What's your controversial opinion?

[Normandyfoxtrot]

Morals and ethics have no place in science and that progress for progress sake should be encouraged rather than discouraged, moral questions only hold us back.

An example of this would be Golden Rice, a rice that is rich in vitamin A genetically engineered and therefore baned form consumption and production.

thousands of people dying of vitamin A deficiency to appease busybodies who claim genetic engineering is evil.

How much do you know about the intricacies of patents/ licensing and the emerging life sciences industry?

"Science" these days is not pure...it is increasingly linked to that social science called economics with its dynamics of investment, competition and profit maximization.

Whatever rhetoric companies like Monsanto employ ("pro poor GM crops") they always think about numero uno first (themselves) and you prolly know the proverb "you can't squeeze blood from a turnip".

Where is the money in feeding the poor? Do you know of a way to make money from people who have none? There is money in licensing if you hold key patents though.

You prolly thought that if "science would just be left completely alone" it would solve all the world's problems...well guess what...it would create different problems. Google Myriad Genetics and BRCA.

Corporations like to move themselves into powerful positions, making people dependent on them...ensuring future revenue. Your view of science is idealistic and therefore naive.

Idealism is still better than what ever despicable evil passes for realism these days.

 

[Ghengis John]

I believe religion and science don't have to exist in conflict. Reasonable people can make room for both.

I also believe that while not every person needs religion, religion can have positive effects for a person and that people who view religion as a bad thing in and of itself are generally ignorant and not very sophisticated thinkers. They tend to think too much of themselves and their opinions and are generally not the collected, evolved and well-rounded individuals that they imagine themselves to be. In fact they're usually every inch the mirror of the religious fundamentalists they despise, but have the added grace of hypocrisy. When I ask them why they must be so intolerant and they respond with "There is no reason for me to tolerate" there should be alarms going off in their own heads. But if they're there they never seem to hear them.

I'm a firm believer in Evolution and Global Warming. People shouldn't be afraid of good science, especially if it's delivering bad news.

How people can think that's it's impossible for human activity to have a detrimental effect on the planet and the atmosphere as a whole is beyond me when not that long ago we opened, and then closed a hole in the ozone layer.

 

[deserteagleeye]

A woman should always abort her fetus if she is not financially prepared to take care of it. If you really want to give birth to it, put it up for adoption.

 

[Simonism451]

My controversial opinions...

1. Women are not as logical as men and too often let their emotions make their decisions.

I will neither agree or disagree with you there, since most females I know are teenagers and we teenagers as a group tend to be rather irrational from time to time, however I'd like to state that in our society or at least in popular media less emotional women are usual portrayed as uptight ice cubes, only waiting for the hero to show them real love.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I think a lot of people here are idiots.

Apparently that's controversial according to the rules?

 

[Olofelefant]

I strongly believe that militant atheists can be just as harmful as militant religous people. For example, I think that Richard Dawkins does much more harm than good preaching his belief that all religion is wrong and generally shit, ironically with a near-religious fervour.

I haven't read any of his books, so if I'm getting the wrong idea of him, please tell me.

You're getting the wrong idea of him.
Saying he does things with near-religious fervour is absolute bullshit. He doesn't even really preach things. He's always been very respectful towards people's personal beliefs, unless those beliefs negatively affect others.

Fine, I guess I just sort of hold a grudge towards him, ut I'm not really sure why. I think it's something about his voice.

 

[Ben Simon]

Torture should be an acceptable form of punishment in some cases (i.e. serial killers).

 

[SbE]

I see absolutely nothing wrong with prostitution as a concept. Sure, there are a LOT of severe problems related to prostitution such as human trafficking/forced prostitution, violence against prostitutes and drug addiction, but those exist due to other factors than prostitution itself.

the death penalty is far to lenient in some cases, and I would support torture as a punishment method for serial killers and other horrifically brutal crimes, if it weren't for the fact that somebody would actually have to do the torturing. I wouldn't want to inflict that sort of brutality on jail personnel.

 

[Sensei Le Roof]

How about this one: Censorship is an outdated concept whose time has come and long since gone. The only things that should remain unsayable are those that have no purpose except to harm another -- racial epithets and such.

 

[xSpartanLazerx]

My controversial belief is that controversial beliefs are controversial.

[/trollface]

 

[DarkenedWolfEye]

I don't believe that the human race deserves the role of top predator, or top anything, for that matter. I feel ashamed of what we've done to our own planet, and I await the day that the human race dies out. We hurt the global ecosystem more than we aid it, and if the planet had any sense it would get around to creating that supervirus that is only deadly to humans.
Seriously, fuck this species.

 

[Suicida1 Midget]

I guess to make it easy on everyone, we needless leadership to command us to fight, pay them ect. and focus more on the sciences and arts to build a better lifestyle. Balanced, and more natural, by that i mean less drugs or 'cheats' like diet pills to lead to a healthier life for the majority of ppl.(I also think that religous figures like the pope use the church as fronts for the ideas(what they as themselves think people should do) and their wallets)

 

[z4Vhl6KipvGvAJ8uIvWx99T]

I have a "controversial" opinion; I don't think watching child pornography is bad in itself, what's bad is that purchasing child pornography actively promotes the abuse of children.

 

[Fappy]

I don't believe that the human race deserves the role of top predator, or top anything, for that matter. I feel ashamed of what we've done to our own planet, and I await the day that the human race dies out. We hurt the global ecosystem more than we aid it, and if the planet had any sense it would get around to creating that supervirus that is only deadly to humans.
Seriously, fuck this species.

The Earth couldn't give a shit about what we're doing. We're only hurting ourselves.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

the people who died in the planes in 9/11 had it coming except the ones that fought back.

I bet all the money I've ever had in my entire life you would have stayed right in your seat the entire team and quite possibly pissed yourself. It's easy to say you'd be a hero, almost impossible to be one.

So you're seriously, honestly, actually saying that a four year old kid, a pregnant woman, an eighty year old grandma, a handicapped person and countless others that for some reason aren't masters of hand-to-hand combat and in peak physical condition deserved to have died for not fighting back?

Well alright then.

You don't have to be a master of hand to hand combat in peak physical condition to stand up and do the right thing.
And while I have not had the misfortune to have my convictions tested I at least HOPE that I am willing to TRY and fight back against assholes with knives. If it were guns or explosives they were wielding it's another matter as those have a chance to destroy the whole plane with them going off. While unfortunate that children and elderly were caught in the majority of the people were of a decent age to stand up and not a one did anything. It's not like they hijacked a plane full of invalids here.

Okay, so a bunch of people get on your plane with knives. They might just be robbing it for all you know, and you aren't taking a shiv to the kidney for fucking American Airlines or whatever, so you stay in your seat. And the average person, going up against an armed opponent in decent physical condition, would get killed or seriously wounded almost immediately.

ROBBING IT?! Are you serious?! What kind of half-wit are you? Who robs a plane IN FLIGHT? This has nothing to do with taking a knife for a company, this has everything to do with not letting people with mere melee weapons take over a plane for whatever reason they might dream up. Once again I state I haven't had the misfortune to test my resolve but I sure as hell I hope I don't just let someone rob me on a plane. idiot

Right, because people on a fucking plane with knives are all criminal masterminds, and people being hold hostage are able to think clearly.

Also, before you call someone an idiot, look up DB Cooper. I'd love to hear your reply to that, but the moderators don't like it when people call others halfwits and I may never get the chance.

 

[Layzor]

For the most part, I agree with Charlie Sheen.

 

[Normandyfoxtrot]

I don't believe that the human race deserves the role of top predator, or top anything, for that matter. I feel ashamed of what we've done to our own planet, and I await the day that the human race dies out. We hurt the global ecosystem more than we aid it, and if the planet had any sense it would get around to creating that supervirus that is only deadly to humans.
Seriously, fuck this species.

The planet is a thing it has neither will nor intelligence.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

I think Justin Bieber is a good person.

Oh sure, his music leaves a little to be desire but he's a great guy and very nice. He's also have excellent self control.

I would NOT be able to handle what people said of me or even get hit by a water bottle.

 

[Navvan]

Natural selection and random transcription errors in DNA produce outliers in every gene pool. Nature creates jerkwads at a consistent rate to maximize the potential for survival. These jerkwads often have a lower survival and procreation rate, so natural selection keeps the population balanced while lowering the probability of extinction, just in case having a jerkwad or two around increases the overall survival rate.

I apologize for this giant wall of text, but it does explain some things and leads into my own controversial opinion.

While the jist of your post leans toward correct there are a few misconceptions I thought I would point out. Not meaning to be an ass or anything but its a peeve of mine to point out misconceptions about scientific theories to educate especially when it comes to natural selection and evolution. You likely already know these things already, but I will state them anyway.

First off natural selection doesn't care about anything and the theory itself says nothing about balance nor about lowering a probability of extinction. It describes a phenomenon that the individuals within a population that pass on the most genes will have a greater impact on future generations. Over successive generations this can cause many different things to happen, but the most commonly described of which is a shift in the average trait that proves successful until it reaches an optimum. Species may also diverge if two ends of the spectrum prove optimal but an intermediate is not and ect...

Once the average is centered on that optimal point variation in that trait will continue due a variety of factors such as genetic drift and mutation. New situations may change the optimal trait such as food availability, predation, and so forth and the changes continue until a new optimum is reached. Mutations may also occur producing a new trait, or more likely a new function to an existing one and selection continues.

To sum it up, natural selection does not create variation within a population, nor does it state anything about balance or lowering odds for extinction. Random errors do create variation along with genetic drift, epigenetics, and other things. Natural selection drives it to an optimal point. Evolution is the change of a population over time which is a combination of factors including but not limited to natural selection and genetic drift.

While genetics is certainly a tribute that be attached to things like intelligence it really holds less effect that people may think on forming a persons opinions and views of the world. Those are things imprinted on us in the same manner speech is. It would be like saying someone born and raised in Russia will speak Russian based on genetics. It just doesn't work that way.

This brings me to my own opinion, that the large variation in human intelligence is from nurture not nature. With the exceptions of people with intelligence disorders such as downs syndrome there really is no reason to believe that such a wide variation in human intelligence should exist. Humans do not vary much genetically due to an suspected bottleneck effect we experienced near the beginning of our kind. This is evident by the fact that you are more closely related to anyone on this planet than some chimpanzees within the same or neighboring families are. Thus I have no reason to suspect that the stereotypical valley girl could not have become a stereotypical professor or doctor if given the right environment to do so. This also means that their children have the potential to, and thus the idea that assholes should not be allowed to procreate is unfair to the child. Assholes shouldn't be allowed to raise children, but then we open a whole can of worms that simply can't be sorted in a democratic society that contains so much variability in culture, values, ect.

This leaves us with two options. The first involves educational reform to help increase the converts from the seemingly less intelligent and those misinformed. The second is to have as many of our own children as possible and raise them to our standards and have them do the same.

 

[Frostbyte666]

Terrorists and the Humanitarians who protest for their human rights. In regards to the terrorists they should be slaughtered like the rabid dogs they are, they left behind their human rights the moment they committed their vile acts and the humanitarians who defend them should be paraded in front of each and every victim to see the damage these 'misunderstood' people wrought.