4 ms·

Someone buying a tabloid doesn't necessitate that they believe what they're reading. You could easily make the point that many people won't understand somethin

• oarabbus_ 8y ago
  I disagree. He didn't ask that "don't most people know you need to fill up your car with gas once the tank gets low?" He made it seem like the fact that there is a high degree of uncertainty/estimation in genetic testing is common knowledge. We're talking about a society where half the members do not believe in anthropogenic climate change (note that I do not state the _degree_ of the change) and sizeable numbers of people (millions) don't believe in vaccination. He said "Of course there will be errors when you have to extrapolate from a sample." The common man doesn't know what extrapolate from a sample even means! I'm sorry but suggesting society as a whole understands genetic testing methods and techniques is just so far absolutely removed from reality (you're perhaps justified if you work for Illumina or are a faculty member of a University) that the point needed to be made even if harshly. Maybe I just interact more with "non hacker news" types than the average poster here, but that post quite frankly seemed so absurdly out of touch as to remind me of the Lucille Bluth quote from Arrested Development - "I mean, it's one banana Michael. How much could it possibly cost? 10 dollars?"