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Darwin Day is a celebration of Charles Darwin's birthday, the theory of evolution and science in general. This year marks his 210th birthday and 160 years since the publication of The Origin of Species. Those looking to celebrate or learn more about Darwin and evolution will find a wealth of events going on, or if you'd rather not leave the house, try a Darwin Day card with designs generated by simulated evolution.
Recently, an important finding in man's evolution was announced; the so-called Missing Link was confirmed. Australopithecus Sediba fossils were found in 2010 but it took a decade of research and debate for scientists to confirm that this was indeed the missing link that connects man's evolution in an unbroken chain back to primate ancestors.
Not everyone is down with Darwin. The Pew Research Center reports, "In spite of the fact that evolutionary theory is accepted by all but a small number of scientists, it continues to be rejected by many Americans. In fact, about one-in-five U.S. adults reject the basic idea that life on Earth has evolved at all." In Indiana, senator Dennis Kruse introduced a bill that would, among other things, "require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life, including creation science."
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @06:40PM (13 children)
In a democracy you need enlightened voters or you end up with Trump. Even in just capitalism you should have perfectly informed participants for the system to work as intended.
So that.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 12 2019, @05:43AM (7 children)
And enlightened means brainwashed until they believe the same things as you? Would you prefer to use electroshock or more traditional forms of torture until they break? Remove the jackboots and take three steps back, please.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @12:33PM (6 children)
I think simple education and facts would be the best weapon to fight these insidious morons with. But they are not only ignorant but also evil, hence their requirement for the "creation science".
I personally find it incredibly sad to find religious people even in a place like the fucking USA where people theoretically have great access to the latest information. You can't ridicule some poor say Afghan religious bastard compared to a similar yank because they never stood a chance.
Still in 2019 the darkness is great. And as ever it consist of ignorance and malice.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:49PM (5 children)
Hearing words you disagree with is not evil unless you're so much of a sheep that you have no ability to think for yourself. Suppressing the words of others is.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @08:23PM (1 child)
So "stone all gays" is not evil? Advocating "stone all gays" is just, like, an opinion and totally shouldn't be called evil? Or do you mean we shouldn't infringe on someone's freedom to SAY evil shit, just if they DO evil shit? Is there some reason we can not call evil shit evil?
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday February 14 2019, @11:51AM
Strawman much? There's a massive difference between disagreeing with someone and calling for violence and even your dumb ass knows it.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @11:57PM (2 children)
You think the general population is not lemmings and sheeple? How ... noble. However the facts are not on your side.
Why should we let people spread hate and madness? No reason. There is no need to tolerate intolerance.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday February 13 2019, @03:02AM
Careful there, most of the "thinkers" on this site are going to tell you that last sentence is a contradiction. They don't seem to have the cognitive tools necessary to grasp that tolerating intolerance is self-destructive and self-contradictory.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday February 14 2019, @11:52AM
They must be treated as if they weren't, yes. Doing otherwise makes you a very evil person.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday February 12 2019, @11:19PM (4 children)
But not necessarily for the reasons you might think. After all, with enlightened voters, there would have been stronger challengers to Trump in the first place.
Since "perfectly informed participants" are impossible, is there some variant of "just capitalism" that is worth considering?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday February 13 2019, @03:05AM (3 children)
Very easily: the less elastic the demand for something is, the less your God "The Free Market" should have control over it. This isn't hard. Luxury watches? No one needs those; go total libertarian on them. Health care? The exact opposite.
The heuristic is this: "What is the 'your money or your life factor" for good/service/product X?" The higher it is, the less the "invisible hand of the free market" should have influence over it.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by khallow on Wednesday February 13 2019, @04:47AM (2 children)
The inelasticity of health care has nothing to do with the free market.
It's pretty high for government tyranny too.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday February 13 2019, @05:04PM (1 child)
So are you deliberately missing the point again, or have I overestimated your intelligence and you really don't understand what I'm getting at?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday February 14 2019, @05:13AM
Or maybe it is not me who is missing the point? You blamed inelasticity of health care on an imaginary "free market". People choose all the time to impair their health for rather low costs. The poorer parts of the world hang an even lower value on life. That indicates to me a great deal of elasticity in the market.
But a key thing that does make such markets inelastic? Paying for peoples' health care. Things like single payer or huge pool insurance means that you pay whether or not you consume health care. So might as well consume it. Demand becomes quite inelastic under the circumstances.