Comments on: Ia Ia Xenu Fhtagn! (Poor Little Clams Edition)

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:19:08 +0000

Those two crazy Xenu-lovers Matt Stone and Trey Parker are going to be in Amsterdam August 23-26:
http://www.reason.org/events/
I think I might go. More placebos are legal there.

By: Olly

Olly — Fri, 12 May 2006 05:21:24 +0000

“Placebo”, “oxymoron”, and… keep your eyes open for others.

By: Timothy

Timothy — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:09:31 +0000

I’m surprised we haven’t gotten a scientology troll like on the last one of these, frankly.

And, Stees, if you mean to imply it’s natural that humans search for meaning in a random universe, sure, we super apes seem to be hard-wired for that. But, unless you’re some sort of Calvinist, humans get to pick how they ascribe meaning to the world. Some ways are, frankly, patently stupid. To name three patently stupid beliefs off the top of my head: That communism could ever work, Scientology, and Intelligent Design. There are a lot more out there, those were just the ones that came to me. I’ll toss in the belief that we were all better off living in caves, or that herbs are perfectly fine substitutes for actual medical practice, too.

By: Olly

Olly — Tue, 09 May 2006 07:37:54 +0000

Ah, a relativist.

By: Stees

Stees — Tue, 09 May 2006 07:18:46 +0000

If everything is natural, and assuming that techology — the rock and twig analogy — and evolution of thought are included in this “natural” unfolding, wouldn’t the devlopment of scientology–a theory as much as Christian creationism or OC not-so-much libertarianism be so, too? making your argument futile?

By: Tyler

Tyler — Tue, 09 May 2006 02:11:11 +0000

Good catch. I totally missed that, Olly.

By: Olly

Olly — Tue, 09 May 2006 01:14:27 +0000

“Is it possible that this generation has become dependent upon the industry of produced medicine, and that the placebo effect of natural remedies (such as warm milk for the insomniac) is no longer effective?”

Hee! That’s wonderful. Ailee Slater doesn’t know what the word “placebo” means.

By: Anonymous Xenu Lover

Anonymous Xenu Lover — Mon, 08 May 2006 22:29:47 +0000

HAIL XENU

By: Timothy

Timothy — Mon, 08 May 2006 21:24:54 +0000

I actually think the key to that statement is “relatively”. Relative to what? Cave men? I mean, you want a 46 year lifespan, go live in Haiti, where you can probably actually approximate a 1900 standard of living very cheaply.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 08 May 2006 21:13:07 +0000

“…considering the fact that earlier generations managed to stay relatively healthy despite the lack of a pharmaceutical industry.”

Never let the “facts” get in the way of a rant. Guess the ODE hasn’t changed 10 years after I left.

By: Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 08 May 2006 21:10:59 +0000

At a certain point, the brain begins to atrophy and eventually dies. What we are witnessing is clearly the first stage of dementia.

Timbo: Overpopulation is kinda scary? Define “overpopulation”, and try not to quote Paul Ehrlich. Most experts who worry about “overpopulation” offer nothing but gloomy false statistics and paternalistic claptrap.

By: Timothy

Timothy — Mon, 08 May 2006 19:15:36 +0000

Fixed

By: bryan

bryan — Mon, 08 May 2006 18:50:49 +0000

malevolent space-empErOr

By: Timothy

Timothy — Mon, 08 May 2006 17:52:03 +0000

I’d rather have cancer than die 30 years sooner, cancer is largely (if unpleasantly) treatable these days. Plus, even with a lifespan of 77.7 years, you can still off yourself at 46 if you want.

By: Timbo

Timbo — Mon, 08 May 2006 17:43:09 +0000

“can somebody explain to me why a life expectancy of 46.9 is preferable to one of 77.7?”

Less chance of cancer?
Less time spent doddering?

Those are on an individual level, and obviously not very compelling arguments in favor of shorter lifespans. On a collective level, overpopulation is kinda scary. However, I see a general downward trend in the reproductive urge in ‘advanced’ societies to compensate for longer lifespans.