Perhaps we should rename the "straw man" fallacy the "stick man" in honor of XKCD.

"Diaz explains on The Silmarillion Project blog that he decided to undertake this illustration project in part because, lovely as they are, Jackson's movies have so overwhelmed the popular vision of Middle Earth and Diaz wants to encourage a diversity of artistic interpretations."

This has been addressed in the comments at Boing Boing, but the counter-argument here is that this kind of off-handed mockery and dismissal can get in the way of seeing actual patterns and discovering what might in fact be causing the problem. And, short of finding the actual (or partial) cause, it might point to a…

Here's something to bake your noodle - at what point does an open hand become a fist and a fist become an open hand?

I'm too old for this shit.

It's just the nickname for a machine that performs transcranial direct current stimulation (or possibly magnetic stimulation, can't recall), often inducing states similar to those commonly described as religious experiences. You also off-handedly dismiss the Higgs-Boson the second you read the words "God Particle"?

Anything that fails to mention cat photos and porn is well off the mark.

The same could be said about our models of reality (i.e. science).

Keen insight. In the words of farmer Joel Salatin:

Was trying to figure out how to put it, and you nailed it. Apparently "weasel words," confirmation bias, and hyperbole is just something the "other" side is guilty of. Well done, yourself.

Poor diet - particularly one high in refined sugars and grains - weakens their immune system, which makes them more susceptible to catching and providing a breeding ground for a whole host of pathogens, some of which are communicable, thereby putting other children in danger (especially those with weakened immune…

Most measured and reasonable comment on here. Thank you. Of course, you should still be thrown in the gulag if you miss a mandatory vaccination.

Perhaps you just noticed the accompanying photo, wherein the entire world is on fire and mass panic has broken out.

This is why I am fine with charging parents who feed their children pizza and soda with child endangerment and just putting them in prison.

Well, it might not come by way of A-bomb, but...

We're Farked.

Corporations are my friend, people.

Does it maybe begin with the fact that the musclo-skelatal system doesn't come compartmentalized, and rather than coming in bits is a single unified whole (including a suit of connective tissue)?

It's stunning, really.

That's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year!