Bay 12 Games Forum

The first part wasn't actually serious, but I think you knew that.

The link I posted earlier probably points to a large part of the problem on both sides since you mention the scientists coming off as 'Internet experts whose thesis is 'you're all idiots'' since it's about presenting it to people outside the usual circles that it would go around in. The article also mentions that sometimes it's the scientist doing the press release writing it badly without meaning to.

So, probably a good place to start would be on the communication end since that's probably where a good deal of the crankification and ivory-towerification is.

Quote from: smjjames on June 12, 2019, 02:15:26 pm

Relevant: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/6/11/18652225/hype-science-press-releases

You know, everyone talks about the public's "faith in science," but nobody ever talks about scientists' faith in the public.

I'm not just saying this to be edgy. The majority of my immediate colleagues openly consider outreach to be a waste of time, particularly in the post-Trump era; if the public wants to believe the Earth is flat and vaccines cause autism and windmills cause cancer, why on (flat) Earth would they listen to us? Even when they're given papers, they just quote-mine them for trivial things with which they can justify disregarding them.

Hasn't it kind of always been this way though? I mean, even in Galileo's time...

 The Church was pretty pro-science at one point wasn't it? Because 'God would want us to learn how the world works' or something like that. Then they started finding things that contradicted God and whatever. Still, even though they've almost completly stopped being anti-science now, theres still a lingering stereotype of being anti-science. I was just sort of spontaneously wondering how it'd help things if The Church (and religion in general) was more pro-science.

They certainly won't like it, that's for sure. Though they'll probably try to avoid getting into direct clashes with the troops, even if just to avoid drawing the attention of them.

Also, the agreement had already been made months before this whole tariff BS, so, it's like, what was the whole tantrum about? Seems like he went and needlessly caused economic uncertianity for no practical reason whatsoever.

Well, given that WH40K takes place in the year 40,000 or thereabouts, it's about 6 to 10 times the length of recorded history, so, theres bound to be a number of dark ages and civilizational collapses. And apparently it takes place at the end of one such 'dark age'?

Quote from: smjjames on June 07, 2019, 12:48:50 am

I thought only the King/Queen could suspend Parliament like that? Though obviously, since the British civil war, it’s probably not solely under the jurdicision of the monarchy anymore.

Technically she suspends it under the advise of her privy council. Really though the PM decides when the current session is finished (not that the Brexit legislation this session was started for is done). It would be a tricky situation as the Queen is meant to be publicly apolitical and this decision would be anything but. The bloke has proven himself pretty clueless (Dover is important?) so perhaps a repeat.

A repeat of what? Anyhow, I suspect that she has faced plenty of politically tricky situations and knows how to deal with them. If it came to it, she'd certainly be dealing with it in a discreet way.

The tariffs have been indefinetly suspended since a deal of some kind has been reached with Mexico, details haven't been revealed yet.

Quote from: Folly on June 07, 2019, 03:51:08 pm

Quote from: Donald Trump

For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon - We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!

Another gem from the man who inherited from his uncle a gut instinct for science.

Obvious wrongness aside, I wonder what he means by "Defense." Is the Space Force going to go fight Martians?

And, you know, how do we go to Mars by way of the Moon without going to the Moon?

Seems to be trying to say that NASA should aim it's sights higher than simply going back to the Moon and that the Moon could be a stepping stone in the path to Mars. Not the first time Trump came off as incoherent.