[Hat Tip: Pharyngula]
De mortuis nil nisi bonum is a Latin phrase which indicates that it is socially inappropriate to say anything negative about a (recently) deceased person. Sometimes shortened to nil nisi bonum, the phrase derives from the sentence "de mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est" and is variously translated as "Speak no ill of the dead", "Of the dead, speak no evil", "Do not/ Don't speak ill of the dead" or, strictly literally, "Of the dead, nothing unless good".There are times when social conventions need to be violated. This is one of those times.
[Hat Tip: Why Evolution Is True]
First, Larry points out that arguments about the existence of God require one to take a position on fairies. One can only be agnostic about gods to the extent one is agnostic about fairies. My previous argument that this is comparing unlikes has, in one fell swoop, been demolished! Of course, there must be other reasons for thinking that we can rule fairies out of contention (let us call them faeries to avoid confusion) which do exist but are undetectable. It cannot be the principle that “if it is unscientific it is irrational” for that would be the positivist presumption and that would be unscientific. I know I am wrong about positivism here, because Dan Hicks pointed out that some positivists weren’t positivists about everything. So positivism is never self-defeating, even when the positivist presumption is applied by some to everything.
Larry must have other reasons for showing that faeries do not exist – other than being uninterested in what some people claim; this, as Larry must appreciate, is not about what I the reasoner think is true, but about what others who make these claims must be called. I look forward to him enlightening me on this.
atheist: a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings [dictionary.com]The first definition defines an atheist as someone who maintains that gods do not exist. The second defines an atheist as someone who is not a theist.
atheist: a person who does not believe in the existence of God or gods [Oxford Dictionaries]
Effective population size is "the number of breeding individuals in an idealized population that would show the same amount of dispersion of allele frequencies under random genetic drift or the same amount of inbreeding as the population under consideration."The effective population size is always less than the actual population (Ne < N). Sometimes it's a lot less. In most vertebrates, for example, the long-term effective population size is calculated to be about 10,000.
1. The reason we focus on nobility isn't because they are more important, genealogically, than the 8,000 other soldiers at the battle. It's because we don't have any records of those other potential ancestors.
2. This doesn't mean that all of the alleles in the other 20 individuals were lost because many of them could have been passed down from siblings, aunts, uncles etc.
Let me be quite clear on this: I do not think there is evidence for a God, as an agnostic. And I certainly think there is evidence against many stories and characterisations of gods. But, and this seems to be the point that strong “skeptics” like Hecht cannot get into their heads, not all. So long as there is a formal possibility that some gods might exist, and no general evidence against it, the rational thing to do is hold off judgement on the (empirically permissible) claims. So Thor doesn’t exist, but Leibniz’s deity might.Like me, John, doesn't believe in gods—he is not a theist. But he is not an a-theist in spite of the fact that if you followed him around for several days you could not distinguish his bevavior from that of any other non-believer.
Gobind was so excited that he was going to start a lab of his own. He looked at the map of Canada, saw where Vancouver was for the first time, and off he went ...In 1960 he moved to the University of Wisconsin, Madison (United States) and in 1970 he moved again, this time to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston (United States). Gobind Khorana died in Concord, Massachusetts on Wednesday, November 9, 2011.
Be amazed by some of the hilarious adventures Charlotte has had while talking with animals. Explore through meditation techniques how the language of light will infuse a deeper connection and understanding with your companions. Together, elevate your healing abilities, overcome communication breakdown, and open your heart to infinite possibilities. Charlotte is the producer/host of the radio show “Goddess Alchemy: Divine Magic,” and a spokesperson for the HBSPCA. [I once tried talking to a cat. -LAM]
In the northern forests of Canada are found powerful medicines of nature which everyone can use for better health. Research shows that wild chaga mushroom helps reverse arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, prostate disorders, and more. Wild green extracts are ideal for cleansing the liver, gallbladder and skin. Birch bark reduces obesity and high cholesterol. Wild berries help reverse circulatory disorders, eye diseases, varicose veins, and cancer. Find out how to use wild forest cures to stay healthy forever. [Eat a canoe and live forever. -LAM]
Explore the functioning of the human body as a transmitter and receiver of electromagnetic frequencies. Hear why EMF protection and structured water, free of negative energy patterns (from toxins), are vital. Learn about health benefits of water purification and EMF protection that functions using only natural laws. Sample structured water that is rich in bio-photonic energy, endorsed by scientists Dr. Fritz Albert Popp and Dr. Konstantin Korotkov. Sample an Earthcalm Nova Scalar Resonator and feel the difference as you ground to frequencies of the planet’s Schumman Resonance and your body dissipates out stress-inducing electrical currents. [So this is what they mean when they say you're "in tune" with the Earth? -LAM]
In this lecture you will learn how to reduce stress using crystals. How to increase your energy flow. How balancing your chakras and aura with crystals can help you keep healthy and happy. Lilly Rahmann is author of “Crystals Healing” and has been teaching and lecturing on crystal healing for many years. She is very passionate about her work on self healing. [Putting salt on my poutine does wonders for my aura. -LAM]
Water ionizers have been used in Asia for over 30 years and are certified in Japan and South Korea as an approved medical device. Ionizers produce both alkaline and acidic water that provide numerous health benefits. Drinking alkaline ionized water daily improves hydration, restores pH balance and slows down the aging of our cells. Find out how the quality and quantity of water we drink can have an impact on our overall health and wellness. [This could put homeopathy out of business. -LAM]
This talk addresses an awareness of health and healing that is of utmost importance if you are seeking a vibrant and meaningful life. The speakers will discuss healing in its most subtle dimension, as it applies to all levels of your being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. They will show you how to have unique and profoundly personal experiences of divine presence and guidance through the practice of simple visualization exercises. These techniques are for people of all faiths, and can be used by anyone seeking a more conscious awareness of the healing potential that comes from recognizing the role of divine spirit in their lives.[I guess you're screwed if you're an atheist. -LAM]
Since 1998, when the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded for Redox Signalling, it has become a hot research topic worldwide, second only to stem cell research. With it is realized a new category of cellular communications that promises to make major improvements in health and wellness. A patented product, ASEA, has succeeded in stablizing the body’s native produced Redox Signalling molecules, which are able to replenish those criticial molecules in your cells to restore youthful healing. [Nobel Prize in Medicine 1998 -LAM]
How do you cope with the invasion of wireless technologies when dealing with officials, suppliers, school boards, and even your neighbours when confronted with trespasses against you, and the lack of choice. New international government and judiciary interventionss are now on your side, and you can use their support to improve your health. [Do they know that there's WiFi at the Convention Centre? -LAM]
WHY RUSSIANS ARE BUILDING A PYRAMIDAL COMPLEX IN SIBERIA: In the last 15 years there has been an organized effort in Russia to study ancient technologies from around the globe, especially in Egypt. Studies conducted by top scientists from Russian academia, headed by Mr. Uvarov have made amazing findings. Come and find out why pyramids are being built, how the energy of pyramids and Wands of Horus influence the immune system; how pyramids are antennas and amplifiers of “life force” – energy bands that are beneficial for humans; how the pyramid’s energy field corrects/purifies all materials nearby, especially water; and what will happen in 2012. Mr. Uvarov has published two books about pyramids and the Wands of Horus. [I remember the Wands of Horus ... it's from Zork, right? -LAM]
Would you like to be in perfect balance, physically, mentally, and spiritually? Join Paul MacDonald, preeminent Biontologist in North America, and learn how that balance can be achieved. Every living cell in the body emits biophotonic light. Paul will describe how chaotic light impulses indicate disturbance in the body, and how that light can be neutralized to successfully treat depression, heart disease, migraines, and other symptoms that incoherent light presents. You will also learn how to become a biontologist and set up your own practice. [Does your biophotonic light keep your partner awake at night? -LAM]I'm tempted to say that you "just can't make this stuff up" but then I realized that's exactly what these quacks are doing! I can see why they they're afraid of skeptics. I wonder if any genuine newspaper reporters will cover this?
Last summer, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons published a draft proposal on Non-Allopathic (Non-Conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice. It was horrible. As I noted at the time, "The document is flawed from the beginning because it gives credence and respectability to "alternative medicine," otherwise known as non-evidence based medicine or quackery" [Non-Allopathic (Non-Conventional) Therapies in Medical Practice]. 
Patients walk into allergist Dr. David Fischer’s office almost every day expressing interest in trying “natural” therapies. These range from harmless diet changes to the truly bizarre, like applied kinesiology, says the Barrie physician. It’s an experience shared by other doctors. “We’re on the front line of dealing with ideas for which there is often a dearth of scientific evidence.”
Alternative medicine is booming even without much proof it works. A record 20,000 people are expected at Toronto’s Whole Life Expo at the downtown convention centre next weekend. Three-quarters of Canadians regularly use some form of natural health product, opening their wallets to spend at least $4.3 billion yearly. And the herbs and homeopathic tinctures they buy are just one facet of unconventional medicine — a thriving sector encompassing everything from acupuncture to zone therapy (supposedly stimulating the body’s organs through hand or foot massage).
Ontario’s College of Physicians and Surgeons is bending to the trend with a new policy inhibiting doctors’ criticism of unconventional therapies. In doing so it risks encouraging even broader use of dubious and potentially harmful treatments.
Make no mistake — blind trust in alternative cures can be dangerous. An unknown number of Canadians are opting out of science-based medicine to treat even deadly conditions, like cancer, with unproven “natural” approaches.
....
The field of allergy medicine, Fischer’s specialty, is especially prone to alternative approaches. Natural practitioners using applied kinesiology, for example, check for allergy by placing a food item in a patient’s mouth or in their hand. Then they pull down on the person’s free arm to assess its strength. If this “muscle testing” shows notable weakness, the patient is deemed to be allergic.
There is no good evidence that this method works, and no sound scientific reason why it should. Yet patients come in with an interest in that, says Fischer. “I’d like to be able to tell them it’s quackery.”
He may not be in a position to say so much longer under a new policy proposed by the college of physicians and surgeons. It states that doctors are obliged to give a patient their best professional opinion on an alternative treatment goal or decision, but physicians “must refrain from expressing personal, non-clinical judgments.”
....
There’s no denying alternative medicine is immensely popular. Patients are more independent than ever before, often researching their illness and trusting their own solutions. And a host of unconventional “natural” healers has risen capitalizing on that trust — offering unproven therapies with little validity and which, in some cases, are a menace.
The college shouldn’t seek to accommodate that trend or retreat to a neutral corner. Rather it should leave doctors free to punch hard against those peddling dubious cures and to challenge people’s comforting, but irrational, beliefs. Science-based medicine serves patients best. If doctors can’t vigorously defend it, who will?
1. I'm a member of CASS but I had nothing to do with this campaign.
I completely forgot about Sandwalk's blogiversary. It's a biggie!
1. He has a blog as well.
