Seriously thoughtful Cross-belief poll

[jinlo]

Most vaccinations have benefited mankind greatly. That does not, however, mean that we should never question the need or safety of any drug or vaccine just because a person in a white coat or some government approved board deems it’s in our best interest.

Reducing and hopefully stopping pollution is a very good thing. Blindly following any cause without trying to understand the true intentions of those that drive it is never a wise decision.

It is possible to believe that every species has evolved to adapt to their surrounding and at the same time believe that a greater power had a hand in our creation.

[Vector]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Al Gore invented the internet

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by Vector

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/internet.asp

Harry just forgot to turn on the [sarcasm][/sarcasm] button.

[Tattncat]

I'm with alecE. Trust me, I'll risk autism, whooping cough was awful. Vaccinations may carry a risk but the alternative could be really nasty, for everyone. After observing for the last 60 plus years; it is warmer, over-all, and the weather is more extreme in it's variances. So yeah on the global warming/climate change debate. Re evolution - obvious. It's hard to argue with the facts put forth by the archaeologists and anthropologists.

So......I took the first option. IMHO

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by jinlo

Most vaccinations have benefited mankind greatly. That does not, however, mean that we should never question the need or safety of any drug or vaccine just because a person in a white coat or some government approved board deems it’s in our best interest.

Reducing and hopefully stopping pollution is a very good thing. Blindly following any cause without trying to understand the true intentions of those that drive it is never a wise decision.

It is possible to believe that every species has evolved to adapt to their surrounding and at the same time believe that a greater power had a hand in our creation.

This is the position taken by many mainstream religious denominations.

[Daithi]

I enjoy science.

Vaccinations are great. Do they increase the risk of autism? I don't know. I kind of doubt it, but I haven't looked at the science.

I believe in evolution. However, I don't think we have all the answers. How do you get life from from just elements? How do you get a new species? Finding the answers to questions like these is pretty damn cool. Science is cool.

Global warming really bugs me. I know that throughout history climate has fluctuated from ice ages to hot ages with man playing no roll. Is this caused by the sun? Is it caused by something inherent in the earth or its oceans? What role does man play in today's climate? How does one determine temperatures before they were recorded by man? How does the build up of cities affect historical temperature recordings? Determining the answers to these questions is what science is all about. Proclamations that the science is settled, withholding of data, colluding to obstruct skeptics, keeping discenting voices out of journals, etc. That sure the hell ain't science.

[ShadowAuthor]

First rule of Internet messageboards:

Never bring up Politics, Religion/Evolution and Global Warming/Climate Change.

That being said:

Evolution is real, don't get me started on religion. I don't know if we created or are expediting the processes by which the planet is warming up, but I think that cleaning up the planet/atmosphere is a good thing, and anything more than that is just a bonus. I abhor the fact that so many self-righteous jerks like Al Gore will profit heavily from things like Cap & Trade, but aren't willing to do anything like curb America's out of control consumerism that put us there in the first place. I think vaccinations are wonderful, they've done the human race pretty good up to this point. Do I think they cause Autism? Not really, but I don't know enough to make an honest educated guess. Even if they do in some cases, I think the risks associated far outweigh the potential problems of not using them. And my oldest son has Aspberger's.

[WT Sharpe]

I’m surprised that there haven’t been more votes for the second option. The purpose of this poll is to determine if there is a causal relationship between beliefs. As the autism possibility seems to me to be more of a concern of people whose politics lean to the left, I would have expected a greater number of people to chose that option. Perhaps my assumption is wrong, or perhaps the sample size is too small.

At any rate, remember that the purpose of this thread is only to determine what we believe, and whether there are any correlations between certain sets of beliefs. This is not the thread to debate why we believe what we do. If anyone wants to do that, might I suggest starting another thread.

Keep in mind that one day (barring supernatural intervention) the Universe will either reach maximum entropy, or collapse upon itself in a Big Crunch. In any case, ultimately nothing we say or do here will matter much in the grand scheme of things, so keep smiling and always look on the bright side of life.

[ShadowAuthor]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

n any case, ultimately nothing we say or do here will matter much in the grand scheme of things, so keep smiling and always look on the bright side of life.

QFT.

[astra]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Keep in mind that one day (barring supernatural intervention) the Universe will either reach maximum entropy, or collapse upon itself in a Big Crunch. In any case, ultimately nothing we say or do here will matter much in the grand scheme of things

+1

[Vector]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

the Universe will either reach maximum entropy, or collapse upon itself in a Big Crunch. In any case, ultimately nothing we say or do here will matter much in the grand scheme of things

http://mschaut.files.wordpress.com/2...nch_scream.jpg

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Vector

http://mschaut.files.wordpress.com/2...nch_scream.jpg

Hey! It's that kid from Home Alone!

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by Daithi

Vaccinations are great. Do they increase the risk of autism? I don't know. I kind of doubt it, but I haven't looked at the science.

The science says no, emphatically. There is currently absolutely no evidence showing that vaccinations can increase the risk of autism. There is, however, plenty of proof that lack of vaccinations leads to outbreaks of cruel, painful diseases that kill.

I believe in evolution. However, I don't think we have all the answers. How do you get life from from just elements? How do you get a new species? Finding the answers to questions like these is pretty damn cool. Science is cool.

Science can show how new species evolve. There is plenty of information out there if you're interested. As for the ultimate origin of life, there are theories, but none of them are widely accepted nor strongly supported by evidence (yet).

Global warming really bugs me. I know that throughout history climate has fluctuated from ice ages to hot ages with man playing no roll. Is this caused by the sun? Is it caused by something inherent in the earth or its oceans? What role does man play in today's climate? How does one determine temperatures before they were recorded by man?

The answers to those questions are readily available. In short, all the things you mentioned are taken into account when analysing temperature records. e.g. the sun warms and cools over an 11-year cycle. We are currently at the cool point in that cycle, so temperature over the last few years are adjusted up slightly to eliminate the influence of the sun's cycle. With these factors accounted for the planet has warmed slightly along with a corresponding rise in CO2 (which traps heat from the sun that would otherwise e reflected into space).

FWIW over 97% of climate scientists believe that global warming is real and partially man made. A recent published survey showed that basically the more education and scientific knowledge a person has the more likely they are to believe that global warming is real and partially man made.

[YGG-]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Al Gore invented the internet, so I'm sure that being the cause of global warming too is well within his capabilities .

Al Gore never said he invented the Internet... [oops, sorry, didn't read further]

[happy_terd]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

When scientists discuss the issue,

Scientists discuss the issue? All i ever hear mention it is politicians. The same group that got us scared about acid rain in the 80s and killer bees in the 90s i take it.