Now on ScienceBlogs: The Galaxy's Biggest Valentine

ScienceBlogs Book Club: Inside the Outbreaks

Greg Laden's Blog

Evolution, Life Sciences, Science Education, Human Evolution, and Stuff

Hornbill170.jpg Looking for stuff about birds?

Darwing_Face.jpg Learn more about Charles Darwin and his work.

Lion_mane170.jpg Lean more about lions

Congo_sidebar.jpg An archaeological expedition to the Congo


The Skeptical Search Engine


Nature Blog Network
Climate Defense Fund


The contents of Greg Laden's Blog are copyrighted by Greg Laden.

Recent Comments

Search

Profile


Click on "About" for the big picture, and "Archives" for the details.


Recent Posts

Blogroll

If you don't see yourself on my blogroll, just drop me a line and let me know. I'll add you.*
*Assuming that I'm on your blogroll, of course!

Archives

« What is life? New Biology Textbook | Main | Another Gulf Oil Rig Has Exploded »

If reason and science won't work, let's tug the heartstrings

Posted on: September 2, 2010 9:52 AM, by Greg Laden


I lifted this from the fourth in a series on "why we vaccinate" from Elyse the Skepchick's blog. The first one is here.

Share on Facebook
Share on StumbleUpon
Share on Facebook

TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/146133

Comments

1

While this is a strong message, it is one that is problematic: older generations die. If the anti-vax movement had started 10 years from now, this commercial might not be able to be made.

The generations that had to deal with a world without vaccines had life experiences that few in today's world can even fathom. The current generation - myself included, obviously - cannot appreciate the full scope of a world that we don't know.

Posted by: Umlud | September 2, 2010 10:20 AM

2

apologies to Ulmud, but I'm in no mood to criticize this for anything. we're in a fight and we live today. so you do what works today to save children's lives today. We don't live or work in hypothetical situations. If videos of grandmas and babies and soft lighting and music convince moms to do the right thing for their kids, then I support videos of grandmas and babies and soft lighting and music.

I don't think Ulmud is saying we shouldn't use this because it may not be as valuable in 10 years. (Frankly, I'd be willing to debate that point too.) But I'm not about to apologize for the amazing track record of success vaccines have.

Posted by: David Wescott | September 2, 2010 11:02 AM

3

Emotion is not exactly not reason. Facts are what they are, but you do need to know how to weight them to make a reasonable decision. Emotion is a big part of how we assign and measure that weight.

Posted by: Stephanie Z | September 2, 2010 11:11 AM

Post a Comment

(Email is required for authentication purposes only. On some blogs, comments are moderated for spam, so your comment may not appear immediately.)





ScienceBlogs

Search ScienceBlogs:

Go to:

Advertisement
Follow ScienceBlogs on Twitter

© 2006-2011 ScienceBlogs LLC. ScienceBlogs is a registered trademark of ScienceBlogs LLC. All rights reserved.