, in severe cases, death. Seasonal viruses typically infect only cells in the upper respiratory system.

"There is a misunderstanding about this virus," says Kawaoka, a professor of pathobiological sciences at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine and a leading authority on influenza. "People think this pathogen may be similar to seasonal influenza. This study shows that is not the case. There is clear evidence the virus is different than seasonal influenza."

The ability to infect the lungs, notes Kawaoka, is a quality frighteningly similar to those of other pandemic viruses, notably the 1918 virus, which killed tens of millions of people at the tail end of World War I. There are likely other similarities to the 1918 virus, says Kawaoka, as the study also showed that people born before 1918 harbor antibodies that protect against the new H1N1 virus.

And it is possible, he adds, that the virus could become even more pathogenic as the current pandemic runs its course and the virus evolves to acquire new features.

Evolution in Action

Researchers have found what they believe to be a speciation event occurring in two populations of small birds called the Monarch flycatcher. The two separate populations live on different islands, so there is a natural barrier which, if maintained long enough, leads to a branching in the tree of life. One group lives on the large island of Makira, part of the Solomon Islands. The other lives on smaller, surrounding islands, and it is this group that developed one small mutation to a gene that regulates the production of melanin which, for birds, determines the color of their feathers. In this case, the normally black birds on the surrounding islands developed a brownish underbelly.

According to the PhysOrg article Study catches two bird populations as they split into seperate species,

The question of whether these two populations are on the road to speciation comes down to sex. When two populations stop exchanging genes--that is, stop mating with each other—then they can be considered distinct species.

While they can't actually observer every encounter between the two populations to check for mating, male birds are notorious for defending their territory from others males that are potential sexual competitors. The Makira population was seen to not really mind if the brown-bellies came around, which leads the researchers to think they are not seen as much of a threat.

Of course, this doesn't prove anything conclusively...only time can really tell. Over the next hundred years or so, the natural barrier may not be big enough to keep the mutated gene from spreading to all flycatchers, which means no speciation. Still, this is an example of evolution in action, whether or not speciation occurs. Can you guess why?

See Elie Dolgin's post at TheScientist.com for more, including comparison images.

Greenpeace Sends a Message from Mt. Rushmore

Ballsy move.

Religion - Crazy Like That

Irrational beliefs making fools daily:



(via The Sunny Skeptic)

After-Image Optical Illusion - What Color Are Their Clothes?

Last year, I had a fairly popular post called Aural Illusion. Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer of the Discover/Bad Astronomy blog, picked it up and, next thing I know, I'm getting hits from Siberia, Alice Springs, and Ouagadougou. Well, it took a year, but I've finally come across another, comparable illusion - only this one is optical. Check it out:



(discovered at Of Two Minds)

Screaming Teens on Beta Aquilae

Somewhere in the universe, Ringo is the cute one...



(via NeuralDump)

Squirrely!

Squirrel likes nut. Nut likes squirrel. The twain have met:

Are you ready for the 2010 Census?

Are you ready for the 2010 Census?

Are you sure?

Are you ready for 100 Black Men being in charge of going door-to-door, asking you a lot of personal questions, getting all up in your business? How about Boat People? Hispanic Police Commanders? Baby Boomer Women?!

Because, if Rep. Michele Bachmann is right, that’s what you can expect. According to her, these groups are the recipient of federal money and are in charge of the door-to-door intrusive, highly personal examinations, all in the name of Census 2010.

So, maybe you’re OK with those groups. How about these:

Cambodians, Laotians, and Vietnamese Americans
The NAACP
American Indians
Colored Women
Cuban American Women
The Rainbow Push Coalition
Residential Property Managers
Arab Americans
Japanese Americans
Blinded Veterans
Catholics
Florida A&M University
Phi Beta Sigma
Public Data Users

or (shockers)

Teachers of Mathematics!

These organizations are all official partners of the U.S. Census Bureau in carrying out the 2010 census. Bachmann, however, is particularly concerned with ACORN, an activist community organization that came under scrutiny during the last election for voter fraud. ACORN is also a national partner, one of nearly 300. The latest list of partners can be found here (pdf warn).

According to a Washington Times interview with Bachmann,

"They will be in charge of going door to door and collecting data from the American public," she said. "This is very concerning."

and

"I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home," she said. "We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."

Contrary to Bachmann’s assertions, however, these organizations are not funded by the government for assisting with the census. Their job is voluntary. They are specifically tasked with spreading the word about the census and helping in recruiting some 1.4 million census takers (who will be paid), who will be subjected to criminal background checks. These workers then become temporary employees of the Census Bureau, so the partners are never in charge of anything. And, Bachmann is also wrong about the requirements of the Constitution, but let me refer you to the Pulitzer prize-winning Politifact (here and here) for the best analysis of her claims.

About now, any sane person would be regretting the inanity of their comments and, in politispeak, “walk them back”. Bachmann, on the other hand, just keeps digging deeper and deeper into the stupidity, implicitly suggesting (by explicitly not suggesting) that this new liberal government might do something untoward with all that private information.

If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the census bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations, at the request of President Roosevelt, and that’s how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps. I’m not saying that’s what the Administration is planning to do. But I am saying that private, personal information that was given to the census bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up.

I'm not sure what Michele Bachmann hopes to accomplish with her public fear mongering about the census. I know it's getting a lot of air time with right wing media, but ultimately, her inciting the public to boycott the census can only hurt their districts. Besides, it's against the law. You'd think a lawmaker would know that.

Just one last thing - it'll be a cold day in hell before I let a teacher of mathematics cross my doorway without proof of identity and proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. Written in the margins of a notebook.

And them Public Data Users better watch out, too.

Paleontologists Visit The Creation Museum

When some 70 paleontologists took a break from their conference and dropped in on the Creation Museum, the universe experienced a momentary spike in incredulity. NY Times has part of the story:

The museum welcomed the atypical guests with the typical hospitality. “Praise God, we’re excited to have you here,” said Bonnie Mills, a guest service employee.

Indeed, I'm sure some of the American PhDs must have felt a little ashamed or embarrassed with having their foreign colleagues come face to face with Backwater, USA.

“I’m very curious and fascinated,” Stefan Bengtson, a professor of paleozoology at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, said before the visit, “because we have little of that kind of thing in Sweden.”

Some scientists, though, are also believers. What was their take? Here's Lisa Park's response:

"I think it's very bad science and even worse theology -- and the theology is far more offensive to me," said Park, a professor of paleontology who is an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

"I think there's a lot of focus on fear, and I don't think that's a very Christian message... I find it a malicious manipulation of the public."

...and...

Daryl Domning, professor of anatomy at Howard University, held his chin and shook his head at several points during the tour.

"This bothers me as a scientist and as a Christian, because it's just as much a distortion and misrepresentation of Christianity as it is of science," he said.

Too many people actually believe that the comical presentations of the Creation Museum are fact, so this story is only one of gauging scientists' reactions, which ranged from bemused to appalled. Perhaps it will ignite a spark in the group, letting them know that the fruits of their labor are so easily ignored. Sure, we have traditional museums which try to be entertaining while being educational at the same time and, by comparison, the Creation Museum should be seen as nothing more than a curiosity - like Graceland, or the world's largest ball of twine. But at its heart, the Creation Museum demonizes the scientists, placing them at the root of the world's evils. It is explicit in its words and animatronics that religion cannot coexist with science, because one must surely bring down the other. The paleontologists, after chortling and eye-rolling, should have felt deeply offended because their short tour in the funhouse is insignificant to the hundreds of thousands who have passed through, many of whom agree with the museum's views.

The museum’s presentation appeals to visitors like Steven Leinberger and his wife, Deborah, who came with a group from the Church of the Lutheran Confession in Eau Claire, Wis. “This is what should be taught even in science,” Mr. Leinberger said.