Pointless polls
pharyngula | July 24, 2012There is an extremely common sort of experiment to understand plasticity of the developing brain. These are important experiments to understand an important phenomenon: the brain does not simply unfold ineluctably to produce a fully functional organ, but actually interacts constantly with its environment to build a functioning organ that is matched to the world it must model and work with. This was one of the very first things I learned as a budding neuroscientist; my first undergraduate research experience was in the lab of Jenny Lund at the University of Washington, where we were given…
pharyngula | February 28, 2012Apparently, someone decided 27 February-4 March is Acupuncture Awareness Week. I'm happy to help out.
You should be aware that acupuncture is total bollocks.
There. Is that enough? No, it is not. We must also crash a stupid online poll. Devastate it, please. It's on a site run by dishonest quacks, so I think we have the potential to smash their poll so thoroughly that either they a) shut it down in embarrassment, or b) start faking the numbers.
Do you think acupuncture should be made more widely available on the NHS?
Yes 79.3%
No 20.7%
Somebody tell me why they have a gigantic picture of a…
pharyngula | October 5, 2011I saw the movie Contagion last night — it's good, but chilling. You are at the mercy of viruses that are evolving far faster than we are, and our lives depend on the luck of our genetics, the random permutations of recombination in pathogens, a bit on our efforts in hygiene and social practices, and a great deal on science supplementing our immune systems. We're one strong pandemic away from a breakdown of the social order, and we rely on science and vaccinations to help protect this tasty giant petri dish of human meat we call planet Earth.
So I'm not too sympathetic when the Edmonton Sun…
pharyngula | August 30, 2011We saved their butts in WWII*, now it's time for everyone to save them from this foolish poll.
Should homeopathic treatments be available on the National Health Service?
59.1% Yes
40.9% No
*It's more complicated than that, I know, but it's always good to pander to the American ego.
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | July 23, 2011Isn't he clever?
Do you think Congress should repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)?
YES - The definition of marriage should be expanded to include same-sex couples. 434 votes
NO - Traditional marriage is a sacred institution & cornerstone of our society. 284 votes
Let's make him regret it.
pharyngula | July 22, 2011Answers in Genesis has done something really stupid (I know, that's no surprise). The Creation "Museum" has some new exhibit, and they're trying to come up with a name for it.
With a poll.
And here's the best thing: it's on facebook, and it's a poll in which you can suggest names. It's up over 30 suggestions now, and most of them are making fun of the thing. Go ahead and add your own ideas, but vote for a good one, too: so far, "From Ignorance to Stupidity…a Journey" is leading in the mocking names, so I suggest we all throw our votes behind that one.
pharyngula | July 22, 2011Go give them something to talk about.
Do you believe in God?
Hell yeah!
73.65 %
No! What a farce.
18.00 %
Just cuz I'm afraid not to.
8.35 %
pharyngula | July 21, 2011Atheists are planning to run bus ads in Spokane that say, "Are you good without God? Millions are." I know, about as mild and inoffensive as they come…but still, local media are running polls to find out if people will be offended.
Would an Atheist Billboard Campaign on the sides of STA Buses Offend You?
It would offend me
16%
It would not offend me 84%
I'm not very sportsmanlike. I'm happy to run the scoreboard.
pharyngula | June 29, 2011Georgia is fishing for a new license plate design, and of course the god-botherers want to proclaim their piety on their cars. Vote fast, it expires today, apparently.
Should the words "In God We Trust" be included in the new Georgia license plate design?
Yes 77%
No 21%
Undecided 2%
pharyngula | June 26, 2011You know who is really unhappy about NY's gay marriage law? "Religious leaders", of course.
Religious leaders slammed the state's new gay marriage law on Saturday, vowing to ban politicians who supported the measure from any Catholic church and parochial school events.
The city's top Catholic clergy released strongly worded statements in the hours after the state Senate voted 33-29 to legalize gay unions.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, of the diocese of Brooklyn, called on all Catholic schools to reject any honor bestowed upon them by Gov. Cuomo, who played a pivotal role in getting the bill…
pharyngula | June 23, 2011
University College Cork is hosting a small academic event featuring the work of Chicano artists, which includes an art exhibition that includes irreverent images of the Virgin Mary, with titles like "Our Lady and Other Queer Santas". Apparently, this image has stirred up fury and threats from deranged Catholics everywhere it goes — but then, it really doesn't take much to set off mindless fanatics.
Irish Catholic bloggers are outraged and calling for it to be taken down — you aren't allowed to denigrate beliefs, they claim, never mind that yes, you are, and that there isn't anything…
pharyngula | June 22, 2011Athletics are a fine part of the college tradition — students come to our universities, and some of them want to participate in sports, others like to watch, and others like to enjoy a non-academic social event. I think some support for our students' extracurricular interests is a good idea. What I detest, though, is the overpaid coaches and the tendency to set the small group of college athletes apart as something special, deserving of special consideration. Even at my small university, there is a constellation of special programs to serve the college athletes, and it gets rather annoying…
pharyngula | May 29, 2011It's become standard in the US for polling places (real polling places, not the online kind) to hand out little "I voted" stickers after you've made your contribution. This is a totally meaningless act; the stickers aren't used to actually track who has voted or not, they're just there to make you feel good and allow you to display to everyone you meet that you've done your civic duty.
Unfortunately, when the bureaucracy gets their hands on this trivial little detail, they can't leave it alone. It's got to be made more elaborate; it's got to become an ideological statement. So the state of…
pharyngula | May 28, 2011You know that shark fin soup you get in Chinese restaurants? Fishermen catch shark indiscriminately, lop off their fins, and throw the poor bleeding mangled beasts back in the sea to die. There is a move afoot to ban the practice, what do you think?
Are you in favor of the shark fin ban?
Yes 37%
No 63%
pharyngula | May 19, 2011After the scandal of an atheist pointing out the illegality of forced public prayer, the Bastrop Open Enterprise has put up a poll. And what a poll! I had to stare at it for a while to try and figure out what they're asking, and I think they're actually polling on the logical and grammatical skills of journalists at their newspaper, because it makes no sense.
How do you feel about a student at Bastrop High School stating they were an atheist and pledging to contact the American Civil Liberties Union if a Christian prayer were offered at the school's graduation on May 19?
I agree. Nothing…
pharyngula | May 16, 2011You've probably already heard the latest blunt comment from Stephen Hawking:
I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.
I like it. Very clear.
Now a newspaper wants to know what you think.
Do you think heaven exists?
Yes
30%
No
70%
I think we can improve those numbers.
pharyngula | May 13, 2011Awww, my presence in Philadelphia today is acknowledged in Faye Flam's blog with a poll. I'm sure you'll all be able to give the correct answer to this one.
What is a pharyngula?
The structure in the back of your throat that hangs between your tonsils.
A retractable "penis bone" that supports erections in cats, dogs, hedgehogs and chimpanzees but not humans.
The language spoken by the aliens that Scientologists believe started life on Earth.
An advanced Kama Sutra position that requires partners to put both feet behind their heads.
A tiny parasitic catfish that lives in the Amazon and…
pharyngula | May 13, 2011I knew it would come to this. There's been long-running contention over the government-sponsored chaplaincy programs in Australia — those crazy mad independent godless Aussies actually pay good money to have these goofy Christian wankers sit in their public schools and provide…heck, I don't know what. But now it has suddenly and justifiable led to public outrage because the chief executive for one of the cults that provides chaplains has openly stated that Christians from other countries envy the access their proselytizers have to public school kids, and has bragged about converting kids.
In…
pharyngula | April 27, 2011Well, it is, but I don't recommend voting on it. It's on WingNutDaily, and the only way to vote is to register with them…which is not recommended. Them folks is craaaaazy! They were asked their opinion of Obama's birth certificate.
Sound off on Obama's release of his purported long-form birth certificate
The most compelling eligibility arguments deal with parental citizenship, and this document shows Obama's father was not a U.S. citizen, making Obama ineligible40% (93)
Now that Obama is so willing to be open, let's hear him explain why he has a Connecticut-based Social Security Number when…
pharyngula | April 27, 2011No more, no more, please. We're already taking off our shoes, getting our junk scanned, waiting in line, dangling our goo in plastic bags, and basically suffering through ludicrous post hoc measures that do nothing to improve our security. And now the TSA is dispatching 'behavioral experts' to watch you as you stand in line. Don't look nervous, don't act annoyed, don't do anything that these arbitrary arbiters of the appropriate might notice!
Do you think behavioral specialists are a good idea?
Yes, it's an extra layer of security. 49.5%
No, it's completely ludicrous. 50.5%