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Zebra
Skeptic Friend
USA
354 Posts |
 Posted - 12/21/2008 : 20:28:47
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Firefighter recalls a miracle on a Denver runway
Firefighter: Miracle no one died on Denver runway
I've had enough of journalists highlighting quotes from people that "miracles" have occurred when fewer people are grieviously harmed in a disaster, than could have been.
I've sent this email to the Associated Press, info at ap.org:
The time has come for me to comment when I see yet one more news story which headlines, and opens with, reference to a "miracle" having occurred when less injury or death occurred at the site of some disaster, than was possible. I understand that the firefighters on the scene were impressed by the intensity of the fire, but please, as journalists, think critically here: Do you really have evidence of a miracle?
Or is it possible that the better-than-expected outcome could have been the result of any or all of the following:
(1) safety measures in airplane engineering
(2) extensive emergency-preparedness training, and rapid, professional action by the airline crew
(3) physics, in that the plane came to rest in the bottom of a ravine without its landing gear, thus the passengers were able to simply step out of the plane
(4) luck; coincidence; serendipity - events which we consider in these categories happen all the time & are actually part of the normal range of possible events & outcomes
It is really a miracle when a disaster occurs, and the outcome isn't as bad as it could have been? The plane crashed - it's a "miracle"! Well, actually, many of the passengers or crew probably considered it a "disaster" - but that's not as good a quote. I suspect that the first line would have been more accurate if it'd read, instead, "Quick action by crew, passengers avert death in a Denver plane crash..." - but that's not as eye-catching as the "miracle" quote, either.
Isn't it a miracle when a plane takes off and everything goes smoothly? Oh, wait - that's just the result of modern aeronautical engineering, based on physics, as well as airline safety regulation and repeated quality improvement efforts.
Thank you for bringing us the news, and for considering this feedback in the angle taken in future disaster stories. |
IMO, the "miracle" angle in the first link above is especially egregious, as the text of the story includes this description: "The emergency slides on Continental Airlines Flight 1404 had deployed. But with the landing gear sheared off, passengers simply stepped out the doors on the left side — the right side was on fire — and to the ground."
Oh, yeah. That sounds like it could only be explained as a miracle.
Of course, I know that there's something of a common meaning of "miracle" which means "amazing", not necessarily "divine intervention", and I know that putting "miracle" in the headline probably garners more readers than "disaster", but I for one am sick and tired of the use of that word for non-miraculous events.
I'll let y'all know if I hear back from them. (Don't hold your breath.)
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I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone* -Dick Cheney
*some restrictions may apply |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 12/21/2008 : 21:21:41 [Permalink]
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I prefer to think of what happened at the Denver Airport as a "botched smiting."
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 12/22/2008 01:58:58 |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 12/21/2008 : 22:05:12 [Permalink]
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Yeah, but their defense will be that the word "miracle" was the fireman's term, not their own. The headline is basically a quote: "Fireman says 'It is a miracle no one died on Denver runway.'"
Doctors, too, are somehow inordinately fond of the word. Common headlines include often include gems like "Patient's Recovery a 'Miracle' Doctor Says."
Of course, most of the time, I doubt the speaker ever means an actual miracle occurred. It's just an expression, but one that newsman know play well to the crowds. They must cream their pants whenever a surgeon or rescue worker utters the word, since they know they've just gotten their headline.
So editors will claim they aren't responsible for the use of the word "miracle" appearing in print, that they are just accurately reporting what was said, etc. But it's bullshit. They know exactly what they're doing. And they know we know, but they really don't care. They're just out to move newspapers.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Zebra
Skeptic Friend
USA
354 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2008 : 09:08:52 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
I prefer to think of what happened at the Denver Airport as a "botched smiting." |
Would that headline bring out the fundie letter-writers who claim to know their god's will?
To the editor:
HOW CAN YOU CALL IT A BOTCHED SMITING YOU &^*%$*# SATAN LOVER! GOD DOESN'T EVER MAKE A MISTAKE!! HE WILL SMITE YOU FOR ETERNITY!!!!
Yours in Christ,
I. M. Pious
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I know that "miracle" gets used for "unexpected positive outcome" but gosh darn I want the journalist to exhibit some skeptical integrity (asking alot, I know). 200 people would say it was a near-disaster, and 1 says it's a miracle, and which one opens the article? ("Best" example, in a sick way, was the "miracle" when 12 miners were thought to be alive in WVa in 2006...then OOPS it turns out all but one was dead, in which case - oddly - the "miracle" talk suddenly vaporized.)
Guess I've been watching too much Olbermann, Maddow, and Stewart lately. I want to raise one eyebrow and say archly, "Really??? A miracle???"
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I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone* -Dick Cheney
*some restrictions may apply |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2008 : 10:29:05 [Permalink]
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| If the press were drop their use of the word "miracle" for a more precise explanation of the unlikelihood of a good outcome in a case like the Denver crash, it would be a miracle. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2008 : 11:21:22 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
I prefer to think of what happened at the Denver Airport as a "botched smiting."
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"Botched Smiting" LMAO |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2008 : 13:01:03 [Permalink]
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Zebra... You forgot something: Grammar error and misspelling. Otherwise you'd be misrepresenting I. M. Pious
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Zebra
Skeptic Friend
USA
354 Posts |
Posted - 12/22/2008 : 20:37:00 [Permalink]
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| Oh, heck. I can't even fake Christian ranting correctly. That's pretty sad. |
I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone* -Dick Cheney
*some restrictions may apply |
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"Miracle" at the Denver airport
