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http://www.sciencedaily.com/re.../03/150330163029.htm

 

Intelligent people can develop strong entirely incorrect beliefs

 

"It must be a full moon" is a common refrain when things appear more hectic than usual.

 

The moon is even blamed when things get crazy at hospital emergency rooms or birth wards. "Some nurses ascribe the apparent chaos to the moon, but dozens of studies show that the belief is unfounded," said Jean-Luc Margot, a UCLA professor of planetary astronomy.

Of course, the moon does not influence the timing of human births or hospital admissions, according to new research by Margot that confirms what scientists have known for decades. The study illustrates how intelligent and otherwise reasonable people develop strong beliefs that, to put it politely, are not aligned with reality.

The absence of a lunar influence on human affairs has been demonstrated in the areas of automobile accidents, hospital admissions, surgery outcomes, cancer survival rates, menstruation, births, birth complications, depression, violent behavior, and even criminal activity, Margot writes. His study was published online by the journal Nursing Research.

Even though a 40-year-old UCLA study demonstrated that the timing of births does not correlate in any way with the lunar cycle, the belief in a lunar effect has persisted. A 2004 study in a nursing journal, for example, suggested that the full moon influenced the number of hospital admissions in a medical unit in Barcelona, Spain.

But Margot identified multiple flaws in the data collection and analysis of the 2004 research. By re-analyzing the data, he showed that the number of admissions was unrelated to the lunar cycle.

"The moon is innocent," Margot said.

So why do the erroneous beliefs live on in spite of the evidence?

Margot cited what scientists refer to as the "confirmation bias" -- people's tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms their beliefs and ignore data that contradict them. When life is hectic on the day of a full moon, many people remember the association because it confirms their belief. But hectic days that do not correspond with a full moon are promptly ignored and forgotten because they do not reinforce the belief.

Margot said the societal costs of flawed beliefs can be enormous.

In just one current example, the recent measles outbreak appears to have been triggered by parents' questionable beliefs about the safety of the measles vaccine.

"Vaccines are widely and correctly regarded as one of the greatest public health achievements, yet vaccine-preventable diseases are killing people because of beliefs that are out of step with scientific facts," Margot said.

A willingness to engage in evidence-based reasoning and admit that one's beliefs may be incorrect will produce a more accurate view of the world and result in better decision-making, Margot said.

"Perhaps we can start by correcting our delusions about the moon, and work from there," he said.


Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles. The original article was written by Stuart Wolpert. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Having spent many nights in the ER, I can say that although the number might not reflect it, the complexity and unusual nature of said "ER" visits certainly are affected by the full moon.  Much like the fact that births are affected by big storms. I don't know if it is pressure changes on the amniotic fluid or something similar, but we can have a plethora of deliveries when th weather turns south.

 

there are four fundemental forces of nature: strong and weak nuclear, electromagnatism and gravity that prevent us and our stuff from just simply floating off into space as the first elementary quanta in a model we imagine to be our source. Presence of a moon in orbit around an inhabited body of mass in space certainly effects one or more of those forces affecting on some scale purtubations in fields common to the living and the dead. 

When you run a pipeline, you dig a ditch, lay the pipe in it, weld it up and refill the ditch. Sometimes you have to haul dirt away, sometimes you have to haul dirt in to fill it.

When you dig a grave, after the casket is put in and the grave refilled, there is different amounts of dirt left.

If you build a fence. after putting the post in and tamping all the dirt in around the post, there aint enough dirt to refill the hole, but the post will be tight. sometimes there is dirt left over, but the post is loose. Same amount of tamping each time.

Others and me think the phase of the moon influences this.

Originally Posted by jtdavis:

When you run a pipeline, you dig a ditch, lay the pipe in it, weld it up and refill the ditch. Sometimes you have to haul dirt away, sometimes you have to haul dirt in to fill it.

When you dig a grave, after the casket is put in and the grave refilled, there is different amounts of dirt left.

If you build a fence. after putting the post in and tamping all the dirt in around the post, there aint enough dirt to refill the hole, but the post will be tight. sometimes there is dirt left over, but the post is loose. Same amount of tamping each time.

Others and me think the phase of the moon influences this.


Density?  Porosity?  Definitely not lunarisity.

Originally Posted by Contendah:
Originally Posted by jtdavis:

The moon does influence people and other things.

___

The moon influences tides. That is a proven fact.  The rest of the moonology advanced by superstitious folks is hogwash. How many vampires have you seen around your house lately on a full moon?

I believe you are confusing Vampire traits with "Werewolves".

 

Werewolves respond to a full Moon.

 

Vampires cannot operate in Sun light.

They don't need a Moon to function. Just Darkness.

Originally Posted by CountryBoy:

there are four fundemental forces of nature: strong and weak nuclear, electromagnatism and gravity that prevent us and our stuff from just simply floating off into space as the first elementary quanta in a model we imagine to be our source. Presence of a moon in orbit around an inhabited body of mass in space certainly effects one or more of those forces affecting on some scale purtubations in fields common to the living and the dead. 

 

 

Having an interest in the subject, and having read every response, yours was solely the most rattling, un-needed, 5 line babbling, to what could have been stated as:

 

"i Believe the Moon influences Human behavior".

 

Originally Posted by Harald Weissberg:
Originally Posted by CountryBoy:

there are four fundemental forces of nature: strong and weak nuclear, electromagnatism and gravity that prevent us and our stuff from just simply floating off into space as the first elementary quanta in a model we imagine to be our source. Presence of a moon in orbit around an inhabited body of mass in space certainly effects one or more of those forces affecting on some scale purtubations in fields common to the living and the dead. 

 

 

Having an interest in the subject, and having read every response, yours was solely the most rattling, un-needed, 5 line babbling, to what could have been stated as:

 

"i Believe the Moon influences Human behavior".

 

harold w, mine was a scientific argument. yours on the otherhand could be that of a lunatic

Originally Posted by Harald Weissberg:
Originally Posted by CountryBoy:

there are four fundemental forces of nature: strong and weak nuclear, electromagnatism and gravity that prevent us and our stuff from just simply floating off into space as the first elementary quanta in a model we imagine to be our source. Presence of a moon in orbit around an inhabited body of mass in space certainly effects one or more of those forces affecting on some scale purtubations in fields common to the living and the dead. 

 

 

Having an interest in the subject, and having read every response, yours was solely the most rattling, un-needed, 5 line babbling, to what could have been stated as:

 

"i Believe the Moon influences Human behavior".

 _____________________________________________
CountryBoy has posted under several Noms de Merde -- Quail Dog and Prissy for example.  He's a rather elderly, easily confused old guy (sometimes unsure of his gender) residing in a nursing home. He makes these rather flamboyant posts when nursie give him his meds -- the really good ones. 

 

Originally Posted by jtdavis:

When you run a pipeline, you dig a ditch, lay the pipe in it, weld it up and refill the ditch. Sometimes you have to haul dirt away, sometimes you have to haul dirt in to fill it.

When you dig a grave, after the casket is put in and the grave refilled, there is different amounts of dirt left.

If you build a fence. after putting the post in and tamping all the dirt in around the post, there aint enough dirt to refill the hole, but the post will be tight. sometimes there is dirt left over, but the post is loose. Same amount of tamping each time.

Others and me think the phase of the moon influences this.

I know this to be a fact, dig a hole when the moon is full , and you will have too much dirt to fill it back up. Dig a hole when the moon is dark, and you will not have enough dirt to fill up the hole. 
I can't explain it, just like I can't explain why if you hold two coat hanger wires, which are bent at 90 degrees in your hand, when you go over an underground pipe, or underground wire, they will spread apart and align in the direction of that underground anomaly.
In some instances, you just gotta say "it is what it is".

 

Originally Posted by jtdavis:

I posted about the dirt and holes. You are bound to know someone who works doing one of those things. Any cattle farmer can probably tell you about the fence posts.

 

========

It is way too much work for dire to even think about trying it out with a real shovel himself, probably dosen't even have one, and has no idea how to use one.

 

Originally Posted by seeweed:
Originally Posted by jtdavis:

I posted about the dirt and holes. You are bound to know someone who works doing one of those things. Any cattle farmer can probably tell you about the fence posts.

 

========

It is way too much work for dire to even think about trying it out with a real shovel himself, probably dosen't even have one, and has no idea how to use one.

 

______________________________________

Yes, I own a couple of shovels.  One is for digging, which I purchased.  The other is a coal shovel, which I inherited.  With my family's connection to the old Southern RR, I suspect it was thrown out when the RR abandoned coal fired locomotives. 

 

In my younger days, I used many different types of tools -- helped build a couple of houses and re-roof a couple more.  The coal shovel came in handy for stripping off three layers of old asphalt roofing and for shoveling up the debris into a wheel barrow,   It was doing such work in the middle of August that propelled me to find a better way of making a living.  I wasn't born into a wealthy family  Suggest, you find another tree to bark at -- the one you're baying up is empty.

Originally Posted by direstraits:
Originally Posted by Harald Weissberg:
Originally Posted by CountryBoy:

there are four fundemental forces of nature: strong and weak nuclear, electromagnatism and gravity that prevent us and our stuff from just simply floating off into space as the first elementary quanta in a model we imagine to be our source. Presence of a moon in orbit around an inhabited body of mass in space certainly effects one or more of those forces affecting on some scale purtubations in fields common to the living and the dead. 

 

 

Having an interest in the subject, and having read every response, yours was solely the most rattling, un-needed, 5 line babbling, to what could have been stated as:

 

"i Believe the Moon influences Human behavior".

 _____________________________________________
CountryBoy has posted under several Noms de Merde -- Quail Dog and Prissy for example.  He's a rather elderly, easily confused old guy (sometimes unsure of his gender) residing in a nursing home. He makes these rather flamboyant posts when nursie give him his meds -- the really good ones. 

 

OK. That would partially explain why it is clear that he has no idea of the meaning of what he posted.

Not to stray too far off of the topic, since we are staying to it so stringently, but there are medical facts that support the early descriptions of werewolves. People who suffered from a rare disease known as porphyria would have had symptoms that many would describe as lycantropy. Their teeth would have been misshapen, even jagged, and likely would have "glowed in the dark", which would have a been a frightening thought running into somebody like that on a dark country road at night, full moon or not.

Originally Posted by teyates:

Not to stray too far off of the topic, since we are staying to it so stringently, but there are medical facts that support the early descriptions of werewolves. People who suffered from a rare disease known as porphyria would have had symptoms that many would describe as lycantropy. Their teeth would have been misshapen, even jagged, and likely would have "glowed in the dark", which would have a been a frightening thought running into somebody like that on a dark country road at night, full moon or not.

 

____

Clinical Lycanthropy.

Lycanthropy is a rare condition in which sufferers experience the delusion of transforming into an animal. Affected people may also behave like the animal they believe they have turned into. "Lycanthropy" derives from the Greek myth in which King Lycaon is transformed into a wolf as punishment for serving human flesh to Zeus at dinner,[7] and perhaps the folk belief in werewolves has its origin in the condition. Wolf and dog transformations are most commonly described, but transformations into other animals, including birds and insects, have also been reported. In that sense, the syndrome may be shaped by personal, cultural, and regional influences. Effectively a specific form of a delusional misidentification syndrome, it is not surprising that lycanthropy typically occurs in the context of schizophrenia, psychotic mood disorders, or substance-induced psychoses.

Slide 8.

 

 

Originally Posted by jtdavis:

I posted about the dirt and holes. You are bound to know someone who works doing one of those things. Any cattle farmer can probably tell you about the fence posts.

 

 

I worked for a pipeline (obviously not in the field) for four years. I never heard anyone mention this, but it's interesting. I will look it up.

Originally Posted by teyates:

Not to stray too far off of the topic, since we are staying to it so stringently, but there are medical facts that support the early descriptions of werewolves. People who suffered from a rare disease known as porphyria would have had symptoms that many would describe as lycantropy. Their teeth would have been misshapen, even jagged, and likely would have "glowed in the dark", which would have a been a frightening thought running into somebody like that on a dark country road at night, full moon or not.

_____

Then, too, there are accounts of Vitamin D-deprived people, living in the misty mountains in far northern countries during periods of very short daylight hours, who came down to the lowlands because they were driven to cannibalism as a way to remedy their nutritional shortfall.

Originally Posted by OldSalt:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/re.../03/150330163029.htm

 

Intelligent people can develop strong entirely incorrect beliefs

 

"It must be a full moon" is a common refrain when things appear more hectic than usual.

 

The moon is even blamed when things get crazy at hospital emergency rooms or birth wards. "Some nurses ascribe the apparent chaos to the moon, but dozens of studies show that the belief is unfounded," said Jean-Luc Margot, a UCLA professor of planetary astronomy.

Of course, the moon does not influence the timing of human births or hospital admissions, according to new research by Margot that confirms what scientists have known for decades. The study illustrates how intelligent and otherwise reasonable people develop strong beliefs that, to put it politely, are not aligned with reality.

The absence of a lunar influence on human affairs has been demonstrated in the areas of automobile accidents, hospital admissions, surgery outcomes, cancer survival rates, menstruation, births, birth complications, depression, violent behavior, and even criminal activity, Margot writes. His study was published online by the journal Nursing Research.

Even though a 40-year-old UCLA study demonstrated that the timing of births does not correlate in any way with the lunar cycle, the belief in a lunar effect has persisted. A 2004 study in a nursing journal, for example, suggested that the full moon influenced the number of hospital admissions in a medical unit in Barcelona, Spain.

But Margot identified multiple flaws in the data collection and analysis of the 2004 research. By re-analyzing the data, he showed that the number of admissions was unrelated to the lunar cycle.

"The moon is innocent," Margot said.

So why do the erroneous beliefs live on in spite of the evidence?

Margot cited what scientists refer to as the "confirmation bias" -- people's tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms their beliefs and ignore data that contradict them. When life is hectic on the day of a full moon, many people remember the association because it confirms their belief. But hectic days that do not correspond with a full moon are promptly ignored and forgotten because they do not reinforce the belief.

Margot said the societal costs of flawed beliefs can be enormous.

In just one current example, the recent measles outbreak appears to have been triggered by parents' questionable beliefs about the safety of the measles vaccine.

"Vaccines are widely and correctly regarded as one of the greatest public health achievements, yet vaccine-preventable diseases are killing people because of beliefs that are out of step with scientific facts," Margot said.

A willingness to engage in evidence-based reasoning and admit that one's beliefs may be incorrect will produce a more accurate view of the world and result in better decision-making, Margot said.

"Perhaps we can start by correcting our delusions about the moon, and work from there," he said.


Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles. The original article was written by Stuart Wolpert. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

 

Is this a" Public Service Announcement"?

Or, do you just lead a really boring life?

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