Home
David Corking's Library tagged → View Popular
testimonial evidence (anecdotes) - the skeptics dictionary
concise and clear
-
For example, a physician will take anecdotal evidence from a patient about a reaction to a new medication and use that information in deciding to adjust the prescribed dosage or to change the medication. This is quite reasonable. But the physician cannot be selective in listening to testimony, listening only to those claims that fit his or her own prejudices. To do so is to risk harming one’s patients.
-
For example, a physician will take anecdotal
evidence from a patient about a reaction to a new medication and use that
information in deciding to adjust the prescribed dosage or to change the
medication. This is quite reasonable. But the physician cannot be selective
in listening to testimony, listening only to those claims that fit his or
her own prejudices.
Schneier on Security: Zero-Tolerance Policies
a system, not a headline
-
It's the combination of the four that work: rules plus discretion plus appeal plus audit.
-
Zero-tolerance simply means that the discretion of authorities becomes UNAPPEALABLE. Once they've decided to start the turning of the wheel, there is no process to stop it, or to punish the authority for poor use of discretion -- since, nominally, no discretion exists.
It's the exact reverse of what is aimed for -- a blind justice system that is automatic and equitable. By removing discretion, you give authorities infinite discretion.
- 2 more annotations...
Sense About Science | BCA v Singh The Story So Far 3 June 2009
update
-
my conclusion remains that there is a lack of evidence supporting the use of chiropractic for treating various childhood conditions.
-
Add Sticky NotePossible improvements would be rapid enforced mediation or a "libel small claims court model", as either approach would reduce the disproportionate cost of libel cases compared to the potential damages.
- Singh proposes simple reforms - about 15 hours ago
Sense About Science | The law has no place in scientific disputes
The law should not punish scientific or journalistic scrutiny. Parliament should tighten up this law to punish only malicious attacks on natural persons. We also need to cut the cost of access to the law, and punish vexatious prosecution.
-
English libel law, though, can serve to punish this kind of scrutiny
England’s libel laws don’t just gag me, they blindfold you | Simon Singh - Times Online
Do England and Wales really have drastically less free speech and public information about science than other Western countries? It sounds like it.
-
Even if a
blogger is 90% confident of victory, there is still a 10% chance of failure,
which is why bloggers often back down, withdraw and apologise for material
they believe is true, fair and important to the public. -
My reason for not backing down
is that I believe my article is accurate, important and a matter of public
interest, as it relates to the use of chiropractic in treating various
childhood conditions, such as asthma and ear infections - 2 more annotations...
Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA | Electronic Frontier Foundation | Nov 3 2009
Looks like this secret deal will curtail the human right to a fair trial in many industrialised countries.
I don't condone unlawful copying, but cutting citizens off from digital democracy for an alleged infringement by a family member or neighbour is far worse.
Debatewise - where great minds differ
An online collaborative debate community, overseen by a London-based CIC
Wave developers needed for an open-source project : wave | Nov 2009
This seems exciting - though an incredibly tight rapid-application-development timeline
-
The wiki, collaboration elements, translation tools and extensibility are exactly what we need. I went to the London GTUG last week and told Step Hannon, Wave’s product manager, exactly that. She liked the idea and amazingly agreed to give us 1,000 invites for our panel.
Are Software Patents Evil? - paul graham - 2007 : reddit.com
-
the costs for filing lawsuits are too high and don't get to a result anyway. So he has to be more innovative, has to have the better product, higher quality, better support, etc. That protects him far better than any patent could.
And the same applies to the software industry. Make your product, your service better than the competition, even if they try to copy you. Has Michael Dell patented "Direct Sales" ? Why should he ? And he is still the market leader, although everyone is free to copy him
PCG expresses concern at new guidance issued by HMRC | Oct 2009
Lets hope for some rapid backtracking.
Band shirts hit wrong note with parents |Sedalia Democrat|2009
Ugly dispute. The T shirt wasn't religious. Knee-jerk reaction to overzealous parents.
-
Parent Alena Hoeffling said she is infuriated with administration’s decision to pull the attire.
“Whatever happened to the separation of church and state,” she said.
Hoeffling said she is both a scientific person and a practicing Catholic and enjoyed the “play on words.”
The Gay Animal Kingdom § SEEDMAGAZINE.COM 2006 Jonah Lehrer
Interesting - for laymen like me
-
The more socially complex the animal, the more sexual “deviance” it exhibits. Look at primates: Compared to our closest relatives, contemporary, Westernized Homo sapiens are the staid ones.
-
In Roughgarden’s Science paper, she uses “cooperative game theory” to elucidate the diverse mating habits of the oystercatcher. Whereas Darwin held that conflict was the natural state of life (we are all Hobbesian bullies at heart), Roughgarden sees cooperation as our default position.
- 2 more annotations...
The African Executive | Africa Can Feed Itself! | October 2009
Talking up a lower cost irrigation technique
-
Add Sticky Note
The human powered pressure irrigation pump for example, is widely distributed, marketed and sold in
Smallholder farmers themselves make the decision to invest in them. No government or NGO funds are needed. The farmers themselves have gone on to reap the benefits an
- Can smallholder credit unions help farmers invest in these? How useful is the equipment? - on 2009-10-30
Want 50Mbps Internet in your town? Threaten to roll out your own - Ars Technica
"Many times, incumbent providers simply file lawsuits while keeping speeds the same.
If your town is really unlucky, the incumbent will just head right to the state legislature, seeking to pass laws constraining the practice."
Maybe we should try this more in the UK.
Why the £70,000 'good salary' doesn't really amount to much | The Observer
:(
-
When I looked into the (admittedly ambiguous) legal situation, I'm still tied to the assured shorthold contract and would be liable for outstanding rent if I moved out. However, if he is repossessed, the contract counts for nothing and I can be out in weeks.
It's situations like this that mean renting is a rubbish thing in Britain
In Industry First, Voting Machine Company to Publish Source Code | Threat Level | Wired.com | Oct 2009
Interesting. I prefer marking x's on paper :)
-
She said the firmware on the company’s new Frontier optical-scan machines is written in C# programming language and runs on Linux.
Royal Mail - Service Summary for all customers - Saturday 24th October Communication Workers Union national industrial action
-
Add Sticky NoteWe are really sorry for the significant disruption and inconvenience national industrial action being taken by the CWU is having on customers and for the uncertainty further announcements of industrial action will cause.
- Thankfully talks did start again yesterday, and my criticisms are not entirely deserved. - on 2009-10-27
- If they are really sorry, or in any way regret the disruption to customers, then they would enter into unconditional mediation. Perhaps Royal Mail managers think it will be better for their careers to win a fight rather than save the postal service. - on 2009-10-26
When Members Run Afoul of the Park Slope Food Coop - NYTimes.com
A different kind of debt trap.
-
One recent morning, I went to the co-op office to check my status. A fellow member-worker pulled my file: a collection of index cards that highlighted every job and misstep since my initiation into the club. Next to me, an elderly woman was being grilled: “Did you tell your squad leader that you had a medical emergency?”
Painted 'zebras' delight Gaza kids - Times LIVE
Keeping up morale.
-
A genuine zebra would have been too expensive to bring into Israel-blockaded Gaza via smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt,
Selected Tags
Related Tags
Sponsored Links
Top Contributors
Groups interested in culture
-
russia
Russia, Century 21
Items: 9 | Visits: 107
Created by: anatoly antohin
-
Race, Culture, and Politics in the "New South"
These resources address iss...
Items: 11 | Visits: 318
Created by: David Voelker
-
Latin American anthropology
Collection of resources rel...
Items: 27 | Visits: 128
Created by: Adam Bohannon
Highlighter, Sticky notes, Tagging, Groups and Network: integrated suite dramatically boosting research productivity. Learn more »
Join Diigo