SUBJ: Magic/ Magical Occurances (R10) FROM: Pink Punk 07/16/94 S#: 396570 In our society now it seems to me that more people are starting to believe in magic, or magical occurances. You see people on television all the time talking about it. Even accross the nation more stores dealing with magical things are opening, so I want you opinion on if you believe in the existance of it, or if it is just made up. -::- SUBJ: What do you expect?? (R) FROM: Ambassador 07/29/94 S#: 396867 After all, we now have a population that, thanks to our glorious education system, is more ignorant than any time in this century. Nobody seems to be able to tell the difference between bogus pseudo-science and the real thing. Take this little quiz. How many of the following statements are "scientifically proven" facts? 1. Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. 2. Fossil fuel burning is causing the earth to heat up. 3. CFC's and other airborne manmade pollutants are destroying the ozone layer. 4. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of U.S. G.I.'s in Vietnam were stricken with various fatal diseases from their exposure to Agent Orange. 5. There is more than just guesswork and fabrication behind the casting of horoscopes. -::- SUBJ: Answers to quiz (R) FROM: Ambassador 07/29/94 S#: 396872 Give up? Here are the answers. #1 is scientifically proven. The others are not. Like law, science is seen by an increasingly ignorant, uncomprehending populace as a strange otherworld where anything, no matter how outrageous, just might be true. If science, the paragon of logical thinking, is subject to such an opinion, why can't magic get respectable too? -::- SUBJ: Trouble is... (R) FROM: Toadsucker 07/29/94 S#: 396950 Even the things scientists are saying these days are starting to sound just as outrageous as anything the likes of Shirly Maclean could come up with. For example, are you ready to accept that a vacuum is not a vacuum at all but is actually seathing with virtual particles of matter and anti-matter constantly blinking in and out of existance? -::- SUBJ: ... (R) FROM: Toadsucker 08/07/94 S#: 399060 I left out one more phrase in my definition of economic growth. It should read, "an increase in the GDP per capita *over time*". That is, a positive slope in the smoothed out curve over a period of years or decades. The ebbs and tides of the economy that you describe are usually just normal swings in the business cycle. If that is your interest, you should address yourself to the monetary and fiscal policies of the govt. as one of their main goals, ever since the great depression, is to dampen the severity of these natural cycles. How in the world is teaching mathematics to children equated, in your apparantly puny mind, with feeding them trash? And why should I feel guilty for having the intelligence and foresight to choose a profession that doesn't bob like a cork in the economic sea? -::- SUBJ: ooops (R) FROM: Toadsucker 08/07/94 S#: 399149 That was supposed to be on the thread below. -::- SUBJ: Because... (R) FROM: CHESTER E 08/17/94 S#: 401085 My dear TS, if you are like every other teacher I have had contact with, you interject your own veiwpoint, opinions,& prejudices into your presentations to your class. You have the power to mold impressionable young minds in certain directions and not necessarily for the good. On the other hand, what power do I have? The next time you walk into your class room, look around you, chances are what you will see is cement block or brick put up by men with puny minds and great skill. Some of these men on their off time are artists, some devote time to their families, still others have used the tiny brains that they have been given to learn to do circus tricks like use computers. Do you think we are all beer swilling, knuckle dragging, slope browed troglodytes? I work with my hands for my living, TS, the same as my father before me. A lot of pride goes into what I and others like me do and we do not produce trash! -::- SUBJ: My, my... (R) FROM: Toadsucker 08/18/94 S#: 401217 ..sensitive aren't we? But we all know, people who work with their hands produce *lots* of trash, as well as lots of good stuff. As a math teacher I do very little discussion of anything anyone might consider controversial, and when I do, I try very hard to present all points of view fairly. But I have nothing against people who work with their hands. My gosh, I'm only a Jr. High school teacher. I think that puts me firmy entrenched among the middle-class blue-collar set; certainly not in a position that I would look down on anyone else. Heck, you probably make more money than I do. -::- SUBJ: I doubt it... (R) FROM: CHESTER E 08/19/94 S#: 401522 TS, if you are a member of the NEA you are making a lot more than I am. How do I know? My mother was a school bus driver and my sister still is and I've heard some of salaries your colleagues here make, outrageous to say the least. Not bad for part time work. -::- SUBJ: That's true. (R) FROM: Toadsucker 08/21/94 S#: 401847 Fact is: I LOVE THIS JOB!! Not only is it fun and rewarding, but I feel semi-retired. Now that we are on an all-year schedule, I get one month off after every three months work. -::- SUBJ: Oh yes, FROM: Toadsucker 08/25/94 S#: 402560 did I mention that I get home every day around 2:45? Eat yer heart out. heh heh