Pentomino
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Karma: 12
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Re:Alcohol Bullshit - 2007/11/08 16:48
Science is not fixed. As science learns more, the advice changes.
The advice also changes depending on where the money comes from, and what the study focused on, etc. Also remember how horrendous science journalism usually is. The "half a glass of wine is good for you" story seems to surface every year or so on slow news days, about as often as those "scientists have teleported a particle" and "scientists have sent a signal faster than light" stories.
Remember that there's more to wine than alcohol. The health benefits probably come from tannins and vitamins, and other things that you'd probably get more of with grape juice, or a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich, neither of which are part of the typical adult's diet.
Similarly, if Guinness beer is indeed "good for you", it's probably despite the alcohol, not because of it.
And back to the topic: neither Penn nor Teller drink. Penn has never had an alcoholic beverage in his life. James Randi doesn't drink either.
If alcohol were a Bullshit topic, I don't think he's going to be on the pro-alcohol side, apart from the libertarian aspect that we tried prohibition and it totally failed. Rather, the show would probably investigate alcohol's place in our society, or our intrinsic drive to seek altered states of consciousness, if indeed one exists. And they'd definitely visit "dry counties" where alcohol is still not allowed. It'd be a pretty good show, and I'd be interested to see the angle they take on it.
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