A rant : Magic (possibly Spirituality to)

[singer]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

[Epimetheus]

But, if he isn't afraid of the implications, he will work to show his 'belief' thereby strengthening his patients 'belief' which may do something no one has as yet been able to replicate in a laboratory or reduce to a chemical equation.  He does this because there has been enough anecdotal evidence about 'belief' influencing survival rates, both positively and negatively, to use the tool even though he has almost no way to explain it's potential, sometimes, not always replicable, efficacy.

You know a doctor behaving this way? I want to know who the hell it is.

[The Johnny]

But, if he isn't afraid of the implications, he will work to show his 'belief' thereby strengthening his patients 'belief' which may do something no one has as yet been able to replicate in a laboratory or reduce to a chemical equation.  He does this because there has been enough anecdotal evidence about 'belief' influencing survival rates, both positively and negatively, to use the tool even though he has almost no way to explain it's potential, sometimes, not always replicable, efficacy.

Its the placebo effect. Psycho-somatics.

[Epimetheus]

But, if he isn't afraid of the implications, he will work to show his 'belief' thereby strengthening his patients 'belief' which may do something no one has as yet been able to replicate in a laboratory or reduce to a chemical equation.  He does this because there has been enough anecdotal evidence about 'belief' influencing survival rates, both positively and negatively, to use the tool even though he has almost no way to explain it's potential, sometimes, not always replicable, efficacy.

Its the placebo effect. Psycho-somatics.

But the placebo effect can be replicated in experiments. There's a reason you use a placebo group.

[singer]

They can indicate patterns, but how well? All I have to work on is someones word, no physical measurements.

Exploration of patterns shows evidence of patterns, period. It takes INFERENCE (hypothesis) to go beyond that. A cladogram doesn't indicate evolutionary relationships, it only indicates a pattern of homologies, which are all individually hypotheses of sameness. From that, I generate a hypothesis of the reality, but that may not be the reality at all. The point is, you can never really KNOW the causal factors, which means you want the best fucking pattern evidence you can get to derive your inferences. Anecdotes don't cut it.

No. Anecdotes don't cut it.  But they may provide the genesis of pattern recognition.  For that reason alone they may have value.

AND:  Is it true that you can never really know the causal factors? (again, not being a smart-ass, I just found that sentence jarring.)

[The Good Reverend Roger]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

No, it improves your listening.

[singer]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

No, it improves your listening.

Perfect.  Thank you TGRR, that was fun.

[LMNO]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

At the very least, it will prevent me from reading any more of this thread.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

At the very least, it will prevent me from reading any more of this thread.

O'RLY?

So now I can start posting about how really real I think all of this Magic is then!!!

[The Good Reverend Roger]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

At the very least, it will prevent me from reading any more of this thread.

Too late.  Teh sigilz are burned into your brain.  Quantumly.

[East Coast Hustle]

Screw you guys.

THIS @ most of this entire thread.

[East Coast Hustle]

Goddammit.

This thread makes me want to go kick homeless puppies.

Fuckers. FUCKERS.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Goddammit.

This thread makes me want to go kick homeless puppies.

Fuckers. FUCKERS.

This thread gave me encopresis.

[LMNO]

even the ones that ought to know better put blindfolds on themselves and run around hollering about the advantages of blindness.

There is some anecdotal evidence that it will improve your hearing.

At the very least, it will prevent me from reading any more of this thread.

Too late.  Teh sigilz are burned into your brain.  Quantumly.

TEH QUANTUMZ.  THEY BURNZ...
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