[Osx-nutters] Denial

[Stefano Mori]

David Cake wrote:


>> You're still thinking the culture war is just paid adverts or paid  
>> speakers or something?
>
> 	No, just addressing your specific implication that money spend on  
> basic research should be weighted against money spent on paid  
> advertising.
> 	It really is like saying that money spend on respiratory medicine  
> should be weighed against the money spend on cigarette advertising.

When a scientist makes a statement to the public or politicians, he  
has behind him the authoritative weight of his qualifications, his  
career, and the prestige of the institution and other scientific  
organisations of which he is a member, perhaps even a high level  
member. And all of that stuff costs money. Without the money those  
things would not exist. Even the money for desks, these places  
couldn't exist without desks, right?

If you took away the money for the science research, there would be  
nobody to convince the government that smoking is bad, and the  
government wouldn't have then acted to, as we have in the UK, force  
all cigarette packets to carry, free of charge, a large health  
warning printed in bold letters, that all members of the public can  
plainly see when they look at a packet.

You know, it's kinda funny how the examples from smoking are helping  
my points.

Anyway, you can apportion the money how you like, but some portion of  
a billion is still a lot of money.

Stefano