I hear you, I’d actually just argue that one -should- fall on the side of it probably not having happened unless there is evidence for it. Sure, you can layer in dubious and apocryphal to soften the statement, but why bother? Atlantis is also apocryphal, but I feel very comfortable saying it never existed.

Can I just nitpick something here?

The closest thing to it actually “happening” is an entry in an officer’s journal during the late colonial / early revolutionary period in which the idea is suggested, but there’s no evidence that idea was acted upon. In any case, it’s the job of history to prove something -did- happen, not prove that it didn’t. The…

If you mean the notorious “smallpox blankets” it turns out that particular bit of history may not have actually happened. That’s not to say the Europeans didn’t infect native american’s with many maladies through contact, but the particular bit about biological warfare is not supported by much evidence. Not judging,…

Deepak Chopra is a deeply unimpressive person.

Ambiguous pronount. Which “he” are you talking about?

Smart, but not effective then?

What’s the TLDR version?

Why use the confederate flag on the main image? Seems incredibly lazy and not even an accurate visual metaphor. You can do better, Gizmodo.

How can you prove that it’s a ruse, and not an actual intent? I am interested in the arguments, not the character accusations.

Americans do not want to see their national heritage sold off to the highest bidder.

It’s worth noting that Benjamin Franklin, via his family’s newspaper, was a vocal detractor of inoculation. However, it’s important to caveat that he was quite young during the debate on the issue and later deeply regretted having taken the stance (several people close to him died during the 12 year epidemic cycle).

The true market value -is- the price that someone is willing to pay for it, and -is- based on the personal valuation of individuals in the market. If one person is willing to bay $100 for something, and the next is willing to pay $80, then the true market value of that one item IS $100, until that person buys it, at…

The one good thing about the Ted Cruz video is that it’s gotten a whole lot of people who’ve never actually held a gun to learn -just- enough about gun safety to pretend they’re gun safety experts. And that tiny bit of research on their part might actually lead to someone surviving a firearms accident. So, net win.

Waterduct is too simple. How about an AquaTube? By golly, people will be AquaTubing all over the place before you know it.

So, in regards to great writing: I just read this whole article and didn’t get that much more value than I did out of just the headline. I was expecting some meat or some serious advice / analysis. This article had all the elements of a great post, but it just kind of fell apart.

I could do without the dramatic cutting scenes. I almost feel this would be better as an infographic.

Welcome to “Leftmodo.” They haven’t changed the URL yet.

Yeah, your reference totally holds. He’s a doctor like Joseph Mengele..... You win the debate prize. Very well thought out. #sarcasm

Just a thought: It would be nice to -always- include the topic’s primary URL / Link (in this case, the link to the Coursera page) at the bottom of the article. It’s not super convenient to have to hunt through the post to find it etc.