Ask and answer stupid questions here! - Page 343

On September 16 2015 23:36 whatisthisasheep wrote:
In a world where its not legal discriminate against people based upon gender, skin color, sexual preference, etc. why it is perfectly legal to discriminate against a person based upon educational attainment, a diploma someone does or doesn't have, that was or wasent received form this or that school?
Isn't it just a intellectually sophisticated form of apartheid?

On September 16 2015 23:41 Plansix wrote:
Race, gender and sexual orientation have no impact on someone’s ability to a specific given task.

On September 17 2015 00:24 TMG26 wrote:


False.

On September 17 2015 00:37 Plansix wrote:

If the task has specific metrics it can be measured by, then it can be tested. Even if being a women puts someone at a disadvantage in that test(say being a fire fighter) there are a set number of women that can meet the requirements. With that in mind, sex should not be the reasoning for denying someone the position, but their inability to perform the task.

Sorry if I didn’t clearly spell that out in the first post. I sort of brush over it because I feel its obvious that we are discussing decisions based “solely on sex/race/sexual orientation” disregarding other factors like performance.

On September 17 2015 04:45 whatisthisasheep wrote:
Are carseats a scam by the government to make money? in the UK all children under the age of 12 (or 4 foot 6 tall, whichever comes first) have to sit in a child's car seat. In america its 8 years old or until they weight 60 pounds. Car seats dont offer any more protection after the child is two years old so what gives?

On September 17 2015 04:47 Acrofales wrote:

Proof or gtfo.

Every child who is 1 year old and weighs 20 lbs. is allowed to ride in a front facing car seat (if only because they get too huge to fit rear-facing anymore) and at age 4 and 40 lbs they can graduate to a car booster seat until they turn 8 or until they are 4 ft. 9 inches tall. Endless studies show that carseats and booster seats are safer, safer, safer. But safer than what? And under what circumstances are they safer? Are parents even qualified to install the carseats they buy? Certified child passenger safety seat installers and Highway Patrol officers are required to complete a 4-day course on carseat installation. Do carseats and booster seats for children age 2 to 8 actually make your child safer or are you being bullied by carseat companies into spending $300,000,000 per year on complicated safety devices that have no more benefit than a properly used seatbelt? Is improved safety for small children through the use of carseats and booster seats a buckled down fact? Or is the sense that these seats provide more safety for your kids just a well marketed myth?


An Op. Ed. piece in the Wisconsin Badger Herald said, “Although it may seem inconvenient for parents to place their child in a car seat instead of just strapping them into a seat belt, it is better than placing them in a coffin.” Are those the options? Carseat or coffin? What if the U.S. Department of Transportation fatality data says “not so much” with the carseat or coffin analogy? What if a good old fashioned free seatbelt that comes ready-made with your car would not only save you money, but save your child? Aw, go on! That’s crazy talk!

How can you be sure that child safety seats are safer for children 2 and older than factory-installed lap and shoulder belts? Well, it’s obvious they are safer. They are big, fancy, expensive, and professionally designed to be safe. Plus, hundreds of industry sponsored studies prove that they are safer. But what does the data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) say about improved safety through safety seats? FARS reports data on all fatal traffic crashes occurring on public roads throughout the United States, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Their purpose is to provide an objective basis to evaluate the effectiveness of motor vehicle safety standards and highway safety programs. FARS data reveals that there has been no change in the safety rate of children in safety seats versus children in lap and shoulder belts in the period ranging from 1975 to 2003.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administratin (NHTSA) manual says that carseats are only “54 percent effective in reducing deaths for children ages 1 to 4 in passenger cars.” Well, that sounds like an impressive number! So children who ride in carseats are 54% safer if than if they used seatbelts? No. That’s 54% safer than riding completely unrestrained. According to the NHTSA, children who ride restrained in lap and shoulder strap seatbelts are equally protected from fatal injury as those restrained in a carseat.

Carseat companies will concede that these statistics are true regarding fatal injuries, but will insist that they are backed up by the NHTSA when they say, “yeah, but…” carseats are more effective at reducing serious injury during a crash than a lap and shoulder belt system.

Steven Levitt, author of “The Seatbelt Solution” written on July 10, 2008 for his New York Times blog “Freakonomics” faced enormous challenges trying to organize an independent crash test of 3 and 6-year-olds in both safety seats and lap and shoulder belt restraints. Testing companies refused to help him because they were afraid of jeopardizing their contracts with carseat companies. One agreed to perform the test anonymously. The results of that independent crash test demonstrated that 3 year olds fared better in a seatbelt than in a carseat. 6 year olds were the same in either kind of restraint.

But crash test dummies are not real children. They held up well for the purposes of Levitt’s test, but neither safety seat manufacturer tests nor Levitt’s test are able to simulate the most common injuries to children in car crashes. The most compelling reason for choosing to use a booster seat or car seat for children between the ages of 2 and 4 is that children are more comfortable if their knees bend at the edge of the seat. So, to get nice and comfy they often slide their bodies down the seat so their legs feel more comfortable. Their seatbelts are then positioned over their abdomens instead of over the tops of their thighs and in the event of a crash, their supple little bodies just slide right out through the bottom of the seatbelt. This effect is called submarining. Crash test dummies are currently not supple or articulated enough to provide test data on submarining, but because of accident reports we know it happens.

Booster seats help support children in a frame that is more ergonomic for their smaller body size. The seats provide for the natural bend in their legs. Comfy, secure, sold! Ah, but here’s the rub and it isn’t from the seatbelt. AAA reports that 4 out of 5 safety seats are installed incorrectly. Part of the problem is that safety seats are not a “one size fits all” solution. Not all seats fit well in all cars and not all children fit well in all seats.

Susan Ferguson, senior vice president of research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says, “Your best bet is to take the child, the booster and the vehicle and test all three” at the same time. So there you are, a mom and her child going into Toys R Us, purchasing one car seat, taking it to the car, installing it, strapping the child into it, driving around the parking lot, taking the child out of it, uninstalling the seat, standing in line at the returns counter and returning the seat, purchasing a new seat… repeat… repeat… until sunset and the store locks you out.

Also, once you find the seat that fits both your car and your child. Don’t think you have won the war. Kids bodies grow and change very quickly. Lorrie Walker, chief training manager for National Safe Kids, said, “Parents really need to assess the child every few months in the safety seat and in the different vehicles he or she travels in”. So, in addition to possibly buying a new seat every few months, you want to make sure that the seat is installed correctly. Yes, you can take it down to the local Highway Patrol and ask for their help, but what about when this happens:
• Your child spills a drink all over himself and the seat. You take it out and hose it down. Reinstall seat.
• You lend the seat to the babysitter so she can take the kid to the beach. Reinstall seat in babysitter’s car. Reinstall seat in your car.
• Your husband comes home with a new gift wrapped minivan to replace the small economy junker you’ve been driving. The carseat comes out of the small car and goes right into the big car.

On September 16 2015 23:36 whatisthisasheep wrote:
In a world where its not legal discriminate against people based upon gender, skin color, sexual preference, etc. why it is perfectly legal to discriminate against a person based upon educational attainment, a diploma someone does or doesn't have, that was or wasent received form this or that school?
Isn't it just a intellectually sophisticated form of apartheid?

On September 18 2015 04:33 whatisthisasheep wrote:
Why do parents these days choose to give their kids such obscure names?

Over the last last year, I met some young adults around 18-20 years old named Anoop, Chaile, Jubilation, Throat, and my personal favorite, Deterson. What the actual fuck is going on?

On September 18 2015 06:47 OtherWorld wrote:

I think it's merely a consequence of increased individualism ; parents want to differentiate their child from the others, to make him/her more unique than he/she already is (which is absurdness pushed to its extreme, but well).

Another idea behind it is the fact that many successful people have "strange" names, and these strange names are supposed to make the child stronger as he'll grow up facing adversity and mockery (I dunno if this has been scientifically studied, I just remember reading an article about it in the French newspaper Le Monde, so feel free to brush that part away).

Note that ironically, the more people will give their children unusual names, the less it will be unusual for a child to have an unusual name, thus rendering the two reasons - and especially the second one - I gave above partially void.