A quick-reply blog for a particular type of logical fallacy

'No one has ever died on Mars, therefore Mars is safe!'



There are thousands of dog bite injuries per year, but usually shark injuries barely hit double digits. That's not because dogs are more dangerous, it's because dogs are more common.



Similarly, alcohol kills hundreds of people per year, while pesticides have killed only three. Doesn't make Glyphosate a better drink for your health.



You encounter hundreds of cars every day. Unless you work at a shooting range, you encounter guns rarely. You encounter active, loaded weapons even more rarely. That doesn't make a gun less dangerous than a car.

Help with the homework

Types of Chemical Bonds

Okay, so my anecdote for the... month? year? decade? I don't put a lot of anecdotes here... is that at some point in grade nine or so I was made to colour- yes, colour- an image of HOFBrINCl the clown. Also, to remember that these elements go in pairs because- and here's where you realize how very intelligent this was- the clown has two ears.

I still giggle.

In case you don't know it,
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
is a common test sentence for fonts
because it contains every letter of the alphabet.

source would be appreciated

Bones of the hand...

I also still remember my diatomic elements.

reactivity series mnemonic

All the others are also there,
And the character designs are
really really cool.

So here's a tribute to my long-suffering teachers in high school, in cutesy mnemonic form or elegant drawing.

Some vaguely science and technology related jokes will also be present.

"Dada is twaddle"

no idea where this comes from originally,
but it was shared by this facebook group.

It's warm out.

Flowering Ruby by b-skipper

Wishing on the Ordinary by manillalu

I suppose I could, if I so wished, make a long, articulate, and impassioned speech about the planet getting warmer, but I'm a bit over-politicked at the moment. Just enjoy these blissful scenes of warmth and try not to think of the implications of the planet's frighteningly fast climate shift.

Heat by Dinabelenko

If you're anything like me, you will fail. And that's good. Because it's actually an issue that needs working on.

By Wayne Thieaud

A waterlily and a dragonfly by natarielka

by MartaCanovasArt

Source: {x}

The Lady of the Lake by WildPencil
Model: me!

Yeah, OK, I cheated. I forced you to think about it. I'm sorry, but it's kind of crucial.

Simple silliness

{x}

If brevity is the soul of wit, simplicity is the soul of elegance.

The following things are not elegant, nor can most of them truly be described as witty, but they are simple and amusing.

Enjoy!

{x}

I've actually seen this joke made in an actual ice cream place once.
This particular iteration is by mariyaolshevska.

Click through his gallery,
it's all this good.

sillyvamp

Who, meee?

Naolito

In honour of Sayday, a rant about 'yes and'.

Okay, so there's a concept in Improv theatre that you shouldn't just contradict what the person you're working with just said.

Yes, and it really helps communication to add to the previous idea rather than tearing it down.

Yes, and you can use it to bring new ideas into the conversation, without implying that the previous ones weren't good.

Yes, and it makes everyone feel really nice because their ideas are being valued.

Yes, and it's all about building up a conversation.

Yes, and you get the point.

Now under normal circumstances this is really lovely, although it's obviously not something you can actively sustain for much longer than a five-minute improv skit.

It has, unfortunately, become tangentially relevant to political discourse recently. Namely, this practice of yes-but-ing to other people's protests/political movements/slogans/petitions/etc.

For example, "Black lives matter." was responded to with "All lives matter."

"Women need to feel safe" was responded to with "Not all men are terrible people."

And this isn't really a "Yes, and" It's really more of a "Yes, but." And if you ever took an improv class, you will know that 'Yes, but' is not the same things at all.

'Yes, but' is actually just derailing the conversation. You're agreeing and then bringing up something new rather than adding something to the existing discussion.

So learn to fucking "yes, and" people!

When someone says "Black lives matter" say
"Yes, and we need to make sure that's reflected in our police force!"
not
"Yes, but white lives matter too!"

When someone mentions Cecil the lion's shooter being a jerk, say
"Yes, and it's insane that the laws would have allowed his hunting other lions!"
not
"Yes, but he's just a lion and really black lives are more important!"

When someone mentions gay "cures" and how damaging they are, say
"Yes, and they really should be made illegal!"
not
"Yes, but really climate change could kill us all!"

When someone says "Climate change is really scary.", say
"Yes, and there's a discussion going on about it internationally right now at (climate summit of choice)."
not
"Yes, but nuclear is really dangerous!"

In short, do not derail good, productive conversations about issues that matter by bringing up other things. Even if those other things are also discussions worth having. Because what that actually does is make people drop out of activism as a whole. It's draining to try to explain over and over why the issue you're talking about is important - It's absolutely impossible to keep trying to explain it when people are accusing you of caring about the wrong thing.

Those activists that fight to make the world better place to live in don't need their priorities sorted, even if they're fighting for something you don't think is that important. Fight for your issues to be heard- not to drown out everyone else's.

In honour of winter

Artist is one Simon Beck

{x}

I'm snowed in and don't have much else to do, so here's a fun thing full of snow and ice themed art.

This is so very me right now, OMG... Sweater Weather

{x}

{x}

This one's mine...

by Jon-Lock,
who also does a wide range of cutesy things,
like genderbent Disney and personified browsers....

 

Calvin and Hobbes. There's a whole gallery here.

{x}

The Snow Queen