FauxEverythingVille
So.
Because of my job I maintain discussion boards where students can ask questions like:
"Can G-proteins remain coupled to activated seven-pass membrane spanning receptors after the latter have been heterologously desensitized?"
You know, stupid stuff like that.
Why would I want to do a thing like this?
Well, it helps keep 'em out of my office at all hours of the day (and sometimes night), especially around exam time.
It's also my job - and I like it.
But here's the thing.
Sometimes, the TA's and I are off doing other things for a day or two, which means that the kids have to make a go of it on their own for awhile.
And most of the time they work things out just fine by themselves - which is a pretty cool thing to see.
But every once in awhile they just go round and round telling each other crazy stuff about something that means less than zero in the big picture of things.
Because usually this circular jousting has nothing to do with an actual scientific question that can be found on Pubmed, or even Wiki, but instead is focused on a trivial topic that the lecturer mentioned once, for about 1.3 nanoseconds in class, and then only in passing.
Of course, such trivial topics often make for the best exam questions.
Worth the most marks.
On the Final.
(just kidding)
*****
Anyway, a little Intraweb site where uniformed opinions about trivial topics lead to easily corrected misunderstandings is one thing.
But when a national 'news' service does the same thing in an attempt to influence an upcoming presidential election it is quite another:
Who does Usama bin Laden want to be the next president? More (American) people (polled) think the terrorist leader wants Obama to win (30 percent) than think he wants Clinton (22 percent) or McCain (10 percent). Another 18 percent says it doesn’t matter to bin Laden and 20 percent are unsure.
The Fauxian stupid.
So toxic it is burning huge holes in the fabric of a society that, while it sometimes became a little frayed at the edges, used to be pretty darned exceptional.
Sheesh.
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Original toxic link source: C&L
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