(no subject)
I love the internet because it tells me how to make a flame thrower out of prosciutto. Or a cucumber.
There's also the charming explosion of the story that Twitter makes you a bad person. Which is Not True. But it's a perfect example of the problems with science journalism, especially corporate science journalism, which go like this:
JOURNALIST: There are two sides to every story.
SCIENTIST: Yes. The right side and the wrong side.
EDITOR: I'm not printing anything unless it's going to cause enough rage, terror and/or lust to generate my next paycheck.
JOURNALIST: ...I'ma go be fair and balanced now.
SCIENTIST: Who do I have to blow to get my grant extended?
Thus, legitimate research on how the brain processes emotions it twisted into sensationalism that doesn't actually inform anybody and makes an untestable (and untenable) claim. Good job, guys.
There's also the charming explosion of the story that Twitter makes you a bad person. Which is Not True. But it's a perfect example of the problems with science journalism, especially corporate science journalism, which go like this:
JOURNALIST: There are two sides to every story.
SCIENTIST: Yes. The right side and the wrong side.
EDITOR: I'm not printing anything unless it's going to cause enough rage, terror and/or lust to generate my next paycheck.
JOURNALIST: ...I'ma go be fair and balanced now.
SCIENTIST: Who do I have to blow to get my grant extended?
Thus, legitimate research on how the brain processes emotions it twisted into sensationalism that doesn't actually inform anybody and makes an untestable (and untenable) claim. Good job, guys.