An equally entertaining news item is this Ted Talk which highlights divinatinatory practices among academics.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/31/nye.rise.china.fears/index.html?hpt=C2 I wonder if he prefers the tarot card or the crystal ball? --Mike On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 8:17 AM, Mike Palij <m...@nyu.edu> wrote: > This year U.S. politics appears to be a little sillier, a little more > vicious, and, well, just plain stupider than other elections in the > past (then again, I may be repressing memories of more ridiculous > elections). One example of this sad state of affairs is given to us > by the good citizens of Denver, Colorado who want to set up a > commission for aliens. The Wall Street Journal had an article > on this yesterday; quoting from the WSJ: > > |Ballot Initiative 300 would require the city to set up an Extraterrestrial > |Affairs Commission, stocked with Ph.D. scientists, to "ensure the health, > |safety and cultural awareness of Denver residents" when it comes to > |future contact "with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles." > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303341904575576192201885522.html > > Perhaps the saddest part is the following: > > |He and several other volunteers spent a recent afternoon hanging > |flying-saucer posters on a college campus in Denver. More than > |a few students brushed past with bemused looks. But those voters > |who stopped to talk seemed taken by the concept, especially when > |they learned that the ET commission would be financed by donations, > |not tax dollars. > | > |"I don't really believe in extraterrestrial life, but if we set something > |up like that, we'd be prepared for anything," said Brandon Coby, 23 years > |old, a biology major at the University of Colorado. "You can't go wrong > |with it." > > You don't know how happy I am that it was biology major and not a > psychology major who was interviewed (though it is possible that this > person has a promising career in neuroscience ;-). > > The article ends with: > |The intergalactic-ectoplasmic smackdown ends Tuesday. No polling > |has been done on the initiative. But a 2005 Gallup poll found one in four > |Americans believes extraterrestrials have visited Earth. One in three > |believes in ghosts. > > And if you think that the WSJ just represents the "effete, elitist, east coast > intelligentsia" (which would be ironic given that it is now a Murdoch rag) > here > is a link to the Denver Post newspaper that covered the issue: > http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_16471380 > Quoting: > |Remember, city voters once approved impounding the vehicles of illegal > |immigrants; we might as well prepare to impound the UFOs of these illegal > |aliens, too. > > Apropos Halloween: be afraid, be very afraid. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > m...@nyu.edu > > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: tipsl...@gmail.com. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f4720fb&n=T&l=tips&o=6110 > or send a blank email to > leave-6110-13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f472...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6130 or send a blank email to leave-6130-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
