“This is what I believe” and other closing remarks 13/07/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Philosophical compost.add a comment
It is totally impossible to explain what I have learnt in the last thirty three years, so here goes (this is a bit of brainstorm so don’t expect a logical order): (more…)
“Matthew Watkinson is an idiot” and other angry remarks; or, Mr Patrick “Terrierman” Burns and the ridicule-generating benefits of not reading things properly 30/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in THE DESTINY OF SPECIES.Tags: matthew watkinson, patrick burns, people who think they're half terrier, terrier man, terrierman, terrierman blog, terrierman blogspot
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I have just read a review of On the Destiny of Species by “Terrierman”, or Patrick Burns as he is more conventionally known (I don’t think he has called himself terrierman in a batman type of way, but you never know with this chap!). Here’s a fairly representative summary: (more…)
Mice raping elephants; or, the impact of humanity in the context of life’s three and a half thousand million year history 25/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in fertile philosophical compost.10 comments
Aware that most people agree or disagree without considering the case, I have decided to ignore the case and just make this statement:
Our recent impact means as much to life as being raped by a mouse does to an elephant.
End.
Matthew Watkinson has “quite spectacularly” failed; or, Mr Martin Jones loses and invents conclusions to please a bloodthirsty veterinary lynch mob and make himself look clever 23/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in THE DESTINY OF SPECIES.Tags: Martin Jones, Martin Jones MA VetMB MRCVS, martin jones vet, matt watkinson, Matt Watkinson Vet, matthew watkinson, people who think they're really clever in spite of the evidence
1 comment so far
SUMMARY: Because this is such a long response, I thought I would summarise it briefly for those who don’t want to read the whole thing: basically, in reviewing On the Destiny of Species on a private internet forum (vetsurgeons.org), Martin Jones has performed a hatchet job on behalf of the veterinary profession. He says he hasn’t of course…
“Before we start, I’d like to point out that I’m not here to perform a hatchet job on behalf of the veterinary profession.”
…but given the number of straw men involved in his review, I think we can safely say that what Martin says and what Martin does aren’t always the same thing. (more…)
A critical review of On the Destiny of Species by “someone who agrees with quite a lot of the general thrust of what [I'm] saying”; or, Mr. Jonathon Porritt CBE on why I haven’t achieved what I’m trying to achieve 23/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in THE DESTINY OF SPECIES.Tags: THE DESTINY OF SPECIES, matthew watkinson, review, destiny of species, destiny of the species, reviews, on the destiny of species, jonathan porritt, matt watkinson, jonathon porritt
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Before reading this review of On the Destiny of Species (which is remarkably objective considering the cricisims of conservation contained within the book), please bear in mind that Mr Porritt CBE is a professional environmentalist and that, as a result, he was always going to find ways to discredit my conclusions. That he has had to achieve this by focusing on structural problems based on words I don’t even understand, the more moderate beliefs of those who aren’t the world’s most dominant conservation organisations, and the lack of anthropocentric prejudice is significant in my opinion, especially as he is actually ”someone who agrees with quite a lot of the general thrust of what [I'm] saying”. That’s not to say he’s wrong about the points he raises (I have absolutely no idea whether I have roamed “whimsically from the philosophical to the operational to the exegetical and back again” or not). It’s just something to bear in mind. He may not think I have achieved what I am trying to achieve after all, but if he can see what I’m trying to achieve, maybe other people can too.
Anyway, here are his thoughts in full: (more…)
Æsop on friends who desert you when the going gets tough 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Philosophy, fertile philosophical compost.add a comment
Two Fellows were travelling together through a wood, when a Bear rushed out upon them. One of the travellers happened to be in front, and he seized hold of the branch of a tree, and hid himself among the leaves. The other, seeing no help for it, threw himself flat down upon the ground, with his face in the dust. The Bear, coming up to him, put his muzzle close to his ear, and sniffed and sniffed. But at last with a growl he shook his head and slouched off, for bears (more…)
Some insightful remarks on the inverse relationship between evidence and faith 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in fertile philosophical compost.Tags: evidence vs faith, science vs creation, science vs faith, science vs god, science vs religion
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As far as I’m concerned, the real problem with faith is the assumed omniscience. To generate certainty the faithful must assume they know, but that’s circular logic of the very highest order. Early philosophers decided planet Earth was flat for example. (more…)
Thomas Henry Huxley on the use of polemical writing to make a point 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in fertile philosophical compost.add a comment
“Of polemical writing, as of other kinds of warfare, I think it may be said, that it is often useful, sometimes necessary, and always more or less of an evil. It is useful, when it attracts attention to topics which might otherwise be neglected; and when, as does sometimes happen, those who come to see a contest remain to think. It is necessary, when the interests of truth and of justice are at stake. It is an evil, in so far as controversy always tends to degenerate into (more…)
Selecting for veterinary dependence; or, some basic evolutionary biology 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in 'pedigree' is a dirty word, Veterinary Medicine, compassionate torture.add a comment
For the benefit of people like Oli and Bradley Viner, I have decided to summarise the extremely basic evolutionary biology that underpins my case against the veterinary profession. Indeed, I’m really struggling to work out why it’s so difficult to grasp, because all I’m saying is that if you don’t select against veterinary dependence, you will, quite logically, end up with veterinary dependence, especially if the people you’re helping are also specifically selecting for morphological (i.e. squashed faces) and physiological traits (i.e. increased milk yield) that are veterinary dependent. So, with that in mind, and given that vets specifically fight selection against veterinary dependence, is it any wonder at all therefore, that (more…)
Oli Viner on eugenics in animals and why I’m a nazi sympathiser 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in 'pedigree' is a dirty word, compassionate torture.add a comment
Before I hand over to the Veterinary Times number one veterinary issues commentator, Oli Viner, perhaps I should let the Compact Oxford English Dictionary define the word eugenics:
“Eugenics: the science of using ***controlled breeding*** to ***increase*** the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics in a population.” (emphasis added)
I’m not entirely sure anybody will ever find a better example of “***controlled breeding*** to ***increase*** the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics in a population” than the ***controlled breeding*** used to ***increase*** the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics in pedigree dogs, but that hasn’t stopped Oli Viner BVetMed MRCVS from condemning those who think ***controlled breeding*** leading to an ***increase*** in inbreeding related disease should be eliminated: (more…)
Religion, the universe and the multiverse as a function of infinity 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Philosophy.13 comments
What is the limit of human imagination? I would suggest the existence of infinity as a concept conclusively proves that human inagination is infinite, to which you will probably reply: so what? Well, as it seems to me, the limit of human imagination has profound implications for the probabilities associated with its products and, thus, the seemingly eternal battle between evidence and faith (imagination + conviction). For example, if there is one truth[1], no evidence[2] and infinite ways to fill the gap, what is the probability that the result will be accurate? It must be (more…)
Building with treacle; or, the physics of civilisation 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Sustainability, fertile philosophical compost.4 comments
Try to imagine, if you can, trying to build a small pyramid on your kitchen table using nothing but treacle. It wouldn’t be easy that’s for sure, but if you had enough help and enough motivation you could heap the treacle into a kind of pyramid thing and achieve the desired objective.
Would it last indefinitely though?
Of course it wouldn’t, and it wouldn’t because of the second law of thermodynamics:
“The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of (more…)
10,000 years of fossil fuels and the human population 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in fertile philosophical compost.add a comment
Two graphs to ponder. The first is the consumption of fossil fuels, based on the known and estimated reserves, in the context of a 10,000 year period centred on now (a graph known as Hubbert’s Pimple), and the second is the size of the world population in the context of the same time period:
.
It would be truly foolish to just put two graphs together and draw a conclusion, but if you can see a link between fossil fuels and population size elsewhere (i.e. according to the IEA, fossil fuels currently account for 80-85% of humanities primary energy supply), it should be quite clear that there’s something to think about.
See also:
Peak #oil and denial of the crash; or “I haven’t died yet, so I’m not going to die”
#Malthus vs Condorcet, or “something that has never happened won’t happen” vs “something that has never happened will”
The Veterinary Business Model: profiting from poor welfare 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Veterinary Medicine, compassionate torture, welfare.27 comments
This is an article about the reality of veterinary profit , although, to be fair, it’s not that hard to explain. In fact, it’s so simple I think I’ll let Oli Viner sum it up:
“The great irony of our profession is that we need animals to be unwell to make a living…sick animals make vets money…therefore, if more animals are sick then vets make more money…” – Oli Viner, BVetMed, MRCVS, Veterinary Times.
He vehemently denies that anybody takes advantage of this clear conflict of interest of course: (more…)
The Veterinary Business Model Part 2: Exponential Growth 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Veterinary Medicine, compassionate torture, welfare.3 comments
Further to my previous article on the veterinary business model, I have decided to use the veterinary profession to illustrate the insanity of the current economic drive for perpetual growth. It is of particular importance in the context of the veterinary profession because the growth of this particular industry is primarily based on increasing amounts of animal suffering, as Oli Viner, BVetMed, MRCVS, has insightfully noticed (I apologise for using this quote repeatedly, but it’s just so accurate I can’t resist):
“The great irony of our profession is that we need animals to be unwell to make a living…sick animals make vets money…therefore, if more animals are sick then vets make more money…”
So, bearing in mind that turnover growth in the veterinary profession involves finding and treating more problems, here are the recommended targets given by the veterinary businesss advisors running the Fort Dodge Index:
“6% annually to maintain business and cover inflation. 10-12% annually to provide growth for investment.”
The growth in turnover required to cover inflation is a seperate issue (inflation is a result of a continued dilution of existing money by money artifically created by banks. See: Money is debt), so I will ignore the first recommendation and focus on the target of “10-12% annually to provide growth for investment”. The first question is: (more…)
Dolphins in paddling pools; or, profitable but ineffective veterinary assistance 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Veterinary Medicine, compassionate torture.2 comments
This is how I see the veterinary profession at the moment: if someone decided that it would be fun to keep a dolphin in a paddling pool, you wouldn’t have vociferous condemnation and complete refusal to support such stupidity, you’d just have experts in the diseases of dolphins in paddling pools. Hiding under the cloak of compassion vets would turn this idiocy into a financial resource by conveniently forgetting that making the best of a bad job is not the same as doing a good job. In the words of James Yeates, a Society of Practicing Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) council member: (more…)
The profitable difference between prevention and cure 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in Veterinary Medicine, compassionate torture.1 comment so far
Oli Viner thinks I’m a fundamentalist for trying to point out the logical effect of the veterinary profession:
I truly believe Matthew to be a fundamentalist, and as such there can not be a truly rational discussion, so I shan’t attempt it.
It’s a pretty familiar defence strategy for all those who have been through primary school I must admit (“I’m not listening la la la la la…”), but perhaps he’s right. I definitely think in a fundamentally different way to him that’s for sure. Take this statement for example: (more…)
Digging through water; or, conservation without population control 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in conservation madness.add a comment
I have been thinking about the continuing population explosion and the fact that, according to conservationists, “now” has been the time to act for at least half a century, and, after much thought, I have come to the following conclusion:
Conservation without population control is like digging a hole in the ocean.
Actually no, it’s worse than that, because if conservationists were just digging a hole in a static ocean their efforts would be completely pointless in the absence of a growing problem, which is very different from (more…)
Vets vs natural selection: a practitioner’s response 21/06/2010
Posted by fishsnorkel in compassionate torture.2 comments
Before I proceed I would like to make two things perfectly clear: firstly, my differences with Martin are strictly professional. I don’t know him and, given that I couldn’t even judge the characters of some of my closest friends accurately, there’s absolutely no way I will be making any personal judgements about people I don’t know. That won’t stop me crtitcising him professionally where it’s due of course, but I just wanted to clearly define the field of battle before going over the top (metaphorically and judgementally probably). Secondly, I would like to make it quite clear that this is a long post. Sorry.
Anyway, let’s crack on:
I wrote a letter to the Veterinary Times in November and in it I made the following statement:
…I’m really looking forward to watching the professional elite try and explain why vets can do a better job than the ruthless system that has worked brilliantly for more than three and a half thousand million years. In fact, I can’t wait.
Suffice to say, I have not been disappointed. In fact, by asking the following question, Martin Whitehead, BSc, PhD, BVSc, CertSAM, MRCVS, has exceeded my wildest expectations: (more…)
