Text 14861, 91 rader
Skriven 2007-05-23 11:36:51 av Wendy of NJ (1274.babylon5)
  Kommentar till text 14821 av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated (1234.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: AGW, rehashed...
============================
On Tue, 22 May 2007 08:30:30 -0700, Charlie Edmondson
<edmondson@ieee.org> wrote:

>Josh Hill wrote:
><snippage>
>> But this really isn't about the science at all. From an interesting
>> article I read yesterday:
>>=20
>> 'Al Gore has given a great deal of thought to why some people still
>> don=92t recognize the cliff we=92re about to drive over. > http://www.=
nytimes.com/2007/05/20/magazine/20wwln-gore-t.html?pagewanted=3D2
>>=20
><more snippage>
>> The problem in a nutshell.
>>=20
>
>Hi Josh,
>I have been thinking about this for a little while this morning, and=20
>maybe this analogy will help.
>
>You are driving along the road, and some folks flag you down.  They tell=
=20
>you the bridge is out ahead, so you need to turn around.
>
>But, something doesn't seem right, and, as you look into the distance,=20
>you can't see the bridge because of the fog that has come up.  You do=20
>see a bunch of folks trying to turn around, but you also see a whole lot=
=20
>of other folks driving on towards the bridge.  You also see that, before=
=20
>driving off, a lot of those folks first shout back to the others "Yes,=20
>the bridge is out! Go back!" and then get in their cars and zoom forward.
>
>So, you ask the folks that stopped you how they know the bridge is out.=20
>  They confidently tell you "Because we KNOW!" So, you think about=20
>turning around, but then you ask again "How did you find out?  Did you=20
>see the bridge?  Did someone come back and tell you?"  And, then you=20
>find out that, no, nobody came back.  But, they do have indications that=
=20
>the bridge had some wear on it, and it just MIGHT be down by the time=20
>you get there.  Our computers predicted it.  And that the real problem=20
>is that, if everyone on the road crosses the bridge, then it will fall=20
>down.  Not that it is down NOW...
>
>And, then you see some other folks telling everyone to just go on, that=20
>everything is all right, that the bridge is fine.  But, whenever someone=
=20
>starts to say that, all those predicting the bridge go over and beat the=
=20
>sn@t out of them, until they shut up.  When you ask why they do that,=20
>they say "Those are the bridge construction people.  They want the=20
>bridge to fall so that they can build a new one!"
>
>So, you look at the guys shouting for you to stop, look at them beating=20
>the other fellows up, and look at all the folks who just keep on the=20
>road, and need to make up your mind.
>
>Me, I get in my car, and slow down in the fog...
>
>Charlie


What about this analogy?

You aren't "feeling right." You go to the doctor. The doctor takes one
quick look at you, maybe takes your blood pressure. He says "You're
overweight. That's why you're tired. Go on a diet"

You try dieting, but you still feel bloated.

Your back aches, but you write this off to a previous spinal injury
and ignore it.

Your lower body swells up. You and your doctor think it has to do with
your weight problem and don't bother looking at any other causes.

Your tiredness you chalk up to 'getting old and being fat' and think
it's normal. You come up with other plausible reasons for your bladder
and urinary problems.

Then, one day, you are feeling really awful, and you go see a
different doctor and they run tests, and lo and behold, you have stage
IV ovarian cancer, and you have 6 months to live.

The signs were there for YEARS, but nobody recognized them or did
anything about them. And you die. And your ashes are in a box in your
daughter's dining room.

-Wendy
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