Skepticism

Skepchick Quickies, 9.17

Jen

Jen is a writer and web designer/developer in Columbus, Ohio. She spends too much time on Twitter at @antiheroine.

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20 Comments

  1. Re: Indian woman convicted by brain scan – Disquieting isn’t the word. Orwellian is more like it.

    The science behind this is not terribly convincing at this point. I think that this technique has a long way to go before it can be confidently used for evidence in a criminal case, if ever. It sounds as if the judge was convinced by Mr. Joseph’s assertions thatn anything else. Since he used to work for the inventor(s) of the equipment in question, I would at least worry about conflict of interest here, not to mention possible fiduciary interest on his part.

    I need to see a lot more evidence that it works before I could even consider it of any value. Just my take on it.

  2. Hang on. The guy was convicted of selling cocaine within 1000 feet of a church? That’s a seperate crime over there? I’m guessing there isn’t a set of these for other locations.
    You are convicted of dealing smack by the river.
    I find you not guilty of possesion with intent to supply…….. behind Argos.

  3. Oooo, I love the tattoo link. It makes me want to go out and get a couple more. 8)

    (I’m a neek too. A A A B B B. That sounds about right, half-geek, half-nerd, the kind of person who’d dress like a Rider of Rohan to go through the Stargate.)

  4. The only reason I can’t confirm whether I am a Neek or not is because on more than one of those questions my response would have been both.

    Silly quizzes anyway :D

  5. @neverclear5: If you deal drugs or are even carrying drugs near a school (it varries by state), the punishment is worse. ‘Course, in most large cities, it’s REALLY difficult to NOT live near a school. So a lot of people will have personal stashes of pot, get caught, and get screwed by the system because they live two blocks from a school.

    It’s just another way to give people harsher sentences than they deserve. And $$.

  6. I way-disagree with the Geek/Nerd article, and here’s why:

    Geeks are people who like nerd things (sci-fi, fantasy, video games, science etc…), but can turn it off….socially.

    Nerds don’t know how to put the nerd-material where it belongs: with others of like mind. Ever try to go out to a bar with a diverse group of friends, and one of them is a nerd? See how well that person functions socially? Pretty embarassing and pitiful, huh?

    This nerd defintion I also expand to sport-jocks. Ever see a hardcore fan prattle of some statistics and history of theri given team/player? Its functionally no different from when a ‘nerd’ (in the conventional sense) waxes on about “a federation impulse drive could certainly not out-maneouver a D’derex-class Romulan vessel in a nebula! Good luck!”, and then followed up with a nasally-laugh (I heard this exact phrase just a few days ago when in a comic-store..which I like to derisively call a ‘nerd store’). What always kills me is that the conventional nerds have always been made fun of the most by sports nerds (at least, I was, before I learned social skills and how to pass a puck, then I was all of a sudden accepted. Thankfully, I couldn’t take their company for very long and I couldn’t care less about sports).

    So in short, Geeks: Nerds that can get along perfectly fine in social circumstances that don’t involve any nerd-material whatsoever. Nerds: Only comfortable discussing whatever nerd-material they know, and are usually terrified of groups of people they don’t know….anti-social, I believe is the term.

    I’ve prattled on about this a lot in the past, being a recovering nerd, myself.

  7. And on the Priest selling cocaine: I think it’s awfully awfully pathetic that we’ll arrest a priest for selling drugs, but when he molests little boys, we allow the church to police its own, which almost always amounts to simply moving that priest to another diocese.

  8. I dislike the terms, “geek” and “nerd.”

    Whenever I heard the word nerd, I just want to say, “well I’m sorry that I’m interested in how the universe works. I didn’t mean to disturb your ignorance.”

    As far as “geek” stuff goes, such as D&D and whatnot, in my experience, almost everyone enjoys it, it’s just social stigma that prevents them from expressing it.

    The words could be de-insultified (just made that up) if we used them with pride, but I have a hard time doing so. Maybe it’s because it creates an us/them dichotomy, and really everyone’s a nerd/geek, if you can find a way to get through to them. Maybe it’s just because I’m offended by people stigmatizing (did I just make up another word?) my curiosity.

    I was watching TV with someone, and I flipped to ST:TNG. At the end they said, “wow, that was actually pretty good.” Ya, it is, and if wasn’t for the “geek/nerd” bullshit, they probably would have realized that a long time ago.

    Oh, and 2/4, nerd.

  9. Oh, it can’t be accurate. One of the questions was whether you wanted a tricorder or a magic wand. Apparently the writer has never heard of a “cellular telephone.”

  10. Erk, damn. Well that’s a fauz pas that won’t go over well. I mistook tricorder for their communicator. Do I get half credit for catching my own mistake?

  11. That quiz was ridiculous it was far too short and I don’t think they had a very good definition going. I think that the author was just using his definition to apply to everyone, like hitler. I forget what I got but I generally think of myself as a Geek, and I do so with pride. I have the Serotonin molecule on my left arm. You can check it out here: http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30360342&op=2&o=global&view=global&subj=601607195&id=73701379

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