Doomsday Planet Nibiru, Comet Elenin, and other sundrie Items, via Space Dot Com

Renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan once described a "baloney detection kit" — a set of tools that skeptical thinkers use to investigate any new concept. A few of the key tools include a healthy distrust of information that isn't independently verified, critically assessing an idea rather than becoming irrationally attached to it simply because it's intriguing, and a preference for simple explanations over wildly speculative ones.

The waxing obsession with Nibiru, which conspiracy theorists say is a planet swinging in from the outskirts of our solar system that is going to crash into Earth and wipe out humanity in 2012 — or, in some opinions, 2011 — shows that an astonishing number of people "are watching YouTube videos and visiting slick websites with nothing in their skeptical toolkit," in the words of David Morrison, a planetary astronomer at NASA Ames Research Center and senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Morrison estimates that there are 2 million websites discussing the impending Nibiru-Earth collision. He receives, on average, five email inquiries about Nibiru every day.

2 million websites?
What do you think of this Article? Condescending? Correct? Or just some other schmuck's opinion?

For what it's worth, I think doomsday scenarios seem develop for want of something more tragic than the realities that occur on this earth every single day.

Entire article
www.space.com...

My thoughts on this subject are summed up pretty well in this thread which I literally just wrote. Here is an excerpt.

If you are aware of this very real threat to humanity (NWO) then you will have noticed a lot of hasty pushes towards the globalist dream in recent years. The tyranny is stepping up a level. This leads me to believe that there is going to be the 'Final push' very soon. Within the next year or two infact. That being said it will obviously not be an easy task, fully implementing this one world government. In order to make the final preparations so that this takeover can be swift and effective, the people and various governments of the world must be extremely distracted so that they are 'Caught with their pants down' when the final globalist push comes. But they must also be distracted in the meantime so that essential preparations can be made. How better to distract everyone than convincing everyone they are going to die?

reply to post by TechUnique

What do you think of Carl Sagan's Toolkit?
Is it a good set of analytical skills?

a set of tools that skeptical thinkers use to investigate any new concept. A few of the key tools include a healthy distrust of information that isn't independently verified, critically assessing an idea rather than becoming irrationally attached to it simply because it's intriguing, and a preference for simple explanations over wildly speculative ones.

I can only hope for the sake of the human race that 2,000,000 individual morons didnt waste a day creating a website about something so RIDICULOUS.

reply to post by VicDiaz89



I wonder how they came up with that number?
Just a google estimation?

Originally posted by spacedoubt
reply to post by TechUnique

 

What do you think of Carl Sagan's Toolkit?
Is it a good set of analytical skills?

a set of tools that skeptical thinkers use to investigate any new concept. A few of the key tools include a healthy distrust of information that isn't independently verified, critically assessing an idea rather than becoming irrationally attached to it simply because it's intriguing, and a preference for simple explanations over wildly speculative ones.

edit on 8-7-2011 by spacedoubt because: (no reason given)

Yes as long as you still have an open mind and can wait for evidence to show up instead of automatically dismissing the possibility of something forever!

reply to post by spacedoubt


2 million sounds low

It is just an estimate though and when I typed nibiru into google I got...

About 15,000,000 results (0.04 seconds)

Originally posted by Chadwickus
reply to post by spacedoubt

 

2 million sounds low

It is just an estimate though and when I typed nibiru into google I got...

About 15,000,000 results (0.04 seconds)

I bet 14,000,000 of those results were on ATS.

reply to post by VicDiaz89


You call things such as this ridiculous, how do you explain the deaths of hundred of thousands of animals this year, alone. The increase in earthquakes around the world this year. The increase in Volcano eruptions this year? The movement off the north and south poles. The increase in sun activity this year alone. Kinda bizarre that FEMA would order 1 billion supplies of dried food in case off domestic terror attacks.

Something is going on and the Governments are not telling us the whole truth.

if something bad happens to my loved ones on 2012 i'm gonna spend the rest of my life looking for mOrrison..thats a fact

seriously...many but many of us are over with this NIBIRU thingy Mr Morrison...it was an interesting story...but there was nothing out there...

but

and a big BUT...

There is evidence that next solar cycle relates to the 1859 Solar Storm which caused havoc for the technology they had wayback then.

A replica of this event will change our way of living, will send our civilization back hundreds of years...will cripple our technology and destroy the Currency.

You can say whatever you like Mr Morrison..but i'm ready for it...and my plan is fabulous

reply to post by spacedoubt


Synchronicity or something more?

I happen to be reading this only yesterday. Here's a couple of links you might find of interest:

The Fine Art of Baloney Detection by Carl Sagan

I particularly like the following:

Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours. It's only a way station in the pursuit of knowledge.

and also:

Rational Wiki - The Fine Art of Baloney Detection

"The Fine Art of Baloney Detection" is an essay by Carl Sagan in his seminal work against pseudoscience, The Demon-Haunted World.

In this essay, he gives advice for devising conclusions, as well as advice for avoiding logical and rhetorical fallacies. Together, the set of warning signs for common fallacies constitutes what Sagan calls a "Baloney Detection Kit." Sagan categorizes the logical and rhetorical fallacies as below. Here is given the type of fallacy, a definition of each, and an example from the current internet.

I think the latter excellent reading for Denying Ignorance.

reply to post by heineken

if something bad happens to my loved ones on 2012 i'm gonna spend the rest of my life looking for mOrrison..thats a fact

If nothing happens, be sure to send him a bottle of wine... he will have earned it!

reply to post by JAK


These are excellent links.
I miss Carl very much.

I'll have to admit to hyper-analyzing things myself.

reply to post by Laurauk


its all part of life,forgive me if im wrong but i beleive theres been earthquakes,eruptions, and death for billions of years,i see no dramatic change.I think you need to get away from your computer more often and take a little walk through the real world..

Originally posted by spacedoubt
2 million websites?
What do you think of this Article? Condescending? Correct? Or just some other schmuck's opinion?

What do I think?
It's easier to be spoon fed than to research yourself to get a real education. You asked.

Apparently, it also is more 'fun'.

reply to post by spacedoubt


Carl is not a god, he said the Gulf War One oil wells in Kuwait were to burn it would cause global cooling. So he was wrong there. You have to understand he was more media than a practicing scientist.

I do admire Carl, I own a couple of his books, (made from paper printed with ink), but the media does things to well intentions, –enter, Michio Kaku.

Enough said.

TV money is mad money for what they used to get paid, I'd do it too!

I could care less about Nibiru/Elenin (seriously if spacejunk is going to kill me I doubt there's anything that could come of worry), but I laughed when I read this:

"If it [a story] is real, it is likely to be in regular news media, not just posted on some website,"

Suuure. Considering our 'regular news media' spends 99.9% of their time reporting sensationalist fluff, I doubt they'd notice if our own moon disappeared.

reply to post by Illustronic



I only said I missed him!
I don't deify him in any way.
I admired his healthy skepticism..

I have a few of his books....My first was "The Dragons of Eden".
I also do Admire Michiu K...Though he's getting a little over exposed.
And Degrasse-Tyson, even though you didn't mention him..I view him as an educated celebrity, with a condescending attitude.

reply to post by VicDiaz89


The explain to me why the US Government recalled all its ambassadors from around the world to Washington? This has never happened before.

And why is the UN Moving military equipment in large numbers across the US.

Dont tell me there is nothing going on.

And as for your little dig with regards to me taking a walk in the real world. I could say the exact same thing to you. But i wont lower myself down to your level.

reply to post by spacedoubt


Just want you to know, unless unintentionally, I was not responding to a reply from you specifically or personally.

Maybe I should review because I do make errors, at work a study suggests we make as much as 5 errors an hour on the job, and that is why QC is so important, (though seriously the magnitude of the errors made can be miniscule and meaningless, like letting your coffee get cold before finishing it), its a tough group.