11/26/10: How Does She Know?

[swankivy]

How Does She Know?

Poll time! Meri Lin may not care how it's happening, but if you've got an opinion on how come she seems to be able to predict her children's sex, share it with us. Do you think it's a talent she has (and do you think she'd be able to try it on other pregnant women)? Do you think the baby is doing something? Do you think it's the result of guesswork? How about this . . . do you think Meri Lin is going to turn out to be right about having a son this time?

[SHO!]

So Meri Lin is a lady that makes telekinetic babies and has an ESPer womb that either predicts gender or... *gasp* IMPOSES IT!!

And yes it's a boy... but I imagine somewhat effeminate and fay from having his gender forced on him by an ESPer womb.

[M Lee]

heh, so no telling in this particular poll, eh what? I won't spoil anything, but I'll roll with the idea of it being guesswork. In truth, this line of thought she's taking makes me uncomfortable, because while everyone is free to believe what they want, this gets into territory of "mommy instinct trumps scientific research". Medical science has enough problems keeping people aware and inoculated against diseases, but now there are those actively seeking to persuade parents to avoid vaccines based on nothing but emotional pleas and corrupted and fraudulent research. Yeah, I really get discouraged when I think of the latest, and avoidable, outbreaks of pertussis

[monika]

I says: It's the hormons! They are somehow different for the mommy when she is having a boy than when she is having a girl.

Okay, maybe not. But at least it would be a somewhat scientific explanation, if it were so.

But as the mother of a magic baby, I guess it could be something like the universal metaconsciousness giving her a hint.

[swankivy]

Nov 27, 2010 10:44:36 GMT -5 @M Lee said:

In truth, this line of thought she's taking makes me uncomfortable, because while everyone is free to believe what they want, this gets into territory of "mommy instinct trumps scientific research".

For the record, I don't think that's expressed at all. . . . Meri Lin actually seems to be saying almost the opposite throughout the episode, and I say this for two reasons: 1. She seems frustrated that she doesn't even sound "sane" to herself because she can't rationalize it but she knows she feels it; and 2. She outright says that she knows she can't prove anything and also knows that she can't even make a proper claim (hence the confusion about whether she's had a couple good guesses, is able to do something unusual herself, or is the recipient of an unprecedented type of signal from her babies). She's definitely not claiming that any instinct she has "trumps" scientific research, because she's aware that her belief about the baby ISN'T scientific, tested, or necessarily reliable.

In any case, I ultimately agree with your perspective that nobody's "because I said so, therefore it is true" statement can "trump" the results of a well-constructed scientific experiment, and I also think that Meri Lin and Fred are very much scientifically minded people. They're just living in a situation in which supposedly impossible things have happened, and doubting the validity of what they're directly seeing and experiencing is not the same as "being a skeptic." A true skeptic will go into a situation not looking specifically for evidence for OR against. The skeptic will simply observe, and quantify, and conclude. If the skeptic has an agenda--e.g., "this can't be happening"--then that will color the skeptic's conclusions, resulting in said skeptic refusing to consider any evidence that suggests "this is happening/can happen."

So as you see, Meri Lin, as a person who doesn't WANT to sound "crazy," is frustrated that her experiences are pushing her to believe something she has only vague unquantifiable anecdotal evidence for. As a result, she's not expecting science, collectively, to uphold her experience as scientifically valid. She's just appreciating the fact that her partner isn't pointlessly kicking her experiences in the face. So, bottom line is, neither of them is making any statements about reality that counter scientific understandings of how the brain and body work. (Meri Lin even acknowledges that a baby at her embryo's age doesn't have a proper brain yet; she knows how absurd it sounds.) They're basically saying, "I don't know how it's happening, I don't know why it's happening, but I do know THAT it is happening: I have a strong suspicion that my baby is a boy, and it will stay a suspicion until an ultrasound all but confirms it (or denies it)." (Heh, you may have noticed that Fred is unwilling to make practical decisions based on Meri Lin's intuitive "findings," too, and that she is not offended by this.)

[SHO!]

Nov 27, 2010 10:44:36 GMT -5 @M Lee said:

Medical science has enough problems keeping people aware and inoculated against diseases, but now there are those actively seeking to persuade parents to avoid vaccines based on nothing but emotional pleas and corrupted and fraudulent research. Yeah, I really get discouraged when I think of the latest, and avoidable, outbreaks of pertussis

It's so ridiculous. Diseases we had all but wiped out are now coming back with a vengeance because of these misinformed parents and their opinion that it is their right to not inoculate AND to let their "lil patient zeroes" intermingle with children too young for inoculations.

I've only read about this backward behavior in the states, is this happening elsewhere as well?

There was a Law&Order:SVU episode where a mother like this was put on trial for murder because she was a "modern informed parent" that micromanaged her children and refused vaccinations but home schooled them. Only she then allowed her children to play at the park with children too young for certain shots and wound up causing the unheard death of an infant (from the mumps I believe). A thing we'll probably see in the news more and more: Infant Dies After Contracting Measles at Wal-Mart.

[M Lee]

@sho! It's amazing how distrust of the government will lead to boneheaded moves. I'm none too impressed with our educational system here in the US, and doubt the federalies always have our best interests at heart, but I'm thinking a vaccine used internationally isn't a tool to introduce mind control. Oh yeah, forgot the ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT, OMGFML

@swankivy I know you only skirted it, considering she spent ample time dwelling on how irrational her certainty seemed. I just think it would have been better had he just automatically came to his conclusion, instead of running through the tension of the issue. The way it wraps up, it sounds like an excuse for being so open minded as to let one's brain fall out. Like I said, it made me "uncomfortable", but that could just be due to oversensitivity on the issue.

PS - This security check thing needs work. Third time I've had to post

[swankivy]

Nov 28, 2010 9:12:32 GMT -5 @M Lee said:

The way it wraps up, it sounds like an excuse for being so open minded as to let one's brain fall out. Like I said, it made me "uncomfortable", but that could just be due to oversensitivity on the issue.

Well, I can promise you that nobody in my comic is on a crusade against science, and no one is planning to support statements like "mommy instinct trumps scientific research." I really don't see any brains in danger of skull escape when Fred acknowledges that Meri Lin is having an experience neither of them understands fully (while also acknowledging that he wants a "second opinion" from the ultrasound before they make any purchases/decisions that would be affected by the baby's sex). I'm very against the mentality of parents who would put their kids in danger because of beliefs that they feel are just as valid as tested scientific theories (even when they're proved not to be), so I definitely don't want anyone thinking my characters are upholding this mentality. . . .

Nov 28, 2010 9:12:32 GMT -5 @M Lee said:

PS - This security check thing needs work. Third time I've had to post

There's no security check for logged-in members, so I've never seen it in action. I guess you get what you pay for (this board is free).

[nandan]

We've seen that Meri Lin had a very strong intuition about Amanda's sex, which was confirmed... and now about the new baby's as well (I'm pretty sure it will be confirmed). But I recall she also "knew" that Amanda was still alive, somewhere. She felt it somehow. So... I think she's got a talent, and it's not just picking up subtle clues while being "attached" to the baby.
She seems to be a bit of a psy-chick... perhaps a conditional oracle of sorts (the subject matter of her unconscious "divination" is her baby and nothing else). Maybe if she was trained by Adele, she could do more?

[SHO!]

Dec 1, 2010 11:38:35 GMT -5 nandan said:

We've seen that Meri Lin had a very strong intuition about Amanda's sex, which was confirmed... and now about the new baby's as well (I'm pretty sure it will be confirmed). But I recall she also "knew" that Amanda was still alive, somewhere. She felt it somehow. So... I think she's got a talent, and it's not just picking up subtle clues while being "attached" to the baby.
She seems to be a bit of a psy-chick... perhaps a conditional oracle of sorts (the subject matter of her unconscious "divination" is her baby and nothing else). Maybe if she was trained by Adele, she could do more?

That would be cool (and funny)! Except we find out that Meri Lin has like a "second tier" talent, not as in control as Amanda or Adele. Heh, maybe that's why she faints so much, using her gifts is too much of a strain for a second tier. ;D