hairyfigment comments on Rationality Quotes November 2012 - Less Wrong

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Comment author: hairyfigment 16 November 2012 09:03:22PM 2 points [-]

Exactly which multiculturalist do you think are "at ease" with that behavior?

About as many as there are environmentalists who are "at ease" with the mercury content of compact fluorescent bulbs, while campaigning to abolish incandescents.

On both points: what the flaming Hell are you talking about? Snopes says,

the amount housed in each bulb is very small, about 4 or 5 milligrams, which in volume is about the size of the period at the end of a sentence. (By comparison, old-style mercury thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury, an amount equal to the mercury found in 125 CFL bulbs.)

(Wiki-link added.) See also the information - in particular, the graph of lifetime mercury emissions for incandescent vs flourescent - at Energystar.gov.

So the comparison with FGM seems truly bizarre. I also don't think you have the slightest clue what you're talking about when it comes to FGM and multiculturalism -- in particular, I doubt you bothered to follow the link to the Lynn Thomas source. It seems straightforwardly descriptive. Feminists sometimes criticize attempts to impose a ban in African nations because bans tend not to work and may turn this horrific practice into a symbol of resistance to imperialism. I gather people have had more success by talking to mothers about the health risks. So this seems like a fine example of how:

*understanding other cultures can help you talk to people and find common values

*conservatives talking about feminism or "multiculturalism" often look really stupid.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 17 November 2012 03:31:47AM 1 point [-]

See also the information - in particular, the graph of lifetime mercury emissions for incandescent vs flourescent - at Energystar.gov.

And yet they have a problem with adding the trace lead amounts of lead to electronics necessary to prevent tin whiskers.