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I stumbled on this today:
http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/
For some reason, it seemed to me like something Phil would agree with...
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Invisible wrote:
> I stumbled on this today:
>
> http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/
>
> For some reason, it seemed to me like something Phil would agree with...
Also,
http://www.badscience.net/
I particularly liked this article:
http://www.badscience.net/2008/12/transparent-excuse-for-printing-a-nice-pair-of-hooters/
The final paragraph sums it up so well:
"These stories tell us nothing about science. They are what PR companies
call “advertising equivalent exposure”, a way to get your brand into the
paper without paying, and onto editorial pages. They are copied and
pasted onto the page by hurried journalists with a hangover and other
deadlines to deal with, exactly as I have copied and pasted this work
from my friend’s blog into my column, in a rather pleasing and
self-effacing moment of rhetorical symmetry. But most crucially of all,
these companies know that the way to get a non-story into a national
broadsheet newspaper is to make it about science, the one subject which
is regarded by editors and senior executives with universal derision and
incomprenhension. Merry christmas."
Anybody else find the final pair of sentences worrying?
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:43:08 +0000, Invisible <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
>
>Anybody else find the final pair of sentences worrying?
Yes, you should never start a sentence with a conjunction. Although it is nice
of Mr Goldacre to wish us a merry Christmas.
BTW he is one of my favourite columnist in the Guardian another was Keith
Devlin.
http://www.stanford.edu/~kdevlin/MathGuy.html
--
Regards
Stephen
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Stephen wrote:
> Yes, you should never start a sentence with a conjunction. Although it is nice
> of Mr Goldacre to wish us a merry Christmas.
I was just about I ask what a "conjuction" is - but then I realised I
wouldn't understand the answer anyway.
> BTW he is one of my favourite columnist in the Guardian another was Keith
> Devlin.
> http://www.stanford.edu/~kdevlin/MathGuy.html
Oh... he has a column?
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Invisible wrote:
> Also,
>
> http://www.badscience.net/
"Nothing works faster than Anadin. That's why I take nothing..."
Best. Quote. EVER! :-D
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http://thinking-is-dangerous.blogspot.com/2008/11/lies-damn-lies-and-statins.html
AAAAAAH! IT'S ALL LIES! >_<
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:27:10 +0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>Stephen wrote:
>
>> Yes, you should never start a sentence with a conjunction. Although it is nice
>> of Mr Goldacre to wish us a merry Christmas.
>
>I was just about I ask what a "conjuction" is - but then I realised I
>wouldn't understand the answer anyway.
>
Yes you would! And or but ;)
>> BTW he is one of my favourite columnist in the Guardian another was Keith
>> Devlin.
>> http://www.stanford.edu/~kdevlin/MathGuy.html
>
>Oh... he has a column?
Not any more but he did in the 80's and 90's.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:06:17 +0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>http://thinking-is-dangerous.blogspot.com/2008/11/lies-damn-lies-and-statins.html
>
>AAAAAAH! IT'S ALL LIES! >_<
No just statistics :)
--
Regards
Stephen
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>>> Yes, you should never start a sentence with a conjunction. Although it is nice
>>> of Mr Goldacre to wish us a merry Christmas.
>> I was just about I ask what a "conjuction" is - but then I realised I
>> wouldn't understand the answer anyway.
>>
>
> Yes you would! And or but ;)
My sentence started with "anybody"?
>> Oh... he has a column?
>
> Not any more but he did in the 80's and 90's.
Oh, I see.
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:46:28 +0000, Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
>>>> Yes, you should never start a sentence with a conjunction. Although it is nice
>>>> of Mr Goldacre to wish us a merry Christmas.
>>> I was just about I ask what a "conjuction" is - but then I realised I
>>> wouldn't understand the answer anyway.
>>>
>>
>> Yes you would! And or but ;)
>
>My sentence started with "anybody"?
Ben Goldarce's second last sentence started with "But most crucially"
I deliberately misunderstood you :)
--
Regards
Stephen
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Stephen wrote:
> Ben Goldarce's second last sentence started with "But most crucially"
> I deliberately misunderstood you :)
There's nothing wrong with starting a sentence with a conjunction.
"But for the weather, we would have had fun" works too, and you can't *not*
start that with a conjunction without rearranging the whole sentence.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Why is there a chainsaw in DOOM?
There aren't any trees on Mars.
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:01:51 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>Stephen wrote:
>> Ben Goldarce's second last sentence started with "But most crucially"
>> I deliberately misunderstood you :)
>
>There's nothing wrong with starting a sentence with a conjunction.
>
Maybe on your side of the pond but over here it is a rule that a lot of people
ignore. (Myself included)
>"But for the weather, we would have had fun" works too, and you can't *not*
>start that with a conjunction without rearranging the whole sentence.
"Save for the weather, we would have had fun"?
--
Regards
Stephen
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Stephen wrote:
> "Save for the weather, we would have had fun"?
That sounds much more British to my ear, actually. Interesting.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Why is there a chainsaw in DOOM?
There aren't any trees on Mars.
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:29:43 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>Stephen wrote:
>> "Save for the weather, we would have had fun"?
>
>That sounds much more British to my ear, actually. Interesting.
Funnily enough I am British :-)
--
Regards
Stephen
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Stephen wrote:
> On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:29:43 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>
>> Stephen wrote:
>>> "Save for the weather, we would have had fun"?
>> That sounds much more British to my ear, actually. Interesting.
>
> Funnily enough I am British :-)
I gathered that, based on your "pond" references. I mean, it's funny that
the British have stricter rules about not starting a sentence with a
preposition, and to this American at least, using "save" instead of "but"
there gives the sentence a British flavor. Or flavour.
Not surprising, really, but interesting.
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Why is there a chainsaw in DOOM?
There aren't any trees on Mars.
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:43:06 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>Stephen wrote:
>> On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:29:43 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>>
>>> Stephen wrote:
>>>> "Save for the weather, we would have had fun"?
>>> That sounds much more British to my ear, actually. Interesting.
>>
>> Funnily enough I am British :-)
>
I was just being sarky :)
>I gathered that, based on your "pond" references. I mean, it's funny that
>the British have stricter rules about not starting a sentence with a
>preposition, and to this American at least, using "save" instead of "but"
>there gives the sentence a British flavor. Or flavour.
>
Why do you say that "it's funny that the British have stricter rules about not
starting a sentence with a preposition"? I would have thought that we had
stricter rules than Americans. At least in theory ;)
>Not surprising, really, but interesting.
True, interesting.
--
Regards
Stephen
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Stephen wrote:
> On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:43:06 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>
>> Stephen wrote:
>>> On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:29:43 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Stephen wrote:
>>>>> "Save for the weather, we would have had fun"?
>>>> That sounds much more British to my ear, actually. Interesting.
>>> Funnily enough I am British :-)
>
> I was just being sarky :)
>
>> I gathered that, based on your "pond" references. I mean, it's funny that
>> the British have stricter rules about not starting a sentence with a
>> preposition, and to this American at least, using "save" instead of "but"
>> there gives the sentence a British flavor. Or flavour.
>>
>
> Why do you say that "it's funny that the British have stricter rules about not
> starting a sentence with a preposition"?
I put an extra comma in there. It's funny that (you have stricter rules and
it makes you sound more British when you follow them).
--
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
Why is there a chainsaw in DOOM?
There aren't any trees on Mars.
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On Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:00:39 -0800, Darren New <dne### [at] sanrrcom> wrote:
>I put an extra comma in there. It's funny that (you have stricter rules and
>it makes you sound more British when you follow them).
OK, I'm slow tonight (tonight?) :)
That, I can understand and agree with.
--
Regards
Stephen
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