I had ChatGPT debunk a meme, not too bad! This meme was so terrible I awarded it the worst meme of the year last year. So naturally, it continues to resurface and plague us. If you’re feeling lazy, have ChatGPT shoulder the burden 😂
Btw, here was my debunking of the meme for reference:
▪️Like Dr. Fauci himself, this meme equivocates the word science with scientists, which are two completely different concepts. Science is a methodology, which if properly followed qua the scientific method, is a valid way for humans to gain knowledge about the world.
▪️A scientist, meanwhile, may or may not be following the scientific method correctly. They may have biases or different contexts which cause them to see the world differently, or place more importance on certain issues.
▪️While scientists might change their mind when new information becomes available, science doesn’t, it’s just a tool we use to understand the world. It would be like saying the alphabet or eye glasses learned more.
▪️Which is why scientists often vigorously disagree with each other, not just about science, but about its application. The science on Covid is just one aspect of making a decision on closing schools or imposing vaccine mandates. As is the science on climate change on energy policy.
▪️There are countless factors outside the realm of science, like law and individual rights, which are often more important. All too often, "the science" makes disastrous public policy decisions, which is why it should be rightly questioned.
▪️This meme showed the blind allegiance people had to “science” this year, which in practice meant not the rigorous adherence to the scientific method, but backing the orthodoxy that the mainstream outlets and government had. By elevating the latter, it destroys the former.
I first critiqued this terrible take by looking at how food has actually improved substantially. Even though I said the same could be done in every category, people said “you’re only doing food.” So let’s do air travel and see why it’s not gotten better, not worse.
▪️Aircraft have greatly improved. Just 15-20 years ago, many domestic routes (~15%) were flown by turboprops like the Brasilia, Dash 8 or Saab. Now, almost everything is in jets, and most aircraft have WiFi. Some even have Starlink, where you probably have faster WiFi than your home. Most major airlines offer dozens or hundreds of movies and shows to watch.
▪️Newer designs like the 787 have lower cabin altitudes and improved humidity, which make a huge difference in passenger comfort on long haul flights. The first/business class international market has gotten very competitive globally, with many carriers offering excellent service and amenities. Pods, suites, showers, etc. Coach still sucks but is dramatically cheaper ...
This is the complete opposite of an empirical fact. The right has now joined the left in being pessimistic about the modern world and completely unappreciative of the amazing abundance we now have. I’ll just focus on food here, but you could do it for almost every category.
▪️Fresh produce used to be available only in season. In the winter it was canned or frozen. People used to send fruit for Christmas gifts, it was that much of a luxury good. Now, you can get giant, sweet berries year around in every grocery store. Corn on the cob in February. Not to mention once rare items like dragon fruit, heirloom tomatoes or baby bok choy.
▪️If you didn’t live on the coast, seafood was either not available, frozen, or extremely expensive. If you lived in the Midwest and traveled to coastal locales you would quite literally be able to eat food you had never seen. Salmon has become much more abundant and accessible. You can get fresh ahi at Walmart today. Sushi and oyster bars exist everywhere ...
▪️This is a proposal that pertains only to graduate level nursing degrees, not undergraduate ones (which were never considered professional degrees). The proposal will have a 30-60 day public comment period next year, where groups can object, before the DoE will decide on it.
▪️This is about how much federal student loans someone can take out for a particular degree. The cap on graduate degrees is $100k ($20,500/yr), while a “professional degree” limit is $200k ($50k/yr).
▪️Under the new rule proposal, professional degrees include:
🔹Pharmacy
🔹Dentistry
🔹Veterinary medicine
🔹Chiropractic
🔹Law
🔹Medicine (including osteopathic medicine & podiatry)
🔹Optometry
🔹Theology
▪️The nursing degrees excluded are ones like master of science in nursing (MSN), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and PhD in nursing. These degrees would be limited to $100k in federal student loans, like all other graduate degrees.
▪️These changes came from the One Big Beautiful Bill’s...
