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Beliefs over Data

iWe
@iWe
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As a fundamentalist Jew, I am no stranger to the valid criticism that my beliefs cannot be sustained from empirical data.

But what astounds me is how those who criticize religious people are they, themselves, completely down the rabbit hole when it comes to their own beliefs versus the data. Consider, for example, every faddish diet that is asserted to be "healthier" even though there is zero evidence that being Vegan/Vegetarian/Macrobiotic/No Sugar/No Salt/All Fiber/etc., actually leads to a longer and happier life.

But nobody cares.

It is like all the frightened people wearing masks everywhere again, or insisting that, while they had Covid, "it would have been much worse if I was not vaccinated."

Data? Shmata.

I have precisely the same problem with all those good and nice people who believe that a food is superior because it is "organic" or "natural." Or that natural supplements are superior to drugs that actually, you know, work. Because, somehow, natural is better.

Natural is not better. We have the data set of the entire human race. Nature kills. It is technology that improves life, that cures disease, that extends the length and quality of our lives.

But why does nobody care?

It reminds me of a friend of mine who died of curable prostate cancer -- and he did so proudly, because he believed that the Canadian healthcare system was such an inherent good, that his own deadly outcome from an otherwise-curable illness was a sacrifice well worth making to show his faith.

And they call me illogical?

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Discussion (15)

  • Arahant@Arahant

    We can even design drugs that work much better than the natural extracts and don't need large fields to grow the plants. They can be synthesized in a lab much more cheaply.

  • Arahant@Arahant
    iWe (View Post):
    It reminds me of a friend of mine who died of curable prostate cancer – and he did so proudly, because he believed that the Canadian health care system was such an inherent good, that his own deadly outcome from an otherwise-curable illness was a sacrifice well worth making to show his faith.

    I had a friend who similarly died of Canadian healthcare. She would have a test scheduled. Then wait for the results. Then get on the schedule for the next test four months away. By the time they had her diagnosed, it was too late. I think two of the tests were an MRI and cat-scan, or some such. (This was decades ago now.) When I broke my back here in the USA, I had the MRI that day, not four or six months later.

  • Percival@Percival
    ReplyingtoArahant

    Arahant (View Comment):

    iWe (View Post):

    iWe (View Post):
    It reminds me of a friend of mine who died of curable prostate cancer – and he did so proudly, because he believed that the Canadian health care system was such an inherent good, that his own deadly outcome from an otherwise-curable illness was a sacrifice well worth making to show his faith.

    I had a friend who similarly died of Canadian healthcare. She would have a test scheduled. Then wait for the results. Then get on the schedule for the next test four months away. By the time they had her diagnosed, it was too late. I think two of the tests were an MRI and cat-scan, or some such. (This was decades ago now.) When I broke my back here in the USA, I had the MRI that day, not four or six months later.

    A friend of mine who waxed euphoric about Canadian healthcare and how we needed it here slipped on the ice and screwed up her knee. She had an MRI the day this happened in Chicago. I pointed out to her that she would have had a wait if she had been in Canada, because at that time Chicago had more MRIs than Canada did.

  • The Reticulator@TheReticulator
    ReplyingtoPercival

    Arahant (View Comment):

    iWe (View Post):

    iWe (View Post):
    It reminds me of a friend of mine who died of curable prostate cancer – and he did so proudly, because he believed that the Canadian health care system was such an inherent good, that his own deadly outcome from an otherwise-curable illness was a sacrifice well worth making to show his faith.

    I had a friend who similarly died of Canadian healthcare. She would have a test scheduled. Then wait for the results. Then get on the schedule for the next test four months away. By the time they had her diagnosed, it was too late. I think two of the tests were an MRI and cat-scan, or some such. (This was decades ago now.) When I broke my back here in the USA, I had the MRI that day, not four or six months later.

    Percival (View Comment):

    A friend of mine who waxed euphoric about Canadian healthcare and how we needed it here slipped on the ice and screwed up her knee. She had an MRI the day this happened in Chicago. I pointed out to her that she would have had a wait if she had been in Canada, because at that time Chicago had more MRIs than Canada did.

    Canada does give you the option to end your life, though. So that should keep the suffering to a minimum.

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