Petitions

IMHO, people generally have destructive methods for determining what is true. I used the term destructive to convey not only wrong methods but the harmful conclusions that follow. Truth has become a matter of "right to have an opinion" and preference of opinion. People "take sides" on issues they barely understand. But if one thinks carefully about it, truth is not a matter of preference and having that attitude toward truth can have some pretty serious consequences.

I think the point is that people need higher standards of knowledge. Just because your friend told you something doesn't make it true. Just because some dude is ranting and raving about some long chemical name doesn't mean you should sign his petition. If you don't know, you don't know. No one is requiring you to take a position on something you don't know. However, a citizen with a vested interest in his society may want to consider acquiring adequate knowledge in order to make an informed decision. It is unfortunate however that the weight of informed opinions may not be enough to compensate for haughty mobs of the ill-informed.

More generally: if you want to teach something to somebody, you don't do it by talking gibberish that nobody understands. ;)

If you want to accomplish something: make them UNDERSTAND.

Yes, but with the wrong means. Not all "chemicals" are harmless and you can't expect the general public to know the chemical names of common substances.

This just causes confusion.

It shows how easy it is to rally a bunch of ignorant people behind a self-destructive cause. It also shows the efficacy of a higher standard for belief and the possible harm that arises from weak epistemic methodology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax

Funny, but I don't really see what it accomplishes.
Some "chemicals" are harmless. Some are not. The public at large are not chemists.

Reminds me of Penn & Teller getting people to sign a petition to ban "Dihydrogen Monoxide" (H20) at a Green Peace demonstration.

That man has two left feet.