What a Fool Believes

[Atheist-Lite]

http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/news/ ... _1_3168543

Survey shows belief in time travel

Nearly a third of Britons believe their lives could soon be made much easier thanks to the gift of time travel, research commissioned by Birmingham Science City has found.

A survey of 3,000 people has revealed that 30% of adults across the UK mistakenly believe that time travel is actually possible and not confined to the realms of fictional films or television.

The research suggests that programmes such as Doctor Who and Ashes to Ashes may have had a hand in the blurring of lines between science fiction and science fact.

Results also showed that nearly half of adults (44%) wrongly believe that memory-erasing technology similar to that used in the film Men in Black and hover boards, such as those showcased in Back to the Future, exist in reality.

The possibility of being teleported was also an option for nearly a quarter of those surveyed (24%) who wrongly think it is a real mode of transport, while 22% of people think light sabres exist not just in Star Wars, but also in real life.

(continued)

[Gallstones]

"What a Fool Believes" is a Doobie Brothers song.

I saw the Doobie Brothers at the Universal Amphitheater--before it was roofed over.






Never mind me.

[Thinking Aloud]

I'd be interested to see how the questions were phrased.

[JimC]

To some extent, as I teach science to my lads, I see some evidence of this blurring, with a (tentative) belief among many of them that a variety of science fiction technologies are either extant, or just around the corner...

[Pappa]

I'd be interested to see how the questions were phrased.

I can't find the questions, but here's a bit more from the people who commissioned it:
http://www.birminghamsciencecity.co.uk/ ... he-tardis/

[Thinking Aloud]

Hmm. Well, if the questionnaire was anything like their sample questions, it's no surprise at the results.

1. Can you spray Solar Cells on?
2. Can stars sing?
3. Do hoverboards exist?
4. Can you tell how old an insect is from the ‘taste’ of its surface?
5. Do neuralisers (memory erasers) exist?

All are Yes/No with no other information. So the reader is left to guess the interpretation of things like "sing" in the star question. The answer is, apparently, "Yes" because stars oscillate, and that information can turned into sound (by scientists) and be used to glean information about the star - however I'd say that by the everyday definition of "star" and "sing" and the properties of a vacuum, the answer ought to be "No". Also, the "sprayed solar cells" thing is also "Yes" although it's only in development and hasn't happened yet - which I'd probably define as "No".

Fun survey, perhaps, but declaring that Xty % of the population believes Y to be true from this is somewhat misleading.

[Millefleur]

..while 22% of people think light sabres exist not just in Star Wars, but also in real life.

Lightsaber Becomes Deadly Reality

If you’ve ever wanted to own a real lightsaber, your dream has come true. But safety officials have warned that the product is no toy and could cause serious injury or worse.

The Spyder III Pro Arctic is sold by Shanghai-based firm Wicked Lasers and costs US$197.97, shipping to 70 countries. It takes the direct blue laser diode used in extremely powerful home theater projectors and turns it into a 1W beam.

That might not sound much, but bear in mind that a standard laser pointer of the type used by idiots to piss off other crowd members at sports and entertainment events has the same power as sunlight on the skin. This device has 1,000 times that level of power.

The manufacturer admits that at close range the beam will cause “immediate and irreversible retinal damage” and could set fire to skin. But a laser safety expert told Britain’s Sky News that was, if anything, an understatement, noting that pointed in the wrong direction it could cause a deadly car or even plane crash.

The device comes with eye protectors and buyers must read and agree to a hazard acknowledgement form before purchasing one. But safety experts warn that the device is for responsible industrial use only and should not be sold openly to the public, particularly online.

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2010/06/16/ ... y-reality/

[Feck]

A laser is not a light sabre ! but you can get handy little 5w IR lasers if you feel like burning stuff