You got a PM .. I'm considering the matter closed freddo, unless someone has a problem with what I posted. I stand by what I said, "snow" or "show" aside
Banned
You got a PM .. I'm considering the matter closed freddo, unless someone has a problem with what I posted. I stand by what I said, "snow" or "show" aside
Established Member
I don't have a 'problem' with your post, but I think you are erroneous in labelling mr. show a woo-woo. It does however, remain your perogative - no-one can deprive you of it.unless someone has a problem with what I posted.I'm happy to call it case closed too...
In the interest of brevity :wink:
Not often, but far too often for my taste...Originally Posted by mr. show
Yes, there remain some details, but the main thrust is quotes from astronomers in ambiguous contextsWhere are the details?
I am not a big fan at all of sensationalism. Particularly when it comes to matters like this.If any one news organization lends credence to the loons, its gotta be the BBC.
Order of Kilopi
Despite the petty time wasting going on here by folks with sensitive skins, there is a good point here and I hadn't really noticed before it was brought up.
The news media has their marketing pressures. If they don't make the story exciting they can't stay in business. The BBC is not immune to the pressures, though they have been more resistant than the American broadcasters who have resorted to 24 hour 'breaking news'. I can only hope at some point intelligent stories will once again be valued when the public gets bored with round the clock disasters and scandals. Well, I can dream can't I?
Anyway, back to the point I actually hadn't thought about, to me the terms in the BBC story didn't evoke any impending cosmic calamity. But those threads on GLP, :roll: , there really are folks misinterpreting the language merely meant to be less dull and having visions of colliding galaxies from the movies.
I doubt if the writers at BBC or the other news services realize the impact their flowery language has. Or if they do realize it they must discount the effect.
I wonder how much has to do with some folks' lesser ability to understand abstract thought. I was watching some basic college psychology course the other day on TV while channel surfing. They were discussing a guy who had had 1/2 his brain removed to stop seizures. While he recovered much of his brain function as the left brain learned right brain functions, he was unable to recover abstract thought. If he read our galaxy was eating another galaxy that is exactly what he would have thought it meant.
Order of Kilopi
BTW, everyone should apologize to everyone else and get over it. I'll go first. I'm sorry for butting in where it isn't my business. From my perspective a few misinterpretations of what was posted led to a spiraling negative discourse.
Banned
I never labeled Mr Show a "woowoo." Jigsaw's post led me to believe Storm & him was the same person. If people wouldn't beat around the bush, starting with Mr Show in the first post, a lot of misinterpretations would've been avoided. This thread should be put to sleep. I've seen two people in here talk in "code" and it's up to me to figure it out? That's **I don't have a 'problem' with your post, but I think you are erroneous in labelling mr. show a woo-woo. It does however, remain your perogative - no-one can deprive you of it.unless someone has a problem with what I posted.
In the interest of brevity :wink:
Banned
Sorry beskeptical, as usual you're the voice of reason. I missed your post cause I was too busy typing mine. The "breaking news" tendency of the media seems to have increased since 9/11. My local station prefaced a zoo-closing with the "breaking news" lead-in not that long ago. Sensationalism, as currently practiced by my local media, will inevitably result in us ignoring actual news of significance by "crying wolf" so often. "Breaking News" used to be a dam bursting, now it could be a water-main break! :-?
Established Member
Thanks b, I think i was too 'involved' to sound like a voice of reason... Thanks for coming in and 'defusing' things! =D>
As for the rest of your post I absolutely agree, and I think it boils down to this point you made:
If it's the former there is no one to blame. But the latter upsets me somewhat. While I understand the pressures on the media that spark sensationalism in the first place - putting articles out there with the knowledge that naive or devious people are going to go right off the deep end with this info - strikes me as irresponsible.
I don't intend to lose sleep over it though.
As I have hinted at previously, this is all just a misunderstanding arising from people considering the OP to be 'coded.' It's not - though I can see why you would see it that way...
My apologies to all who have found me to be judgemental or ambiguous in my comments on this thread - I do mean it.
Banned
Stuff happens .. I apologize for my indiscretions as well. I won't play "board-cop" anymore for starters, wasn't my problem .. should of held up on the keyboard
Established Member
To be fair, I think in the spirit of the FAQ, Jigsaw did speak for herself, as she did not quote or cut-and-paste anything or repeat anything from anyone else, but just gave her own opinion about someone else's ideas.
In my case, I hadn't read the previous thread, so I wasn't prepared for class.
Member
mornin all!
fortunately archer, i am not a loon of any sort - i was merely pointing out an example of articles that serve as flashpoints for the loons and feed their mindset.
a harmless post really
but that was yesterday, and today is a new day, and it sure is beautiful outside ! :^o
even though its 29 degrees
Established Member
Geezum, Archer, I'm sitting here in total bafflement going, "Do I really spend that little time on the BABB? Does my persona not come through the pixels loud and clear? Or is Archer just not paying attention?"Jigsaw - So, reading between the lines (since I have to), I guess I locked heads with Storm, aka Kent's "vassal" .. it would explain a few things. Why those woowoos bother to post here is a puzzle, unless you examine the "troll" option. If I have this right (since you just posted a link to GLP and an 'aside' to freddo) I strongly urge you to refrain from being his (or anyone else's) mouthpiece in the the future on this board.
You've never noticed me coming in here asking about various woowoo claims on other boards? What did you think I was doing?
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
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http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
And the reason I stayed up all night typing the transcript of the Nancy/Phil debate was not because I wanted Nancy's golden words preserved for posterity...
http://www.badastronomy.com/phpBB/vi...amp;highlight=
I am by no means a "mouthpiece" or apologist for ANY woowoos, other than to maintain that they're human beings, too, and have a right to their opinions. Just because I don't "rar" back and tell Steadman to his face he's F.O.S. doesn't make me his "mouthpiece". You are wayyyy out in left field on this.
I posted a link to Storm's GLP cross-post of his OSA thread for Freddo because I saw that Freddo had posted in the OSA thread, and since the GLP threads tend to slide off to page 2 really, really fast, I thought it was likely he hadn't seen it yet, and I knew that once Freddo had clicked on the thread, he'd know that "he" referred to Storm, not Mr. Show. And it was faster than going to PM, since the thread was right here. And I did put it in parentheses, which I thought would serve to indicate that it was an "aside" to Freddo, nothing to do with the OP, sort of a mini-hijack. Sorry for the confusion.
And as for "why these woowoos post here", well, AFAIK, they don't.
Banned
Jigsaw, as far as I'm concerned this issue is over. If I could do things over again I would pass this thread by. For what it's worth, I think you were wrong for playing interpreter re:Mr Show's post and I was wrong, even more so, for playing thread-cop - it wasn't my business & won't be repeated. My apology was directed at everyone in here, including you. As Mr Show said, "today is a new day" .. let's turn the page.
[edited for spelling because I kant spel wurth crapp 2daye]
Order of Kilopi
Whew! I hope that's settled.
Jigsaw, are you female as Kilo suggests?ops: Here everyone thought I was a guy and I go making the same mistake?
Established Member
i dont want to rub salt in the thread
but , when astronomers use phrases like " relativly close " when talking about events on a galactic scale . it would have been helpful to me [ and i assume mr snow ] if a distance had been quoted to put maters in context - it would take just 4 ~ 5 words
now i would asume some huge distance - say 100 LY +but thats because i think different to woo woo`s who are liable to leap to the conclusion that a section of the saggitarius galaxy is going to land in thier lap tommorrow
YRS - APE
Established Member
Okay, Archer, understood, but I just want to point out--
This sort of thing happens all the time on message boards: Person A posts something that is unclear to subsequent posters, who express their puzzlement; Person B finally posts, "I think that maybe what Person A was trying to say was..." And then, ideally, Person A will come back and say either, "Yes, that's what I was trying to say", or, "No, no, no, you're way off base, what I was trying to say was..." Either way, clarification usually results. Thus, "playing interpreter to others' posts" is a behavior that tends to be encouraged on message boards, since it is usually helpful.I think you were wrong for playing interpreter re:Mr Show's post
A check of my Favorites folder shows that I currently am registered and hang at nine (9) message boards, and it happens at all nine of them. Constantly.
Nobody else seems to have a problem with it, and I (constructively) suggest that if it bothers you, you should either try to get used to it, or else stop frequenting message boards.
Established Member
That Y-chromosome thingie that guys have and girls don't? I don't have it, either.
Banned
Ouch! Guess I had that coming, Jigsaw. I was unaware of that interpretation thing but it makes sense the way you explained it. As for it bothering me, I think I just had male-PMS yesterday... apologies again - to you as well, mr show.
Established Member
No worries. 8)
(P.S. My husband says the only cure for Male PMS--and one which their wives owe it to them to see that they get--is a Ferrari.)
Established Member
It's not just the BBC, either. AOL is running a news clickthrough on today's main Morning page that reads "See Big Galaxy Eat Tiny One". And the blurb talks about "galactic cannibalism".
Established Member
(burps) Needs garlic.
Established Member
In defence of the BBC, sort of, they seem to have a "B" team on the website, it is much more tabloid in style than their tv or radio news. I hadn't realised this since I hadn't looked at it until I read this thread.
I don't know whether the management consider it less important than "proper" media or whether they think only geeky 14 year olds read webpages.
I know this doesn't excuse the hyperbole but if enough people complain they might change, or else stop giving them credence they no longer deserve.
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