Maybe someone could clarify, but what exactly is being "won?"

I would give a qualified agreement to Hawkings... the scientific method works at expanding our knowledge about the objective world. But science itself does not always work. This interview is proof of that. Doctors used science to predict that Hawkins would be dead 43 years ago. They were wrong. People can use observation and reason and still come to the completely wrong conclusions. This does not make science useless, but Hawkings should have qualified his statement to say science usually works. Or rather, it works more reliably than other methods (revelation for instance) for discovering things about the objective world.

Also, I think the view that all religion is based on authority is a very narrow view of religion and more accurately describes fundamentalists and dogmatism. Furthermore, I'd disagree with him that somehow science is not based on authority. It absolutely is. It has to be. If it wasn't, any crackpot who did a study and got some result that disagreed with scientific consensus would get to have their results accepted immediately.

But there's a huge downside to that--new scientific ideas can take decades before they finally overturn prior "consensus." Adenoidectomies (getting your tonsils out) are one example. Scientific consensus in the early 1900s was that everybody should get their tonsils removed--and nearly everybody did. It took nearly 30 years for researchers to turn the tide and convince doctors that removing the tonsils could actually do more harm than good. Meanwhile, during those 30 years, based on their authority as doctors, surgeons unnecessarily removed the tonsils of millions of kids.

All this is to say simply that science is not some magic bullet. I guess I get a bit annoyed when people try to glorify science. Science isn't perfect, but it's the most reliable method we have for exploring the objective world. That's all you can say about it. And really, that's all that needs to be said.

HA!!! That's awesome! I totally did this to my seven-year-old nephew once! I thought someone was stealing candy from my pantry and he had been over a lot so I set up a little surprise.

Then on Christmas when everyone was over he comes running into the living room screaming and pointing at his throat! That's right you thieving little fucker! How do you like your Snickers now! HAHAHAH!!!!11!1!!1

So anyway, the battery acid burned off most of his taste buds and vocal chords but other than that he's totally fine. And his parent's will never have to pay to have his tonsils taken out, so everyone wins! That'll teach the little shit...

Well, it can be a bit convoluted but:

1). Yes, if the waiting list is too long, we can go to another hospital. My son needed his tonsils and adenoids removed and the wait list was a year (in Prince George). So we just called up a specialist in Kelowna, and boom he was in, within a week.

2). There are some private clinics that operate outside the government system and work on a pay per use system. The average person doesn't use them, but they are there for who can afford it.

3). At my last job, we had a special broker who handled all of our medical claims. If it meant that we could end up missing work and costing the company money, it was their job to expedite the paperwork and bump us to the front of the list. We got medical attention right away. Not everyone has this but in that case, it was to the benefit of my employer to bare the costs of this agency instead of paying sick pay for us to wait on a waiting list.

4). Also, hospitals, generally, try to be fair, when I had my ACL replaced, the surgeon, himself expedited my surgery date, because I was in danger of re-injuring and causing more damage if I waited too long. The hospital emergency rooms that I know of are working on a two tear level to speed up wait times. (those that need a bed and those that don't. Also, within those groups, they work with a triage mentality where, those that can be patched up quickly, or the very serious will get attention first. The less people waiting the better.

I think a lot of people imagine us standing in hospital line-ups for months, dying out in the cold. That's just not true. Yes, there can be wait lists when the jobs out-man the doctors, but for the most part, if there were more doctors and more equipment, we wouldn't be waiting so long. In Quesnel, where I lived a year ago, the town started their own fundraiser and bought their own MRI Machine, because the government wasn't. Now they have one and the wait times went from traveling out of town to making the appt.


>> ^alizarin:
Question for Canadian sifters:
In Canada if you don't want to wait you can go to another area where there's a shorter waiting list correct (next town over or whatever)? The only reason to go to the US is if what you want is just a waste of money that won't do you any good no?

I can understand to some extent getting circumcised for religious reasons, although it does seem to conflict with the belief in not having "gashes in your flesh" or "incise any marks on yourselves" that prevents orthodox Jews from getting piercings and tattoos.

I don't understand Americans (and possibly other countries?) generally getting circumcised at birth as a matter of course. Most of the excuses given seem to have little/no evidence -- there's probably more evidence to promote removing tonsils and appendix at birth instead.

So I've had tonsillitis for well over a decade now (terrible insurance plan), and occasionally, these things will work themselves out. When I was younger, I'd think this wasn't supposed to happen, so I'd freak, but come to find out it's normal. After watching this video, I decided to try to clean mine out... and discovered I have the worlds' most sensitive gag-reflex.

Dr. Cat says: Your tonsils look swollen.

Favourites

1) Winter
2) Some place in Pennsylvania (I’ve not traveled much)
3) The Lorax
4) Futurama
5) LIEZ
6) Original Star Wars Trilogy
7) %(#$&#@&
sharks are neat
9) Shot gunning wolves from a helicopter
10)Parents/friends Lame answer but different people mean different things to me

Which one?

11) Cat
12) Sweet
13) Cereal
14) Tan, but not baked
15) I likes to feel the blades of grass betwixt me toes
16) Desktop
17) Walk
18) comedy
19) Sex
20) Futurama

The Sift

21) http://www.videosift.com/video/Captain-Kirk-knows-how-to-treat-a-lady
22) “possibly the best music post ever…”
23) The most off the wall member is no longer a member
24) I’ve never given this any thought
25) Probably
26) Locking my keys out of my car at a police station
27) Schmawy’s cat of a thousand faces !!FREE SCHMAWY!!
28) none
29) Do people offline know of your sift problem
30) Siftbrew, it’ll help generate revenue for the site, and everyone can claim they made that last comment while under the influence

About you

31) Texas
32) non-smoker
33) right handed
34) Brown
35) Single
36) 5’11” and 9/10ths
37) nope
38) Has my tonsils out when I was very young
39) Eyes
40) Geek, dork, nerd, awesome

If you could...what, who, when etc

41) Hitler, give the world someone to unite against
42) Home for wayward republicans
43) Myself
44) Undergrad years were a blast
45) Laser eyes, gotta be laser eyes
46) What Would Jesus Drive
47) Being hit in the balls
48) An hour isn’t long enough to scream at congress
49) 1992
50) RULER OF YOU ALL

Tonsil Hockey

JoeBiden generator doesn't work, like Joe.....Obama is having a wax and his balls shaved, and could not be reached for proper grammar-

This just in, Republican whip Timmy Tonsils passes cum back and forth with Dem.Senator Ben Cardin, Marylands own, greased hog from Delaware......
Motherfucking inane shit the TV has folks think, and do, and say, and deem important or newsworthy, eh????........

>> ^Zifnab:
>> ^siftbot:
Awarding kronosposeidon with one star point for this contribution to Sift Talk - declared quality by blankfist.

Like he needs another one, I'm beginning to think you two have something going...


Of course we have something going on. Did you happen to notice where I stuck my head for this photo?! I'm tonsils deep, man! Tonsils deep!

Tags for this video have been changed from 'idiot, wtf, paintball, thrat, pain, pain, pain, bleuugh, tonsils, shot' to 'idiot, wtf, paintball, thrat, pain, pain, pain, bleuugh, tonsils, shot, om nom nom' - edited by calvados

I think tongue judo is funnier than tonsil hockey, but that's just me.

here is the best and only reason for Don't Ask/Don't Tell:

in 3 years, when all of our eager young, myspace generation warriors are dead in Iran and they start trying to draft us GenX old farts to kill/die for oil, I will lie through my teeth and swear up and down that I've polished miles of sausage with my tonsils.

Hey Ladybugs bein ultra cool, I thought you maight like this as much as I-from new member Choggie-

I Believe in Bugs
Words and music by Ivor Cutler


I believe in bugs. I Truly believe in Bugs.
If you come up to my restaurant at half past four;
You can watch the little buggies runnin’ round on the floor, singin’,
I believe in bugs. I Truly believe in Bugs.

When you go down to the seaside for a snack on the beach;
You can hear the buggies chortle as they jump out of reach, singin’,
I believe in bugs. I Truly believe in Bugs.

See their happy faces as they scamper along
Strainin’at their tonsils while they belt out their song,singin’,
I believe in bugs. I Truly believe in Bugs.

Lying in the silken ground one day;
I shall sense the buggies wriggle as they eat me away, singin’,
I believe in bugs. I Truly believe in Bugs.


http://www.ivorcutler.org/sessions.html