[ExI] Religious Idiocy Triumphs Over Science Yet Again

Mike Dougherty msd001 at gmail.com
Fri Dec 11 23:27:46 UTC 2015


On Dec 11, 2015 4:44 PM, "spike" <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

> I propose an experiment that is safe, perfectly legal and doesn’t even
cost anything.  Get your favorite music track,

The music/singing metaphor is a good example.  I propose another.   Imagine
a simple 2-stroke gasoline engine.  Like any internal combustion engine, it
runs on air+fuel.  The enduring beauty of these engines is their simplicity
( if not also their manufacturer )

Now consider the effects on performance of various gasoline+oil mixtures.
Too rich and you produce a giant blue cloud with not enough power.  Too
lean and the engine runs very hot,  ultimately fatiguing the metal and
leading to mechanical failure.   I have no experience with leaded
gasoline,  but old gas with insufficient octane has a particular nuance on
performance.  Also are the additives such as so-called fuel stabilizer or
ethanol.  These are all variables regarding fuel.  There are also humidity,
temperature, and particulant/debris affecting the quality and performance
of the requisite air.

Now draw analogies from this simple engine to the brain.  Different
chemicals,  but with good enough approximations on performance impact.

Does the engine need kerosene or deisel running through it?  Of course
not.  Would it be interesting to adjust the oil mixture to compensate for
the alteration of the gasoline with kerosene?  For those who work on
engines it probably would be,  even if their best guess is that it would be
dumb to try it - until the experiment it's just competing opinions no
matter how well informed they may be.

I'm not sure many revelations start this way,  but much entertainment
begins with "hold my beer, watch this"

> Of course I am no expert on these matters, just sayin’.

Nobody is an expert until they do it for 10,000 hours right?
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