4 ms·

Fairly ignorant comment you've got there. What you wrote is akin to saying Jewish men won't touch unrelated women or their own adopted children because you onc

by parfe 13y ago

Fairly ignorant comment you've got there. What you wrote is akin to saying Jewish men won't touch unrelated women or their own adopted children because you once met an Orthodox Jew who told you about negiah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negiah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negiah). Also the daily mail is full of shit. Here's some Muslims getting along just fine with their bomb sniffing dogs: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/as-soldiers-leave-iraq-bomb-sniffing-dogs-stay/ http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/as-soldiers-leave-... What happened here was a man committing outright fraud and the fact you're blaming it on the religion out of your own ignorance is pretty sad.

pyre 13y ago
> the fact you're blaming it on the religion However misguided, the parent's comment amounts to 'Muslims are more gullible.' While that may not be true, it doesn't excuse a conman from defrauding someone just because they were more gullible than someone else, and I don't believe that the parent is trying to claim this either.
- foobarbazqux 13y ago
  I would not be surprised to hear that conmen believe that someone who takes the more fantastical parts of scripture literally is an easy mark.
- Someone 13y ago
  I don't think he is even trying to claim Muslims are more gullible, in general. He just claims this may be a weak spot for Muslims. In other areas, they may not have weak spots that others have.
  - DanBC 13y ago
    It doesn't explain why Americans spent so much money buying these devices. Or why a Lebanese general (that country is roughly 60:40 muslim:christian) believed it. Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. It might be connected to Muslim dislike of dogs. Or maybe it's just that conmen are conmen and can persuade people to buy junk regardless of religion.
    - VMG 13y ago
      > Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. Did he?
      - DanBC 13y ago
        It's possible. That's what someone quoted by the article suggests. People can be stupid without being malicious. > Although Kelly is unequivocal about the Quadro principals’ fraudulent intent—“They were con artists,” he says—Murray feels that Quattlebaum, at least, genuinely had faith in it. “I think he did believe in it—it was his invention,” he says. Quattlebaum could have fallen victim to the ideomotor effect, the same psychological phenomenon that convinces users of dowsing rods and Ouija boards that they are witnessing the results of a powerful yet inexplicable force. In response to suggestion or expectation, the body can produce unconscious movements, causing a sensitive, free-swinging mechanism to respond in sympathy. “It’s very compelling, if you’re not aware of what’s causing it,” Murray says. Some of the people peddling homeopathy really do believe it works, and that's just as clearly nonsense.
        VMG 13y ago
        Thanks, I didn't know that there was an incarnation that was not based off a novelty toy golf ball finder. James McCormick himself clearly knew that the tool didn't work.
        Cthulhu_ 13y ago
        > Some of the people peddling homeopathy really do believe it works, and that's just as clearly nonsense. And yet, if believing in homeopathy cures the ailments that homeopathy claims to cure, doesn't that in itself mean homeopathy works? Perhaps not in the way it's advertised, but still.
pmorici 13y ago
No it isn't. It's a kin to saying that many Jewish people prefer to eat Kosher meals so when the government goes to buy emergency rations it looks for ones that are Kosher. I don't see why it's "ignorant" to think a government institution wouldn't take into consideration the local cultural sensitivities when making decisions. It has nothing to do with "blaming" it on religion. It's just that individual preferences might have made this scam more attractive in some parts of the world. I'm not sure what your point is, have you ever lived outside the US you seem to lack a nuanced understanding of foreign culture.

by parfe 13y ago

pyre 13y ago

> the fact you're blaming it on the religion However misguided, the parent's comment amounts to 'Muslims are more gullible.' While that may not be true, it doesn't excuse a conman from defrauding someone just because they were more gullible than someone else, and I don't believe that the parent is trying to claim this either.

foobarbazqux 13y ago
I would not be surprised to hear that conmen believe that someone who takes the more fantastical parts of scripture literally is an easy mark.
Someone 13y ago
I don't think he is even trying to claim Muslims are more gullible, in general. He just claims this may be a weak spot for Muslims. In other areas, they may not have weak spots that others have.
- DanBC 13y ago
  It doesn't explain why Americans spent so much money buying these devices. Or why a Lebanese general (that country is roughly 60:40 muslim:christian) believed it. Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. It might be connected to Muslim dislike of dogs. Or maybe it's just that conmen are conmen and can persuade people to buy junk regardless of religion.
  - VMG 13y ago
    > Or why the non-muslim American inventor believed he had created a working detector. Did he?
    - DanBC 13y ago
      It's possible. That's what someone quoted by the article suggests. People can be stupid without being malicious. > Although Kelly is unequivocal about the Quadro principals’ fraudulent intent—“They were con artists,” he says—Murray feels that Quattlebaum, at least, genuinely had faith in it. “I think he did believe in it—it was his invention,” he says. Quattlebaum could have fallen victim to the ideomotor effect, the same psychological phenomenon that convinces users of dowsing rods and Ouija boards that they are witnessing the results of a powerful yet inexplicable force. In response to suggestion or expectation, the body can produce unconscious movements, causing a sensitive, free-swinging mechanism to respond in sympathy. “It’s very compelling, if you’re not aware of what’s causing it,” Murray says. Some of the people peddling homeopathy really do believe it works, and that's just as clearly nonsense.
      - VMG 13y ago
        Thanks, I didn't know that there was an incarnation that was not based off a novelty toy golf ball finder. James McCormick himself clearly knew that the tool didn't work.
      - Cthulhu_ 13y ago
        > Some of the people peddling homeopathy really do believe it works, and that's just as clearly nonsense. And yet, if believing in homeopathy cures the ailments that homeopathy claims to cure, doesn't that in itself mean homeopathy works? Perhaps not in the way it's advertised, but still.

pmorici 13y ago

No it isn't. It's a kin to saying that many Jewish people prefer to eat Kosher meals so when the government goes to buy emergency rations it looks for ones that are Kosher. I don't see why it's "ignorant" to think a government institution wouldn't take into consideration the local cultural sensitivities when making decisions. It has nothing to do with "blaming" it on religion. It's just that individual preferences might have made this scam more attractive in some parts of the world. I'm not sure what your point is, have you ever lived outside the US you seem to lack a nuanced understanding of foreign culture.