It would be interesting to see how many of these people are religious, too.
Perhaps inspired by TV favourites such as Doctor Who and Ashes to Ashes, nearly a third of Britons (30%) believe that time travel is actually possible. The results were revealed in a survey, launched at the start of National Science and Engineering Week (11-20 March) by Birmingham Science City, which aimed to see just how blurred the lines between science and fiction really are.
Other findings included:
1. Over a fifth of adults incorrectly believe light sabres exist.
2. Nearly a quarter (24%) of people are wrong in their belief that humans can be teleported.
3. Nearly 50% of adults wrongly believe that memory-erasing technology exists.
4. More than 40% of people incorrectly believe that hover boards exist.
5. Nearly one fifth (18%) of adults have the incorrect view that they can see gravity.
I know its a paradox, but if time travel backwards was possible, wouldn’t we know about it? I saw an explanation for how shooting your own grandfather might be impossible in a time travel scenario, but they illustrated it with pool balls so it didn’t make any sense to me.
Imagination is fine and dandy. So is reality.
Well I might add that Dr. Who is a very fine show.
#71,
This is exactly the sort of behaviour I would expect from someone employed in a marginally useful government beaurocracy.
Personal agendas, petty enforcement of arbitrary rules, and feeling threatened when someone not of your personal beliefs dares to exist. The confirmation is the glee you claim to feel at your wielding of “authority.” In the name of what, the State? the Greater Good?
And you probably think the government running health care is a great idea too.
Typical.
Why yes, I do take glee in enforcing the environmental regulations of the State of Missouri. I happen to care passionately about the environmental health of the state and its residents. But while I take pride and satisfaction and sometimes a little glee in the enforcing of those regulations, I am never, nor has it ever been accused that I am arbitrary in the application of those regulations. As a matter of fact I am considered quite conservative in referrals to enforcement. I prefer to obtain voluntary compliance. The state has a very specific compliance manual which lays out in specific order and detail how to enforce the air and hazardous waste regulations. Voluntary compliance is always less costly for a facility as the lawyers have not gotten involved at that stage. I can easily stand up in court and have done so to explain my actions. I do tend to take a bit more pleasure when its a facility that has been noted before, and received technical assistance on at least a half dozen occasions, and chose not to even attempt voluntary compliance, gets hoist by its own petard. By the way its spelled bureaucracy not beaurocracy. I am not a spelling Nazi but I work for one. The closing of the school that the Department of Health and Senior Services not the Department of Natural Resources. So not pleasure on my end just humor. By the way Alfi I was in the office all day, not a single sunshine request. If you don’t hurry when its turned over to the Attorney General the records will be sealed to all but the parties of the legal action, until its resolved.
So What,
Pardon my typo, sir. I too work for an unforgiving editor. I choose to believe you and the explanation of your motivation. The content and context of your original post would have had me believing otherwise.
That said, I still believe a large percentage of our civil institutions are bloated, inefficient, and largely unnecessary. As are an equal number of non-profits.
Les
I would agree with your comment to a great degree, unfortunately a bureaucracy is like a very large ship. Trying to change course is a major event. The bigger the bureaucracy the harder it becomes. Toss in the potential changes in administrations and it becomes almost impossible. If you want efficient operations do not look at government as an example. I actually suspect that it is impossible to some degree to make government efficient due to its size. Many times the option of contracting out duties is brought up to make the system more efficient, the problem is, contracting usually costs even more than the original situation. I began my career doing industrial hygiene and environmental pretreatment for industry. I began working for the state as a sunset job. What I find most disappointing is that for every one or two people with a great attitude and work ethic, who is passionate about doing a good job. I can find one is 180 degrees the opposite, who are negative, capricious, arbitrary, and who are just exactly what the stereo type of a state or “public” employee is. The problem is that those are the ones who are remembered by the public. I will admit the tweaking alfies, well that’s just for my own humor.
“3. Nearly 50% of adults wrongly believe that memory-erasing technology exists.”
So they have never heard of date rape drugs.
(do not remember their names atm)
Or electric shock therapy?
You know, electricity applied to the brain of a subject to hopefully cure em of things like depression and other brain maladies.