Junk Thought, Part 2

Defining terms - Junk thoughts are pervasive pseudo-ideas, phrases that have been used, or misused, so much that they have become mostly empty of content. As candy and deep-fried chips give us an illusion of nutrition, junk thought gives us the illusion of understanding.

The main problem with junk thought is that it chokes out real debate - it puts up a smoke screen between us and reality. Junk thought also tends to make simplistic dichotomies of complex situations. We have real problems to solve, and unless we can communicate with each other about them, we'll be like blindfolded children swinging at what we hope is the pinata.

Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, right or left - all groups are guilty of some form of junk thought. For instance, if we look at some of the movements in school reform, we see groups who favor 'back to basics' and groups who favor 'critical thinking'. Generally, these groups are in opposition to each other. You can trace these philosophies WAY back, but let's just look back to the sixties and seventies. Many liberals felt that school was mostly about memorizing facts, and suggested that this was mostly a waste of time, and it would be more useful and more motivating to teach students to think - think critically, think logically, think creatively.

What's wrong with this? Before students can think (critically or any other way) about something, they must first be in possession of some facts about it. Einstein may have been brilliant, but I feel safe in saying that if he had not first learned some basic information about physics, he would not have come up with the theory of relativity. An effective education must BOTH require students to remember some information AND teach them to use that information in critical and creative thinking.

A common example of junk thought is the phrase 'right to life'. It is vague, misleading, and wielded like a club. Mind you, I am not criticizing people's beliefs - I am criticizing a phrase that fails to usefully explain beliefs. Let me demonstrate:
You say you believe in the right to life. OK, I ask, do you eat? Does the pig or the cow have a right to life? If you are a vegetarian, does the lettuce, or carrot, or rice have a right to life? As far as I know, even the sects who try to avoid stepping on ants eat plants.
You say, no, it is the HUMAN right to life that I believe in. Well, that narrows it down some, but I still have questions. Do you believe in the death penalty for the worst of criminals? Do you believe war is acceptable? If you don't believe it is acceptable to take a human life under any circumstances - not for convicted criminals, not in war time, not before birth, maybe not even in self-defense - then it is reasonable for you to say you believe in a right to life for human beings.
However, if what you really mean is that you are opposed to abortion, then you would do well to choose a better way to say it than 'pro life'. Actually, the term 'pro life' would more accurately encapsulate the views of environmentalists!
(Just for the record, I favor strict limitations on abortion, but not making it 100% illegal under all circumstances. My point is not to argue for or against a particular stance on abortion, but for a clearly-thought-out use of language in discussing this - or any other - issue.)

What I Have Learned About Breeding Horses

It's the time of year when horse owners dream about breeding their favorite mare to a world champion stallion and producing the perfect horse. I have done plenty of dreaming, but I think I now hold some kind of world's record for most unsuccessful attempts to breed a mare by shipped semen (for that matter, I have managed not to produce foals even when the mare is bred the old-fashioned way). Here are some of the things I have learned about breeding horses:
1) The probability of a mare getting in foal is inversely proportional to the sum of the stallion’s stud fee and the mare’s value.
2) The success rate for breeding horses (that is, the percent of mares who produce a live foal after having been bred the previous year) is 65-75%, unless the mare is mine, in which case it is zero.
3) Most vets charge more for an ultrasound that confirms a mare is in foal than for an ultrasound that confirms she isn’t.
4) It is best to carry the annual “breeding issue” or “stallion issue” of magazines directly from the mailbox to the waste basket.
5) To an even greater degree than the horse industry in general, breeding horses is motivated by the fantasy of the perfect horse.
6) The truth is that there is only a 20-40% chance of producing a foal that is an improvement over both parents.
7) Semen shipped to other people can be lost in transit for three days and still arrive wiggling. Semen shipped to YOUR mare will arrive right on schedule, but dead.
8) Other people’s mares present them with a surprise foal the year after the vet told them the mare didn’t take. Your mare? Dream on. That’s a hay belly.
9) It is smarter to buy a nice horse with your credit card than to breed your mare. The total cost is about the same, but at least when you buy the horse on credit, you have a 100% probability of actually getting something for your money.
10) On second thought, at the current price of hay, it is better to keep spending your money on stud fees, transported semen, and vet exams. The foal you don’t get won’t cost you anything to feed or board.
11) On the other hand, if any of us made our decisions based on logic, we wouldn’t have horses at all!