5 ms·

the headline should read "over-credulous member of establishment is finally swayed by overwhelming evidence to the contrary, although he has to travel to the en

the headline should read "over-credulous member of establishment is finally swayed by overwhelming evidence to the contrary, although he has to travel to the ends of the earth to be convinced"

tptacek 13y ago
Or, "it's not enough that he agrees with me, agrees publicly with me, and apologized for disagreeing with me; the manner in which he arrived at his agreement with me is offensive, so let's make that a topic of conversation."
- fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
  Maybe some people feel insulted after having been maligned for so many years. Gupta, as a member of the establishment that advocated against medical use of marijuana deserves some ire for his part in that. He faithfully preached the party line uncritically, and in absence of credible evidence, he now admits. Maybe you can forgive those who may remain skeptical of Gupta's motives (since none of us can know what they are anyway). I'm glad he's changed his stance. I think it is great. But, I understand why some people are annoyed at a subject-matter expert who admits that he had based his professional opinion on government propaganda.
- Radix_ 13y ago
  I love this argument. It needs to become a reflexive and memetic response whenever anyone places someone in a damned-if-you-do situation for improving their position.
  - rhizome 13y ago
    He's an extremely visible character expressing medical opinions on a regular basis to a large portion of the US population, shouldn't he have already done his research instead of being a tool? Does the past no longer exist, no such thing as "damned because he did?"
    - Radix_ 13y ago
      Gupta's defense is the sort of defense that will reach people like my mother convincing them that marijuana is not evil and has real medical uses. That outcome is a good thing and I do not wish any harm to his reputation now because it will be against my interest and I'm hoping/assuming having "done the research" this time will give persons like you ammo for pushing him to defend his position in the future. I don't think the past goes away but generally I'd rather not condition people to not admit mistakes. And here I'd rather win now than be right now. Then maybe be right in the future.
  - apalmer 13y ago
    you sounding real crazy right now... giving false scientific opinions when you make a living as a medical 'educator' because its better for you personally is cool now? Dude coulda, woulda, shoulda been surgeon general with that much influence i would expect this dude to actually scientifically analyze stuff before giving his scientific evaluation.
    - nhaehnle 13y ago
      He deserves some credit for having fessed up to being wrong. On other topics, especially in economics, the punditry is full of people who have been hilariously wrong for years, having made predictions a long time ago that have been clearly incorrect, and who still have never once even hinted that their models were wrong. Yes, Gupta should have done his research earlier. But compared to a lot of the scum in the media, he is basically a saint. He deserves to be praised, if only to encourage others to follow his lead and admit when they were wrong.
- king_jester 13y ago
  Does somebody deserve a cookie for doing the right thing and apologizing for using their image in the media to malign those they now agree with? I'm glad he changed his mind, but he doesn't deserve a special thank you and people are right to be bitter about it.
revscat 13y ago
This is a good thing, I think. If even establishment figures are starting to realize the destructiveness of these policies then so much the better for those who are affected by them.

the headline should read "over-credulous member of establishment is finally swayed by overwhelming evidence to the contrary, although he has to travel to the ends of the earth to be convinced"

tptacek 13y ago

Or, "it's not enough that he agrees with me, agrees publicly with me, and apologized for disagreeing with me; the manner in which he arrived at his agreement with me is offensive, so let's make that a topic of conversation."

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
Maybe some people feel insulted after having been maligned for so many years. Gupta, as a member of the establishment that advocated against medical use of marijuana deserves some ire for his part in that. He faithfully preached the party line uncritically, and in absence of credible evidence, he now admits. Maybe you can forgive those who may remain skeptical of Gupta's motives (since none of us can know what they are anyway). I'm glad he's changed his stance. I think it is great. But, I understand why some people are annoyed at a subject-matter expert who admits that he had based his professional opinion on government propaganda.
Radix_ 13y ago
I love this argument. It needs to become a reflexive and memetic response whenever anyone places someone in a damned-if-you-do situation for improving their position.
- rhizome 13y ago
  He's an extremely visible character expressing medical opinions on a regular basis to a large portion of the US population, shouldn't he have already done his research instead of being a tool? Does the past no longer exist, no such thing as "damned because he did?"
  - Radix_ 13y ago
    Gupta's defense is the sort of defense that will reach people like my mother convincing them that marijuana is not evil and has real medical uses. That outcome is a good thing and I do not wish any harm to his reputation now because it will be against my interest and I'm hoping/assuming having "done the research" this time will give persons like you ammo for pushing him to defend his position in the future. I don't think the past goes away but generally I'd rather not condition people to not admit mistakes. And here I'd rather win now than be right now. Then maybe be right in the future.
- apalmer 13y ago
  you sounding real crazy right now... giving false scientific opinions when you make a living as a medical 'educator' because its better for you personally is cool now? Dude coulda, woulda, shoulda been surgeon general with that much influence i would expect this dude to actually scientifically analyze stuff before giving his scientific evaluation.
  - nhaehnle 13y ago
    He deserves some credit for having fessed up to being wrong. On other topics, especially in economics, the punditry is full of people who have been hilariously wrong for years, having made predictions a long time ago that have been clearly incorrect, and who still have never once even hinted that their models were wrong. Yes, Gupta should have done his research earlier. But compared to a lot of the scum in the media, he is basically a saint. He deserves to be praised, if only to encourage others to follow his lead and admit when they were wrong.
king_jester 13y ago
Does somebody deserve a cookie for doing the right thing and apologizing for using their image in the media to malign those they now agree with? I'm glad he changed his mind, but he doesn't deserve a special thank you and people are right to be bitter about it.

revscat 13y ago

This is a good thing, I think. If even establishment figures are starting to realize the destructiveness of these policies then so much the better for those who are affected by them.