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It's disingenuous of the author to put "QED" on the end of his article as if this was deductively proven in a mathematical proof. He did make a VERY strong cas
by 1053r 16y ago
It's disingenuous of the author to put "QED" on the end of his article as if this was deductively proven in a mathematical proof. He did make a VERY strong case for cell phones not causing cancer through inducing transcription errors or DNA breakage from ionizing radiation. But he didn't even touch on other possible mechanisms for causing cancer, such as spot heating.
Personally, I would guess that if spot heating caused cancer, then the human race would have gone extinct when we discovered fire, but that is neither here nor there. Using terms like "QED" in this context just adds fuel to the fire of the "evolution is just a theory" whackos.
- sz 16y agoQuod erat demonstrandum does not mean "and thus I have proven beyond all shadow of a doubt that I am right"; it means, roughly, "that which was to be demonstrated". The usage of QED is correct here.
- andrewljohnson 16y agoQED is commonly understood to mean "the theorem is proved," and it is used in rigorous mathematical proofs that leave no doubt of their meaning. From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q.E.D. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q.E.D.): The phrase is traditionally placed in its abbreviated form at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument when that which was specified in the enunciation, and in the setting-out, has been exactly restated as the conclusion of the demonstration. I agree with the parent comment that this rhetorical flourish is misleading, and I agree it gives the non-scientific set a hook to riff on.