No Fact Zone

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1. unanimousvote

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   The intro was a trip!

   strange
   U

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2. Erika

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   I really didn’t know what to vote for, finally settling on the Glenn Beck seed commercial but it was really hard. I love the kind of depressing intro and the whole rest of the show was solid all the way through. I miss Snoopy though. 100,000 dollars should always get us a snoopy. :) The poll was hilarious, by the the way. I can’t wait to see what they are going to do with it tonight.

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3. mrtigger001

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   The poll is awesome. The option to identify with the political affiliation of ‘T-Pain’ cracked me up.

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4. friedthing

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   What a weird show. Maybe the intro just threw me off. Or maybe it’s that he didn’t really smile at all. Or maybe the groping? I don’t know, it just seemed strange to me. I do like the poll, though, and hope they do more of them :)

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5. Tiger

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   my voice is going to be altered – very cool! :D

   I was confused about the intro a bit…was he trying to imitate someone or just being rather boisterous?

   I don’t really like the screen. it is not smooth like an iPhone screen. it always makes me nervous like it’s going to break or something. I know that’s being picky.

   it was odd of that guy to say we need people with normal chromosomal alignment. so people with monosomy or trisomy of sex chromosomes aren’t qualified to hold office? I know that’s being picky.

   I wish they had explained what was wrong with non-hybrid seeds. like…I really can’t think of why they would be a problem. less likely to successfully reproduce, especially sexually? the only explanations I can find online are totally not scientific. (like that poll, even though I voted that it was.)

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   • unanimousvote

     

     said on 11th March: Reply

     I think it was an imitation of Glenn Beck but I dunno.

     hm
     U

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   • laughing at nothing

     

     said on 11th March: Reply

     The emphasis on “non-hybrid” sounds like an offer for “eugenically pure” seeds. While there may be reasons for using non-hybrids in certain situations, I couldn’t help but think that for FOX viewers, “non-hybrid” triggers all sorts of positive associations that have nothing to do with food.

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   • Armillariella

     

     said on 11th March: Reply

     You have no idea how excruciating is for me to acknowledge this, but there is a kernel (har, har!) of validity to desireability of non-hybrid seeds. Almost all the seeds that we buy for home gardens and for large scale agriculture are produced by hybridizing two lines. The hybrid plants that result have a combination of desireable traits from both parent lines, and they produce those desireable combinations very reliably the first generation. But the seeds that are produced by that first generation are now a total mish mash of traits from the two original parents, and that second generation of seeds will produce a huge array of types of plants, only a very few of which will be as productive as the first generation hybrids. This isn’t a problem as long as we buy a new batch of hybrid seeds from our friendly agribusiness monopoly each year. But, if we want to propagate our own seeds, and thereby reduce our dependence on agribusiness monopolies we need to start with non-hybrid seeds. We also need to start with non-hybrid seeds if we live in a developing country, and we don’t have a lot of capital and would like to save some of our crop each year as a seed source, rather than having to purchase new seeds from the friendly US based agribusiness monopoly. Or, if the end-times come, and all we have stockpiled are hybrid seeds, we’re screwed. I don’t stay awake at night worrying about the latter scenario, but the first two really are valid reasons to support sources of non-hybrid seeds. Just not sources that sponsor Glenn Beck.

     ReCAPTCHA: tweaked production

     Yeah, recaptcha’s got the basic idea

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     • Tiger

       

       said on 11th March:

       thanks very much for the explanation! I am usually quite up on biology things, but I had pollination on the brain instead of genetics. it makes perfect sense to me now.

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6. luvtcr

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   The interview reminded me of a Postmodernism class I enrolled in during my Masters Program. [It was so long ago the class is probably just a Modernism class!] :) We had to apply order and chaos theories concerning the universe to another medium [I chose television. Unfortunately it was before TCR!] I couldn’t believe I understood Carroll’s references. Crazy how knowledge is stored and triggered!

   Was Stephen’s walk over the interview table weird and did his questions magically appear in his hands as he approached the camera? I was very confused by that- not sure why.

   Poor Jay the Intern…he’s the new Meg!

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   • cordgrass

     

     said on 11th March: Reply

     I knew that the Massa thing would get closeted “Stephen” to veer from the straight and narrow!

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   • jbirdNZ

     

     said on 11th March: Reply

     Stephen’s walk was filmed backwards the played forward, hence the oddness, also the music was played backwards by the sounds of it. I think it had something to do with guest’s topic (which I am just about to watch).

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     • friedthing

       

       said on 11th March:

       Oh wow! He did it really well then, because it didn’t even occur to me! I just thought he was walking strangely. Or maybe I’m especially unobservant today. I just went and watched it again like four times :)

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     • luvtcr

       

       said on 11th March:

       Awesome! I watched it once and it was almost midnight so I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things or not! Makes perfect sense! Thanks! :)

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     • Tiger

       

       said on 11th March:

       I did NOT understand that when I watched it! makes a whole lot more sense now.

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7. cordgrass

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   I will be charitable and say that Charlie Cook appeared confused. It has got me curious enough to research how well his past predictions have done.

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8. GabbyD

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   my fav line:

   “its like jazz! … its about the sense you’re not making” hahaha…

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9. Coquette

   

   said on 11th March: Reply

   I heart Jay Katsir. Anyone know who the “lawyer” was? He’s pretty cute too.
   I also think he was trying to imitate Glen Beck in the intro? Not sure though.

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   • wren

     

     said on 11th March: Reply

     That was staff writer Max Werner. He appeared in a similar role back in July 2009.

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10. MaryLovesColbert

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    That poll is absolutely hilarious. Decided to check it out and I was not disappointed! Thought for a minute it was going to be “serious,” but I should have known better! So funny! :P

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11. SPT

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    Sean Carroll’s write up of the interview is available here:http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/03/10/report-from-colbert/
    Commentary by a scientist who disagrees with Sean Carroll’s science but agrees that Stephen is smart is available here: http://motls.blogspot.com/2010/03/time-stephen-colbert-smarter-than-sean.html. On the science, does any zoner know whether a) there is a serious scientific controversy or b) one side of the argument has about as much credibility as creationism?

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    • lockhart43

      

      said on 11th March: Reply

      Thanks for that link to Carroll’s write-up of the interview! I especially like this part: “I shouldn’t end without including some good words about the bag of swag. Not only does every guest get a goodie bag that includes a bottle of excellent tequila, it also includes a $100 gift certificate for Donors Choose. How awesome is that?”

      A $100 gift certificate for Donors Choose? AWESOME indeed. :D

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12. lockhart43

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    I love how the only question in the poll with remotely serious answers was the first one, if you don’t count being able to identify yourself with T-Pain, ha! All of the questions were hilarious.

    I love how after every time Stephen uses the HD screen, he mentions that it cost $100,000…though I did still want him to draw Snoopy.

    It’s so fantastic that Beck’s interview with Massa blew up in his face. That seed commercial is incredibly frustrating to me. Stephen’s mentioned it before, but I hate how Beck continues to take the people’s legitimate fears and manipulate them, making it seem like we’re living in some apocalyptic state where we will soon need to barter our first-born children for food. Stephen’s barb-wire herb garden (for garnishing!) was a perfect satirical response.
    The interview with Sean Carroll was confusing, but in a good way, because it was also very fascinating to me. Oh! And I loved Stephen’s Glenn Beck impersonation in the intro! :)

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    • Mr. Arkadin

      

      said on 11th March: Reply

      I agree with you about Beck. Just when I think he can’t go any further with his myopic world view, he “discovers” something else & is off to the races again!
      Having said that, your line “will soon need to barter our first-born children for food” is a classic! :)

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13. colbaby

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    Yes, that was definitely Glenn Beck in the intro. I’m sorry to say I’ve seen enough of his show to recognize those mannerisms. Plus the “I hope I don’t waste your time” remark was a reference to Beck’s Massa interview.

    The groping bit with Jay the intern cracked me up. I wonder what ever became of Meg?

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14. SazzrahUK

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    This was a brilliantly silly episode! from the mysterious “where’s my chair?” opening, the groping of Jay the intern to the backwards intro to the interview, I loved every second of it. Looks like Stephen’s gunna have fun with the pollster 2moro =D

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15. Gerald Everett Jones

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    I’m the author of How to Lie with Charts, and I’m pleased to see the mention, although not so jazzed to hear that anyone might be abusing the information. The book’s intent, of course, is not only how *not* to lie with charts, but also understanding that you probably already are misleading people — especially if you just use whatever your computer generates.

    So it’s more like “How Not to Lie Unintentionally with Charts Your Computer Makes.” But any marketing person will tell you that’s just too honest to make a good title.

    Oh and there is a Second Edition, also available on Amazon. Your link points to an older version that has some (embarrassing) errors!

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    • DB

      

      said on 12th March: Reply

      I have actually owned the book for years, first edition. And I really have used a lot of the information contained when doing reports. I found it to be both a bit amusing and informative about both how charts can work, as well as how charts can be quite misleading if you let them. I’ll have to go hunt down the second edition now, too!

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16. forsakinghalfloves

    

    said on 11th March: Reply

    I just noticed that in the screencap it looks like Stephen’s wearing the crown of Lady Liberty. And I must say, I love it every time the Technical Difficulties graphic comes up :)

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