3 ms·
Yeah, I love sentences like this: Asked if it can be said with certainty that differences in regulations mean people in the U.S. have developed cancers that th
by teekert 4y ago
Yeah, I love sentences like this:
Asked if it can be said with certainty that differences in regulations mean people in the U.S. have developed cancers that they would not have developed if they'd been eating exclusively in Europe, Millstone said that was "almost certainly the conclusion that we could reach."
...almost certainly the conclusion that we could reach.
What is being said, actually? It’s really just “No.”, right?
Of course, when given a choice, I'd rather not eat Potassium bromate.
- rhaway84773 4y agoOnly a complete mangling of the English language would translate that into No. What he said was yes, it’s extremely likely that’s the case, but he’s not gonna give an unqualified yes because it’s still a very high percentage. They can’t point to any individual case and say that this person wouldn’t have cancer if he has been eating in Europe.
- teekert 4y agoI agree with the gist of your remark but the question was "can be said with certainty...", which is, indeed very difficult for a scientist to ever do. The "could reach" is also weird right?
- houseinthesky 4y agoIt's passive voice, not particularly weird. The scientist is specifically trying to avoid the trap of a "gotcha question" while answering accurately that the most likely outcome of lots of people consuming a carcinogen is that someone got cancer from it.
- procgen 4y agoIt sounds like it's an open question whether or not it is in fact carcinogenic when consumed in the quantities allowed by the FDA.