Cultural learnings from Hong Kong - sputum

This is the last of my cultural learnings posts for the time being. I shall call it "Cultural learnings from Hong Kong for make benefit glorious nation of Australia - the question of what to do with sputum".

I have been lurking at Hong Kong airport during a long and tedious transit. One of the less pleasant aspects of this sojourn has been the chorus of snorting, coughing, throat-clearing and expectorating in the men's toilet. Often a group of men will visit the loo in company and engage in this practice while carrying on a conversation and urinating.

It goes something like this: "Yadda yadda snort yadda hawk hawk hawk yadda yadda ptuie cough ptuie ha ha ha ha snort hawk hawk yadda ptuie ha ha hawk".

This is of course repulsive public behaviour to one brought up in glorious nation of Australia. However, perhaps Honking Hong Kongers are just as repulsed by the thought of furtively SWALLOWING sputum. Perhaps their view is "better out than in" when it comes to infective snotty slurry.

I have decided on a cultural compromise to honour the sputum solutions practised by both cultures. I will hawk, clear, snort and spit, but I will spit into my freshly washed and therefore hygienic hand. I will then lick up the resulting expectoration and swallow it. It may start a new trend of cultural compomise. I will try it for the first time this evening when I fly Cathay Pacific (a Hong Kong airline) into Brisbane (an Australian destination). I hope in my own small way to foster cultural understandings for make benefit for both Australia and China.

The truth about jet lag - a factoid exposed

Having just endured yet another 12-hour aircraft flight, I am more than ever a skeptic about the actual reasons for "jet lag". Jet lag in the typical account is said to be a function of a disruption to the individual's normal pattern of sleep and wakefulness.

I think it's simply a matter of being forced to sit in a tiny little chair for 12 hours without a break.

When I get home I will take a few days to recover, and then I will sit in a tiny little chair for 12 hours in my lounge room, whilst inhaling the concentrated exhalations and exhudations of 500 grotty people. I'll let you all know how I get on.

Merry Christmas to everyone

I thought I'd bring out the same photo we used last year, it's just so wrong.

Ass clown argues astrologer ass clowns are actually scientists

The following text comes from a letter to the editor, published in today's Age, by first rate idiot Phillip Jensen of St Andrews Beach:

The various forms of astrology are evolving disciplines that constitute millennia of observation, recording, hypotheses and proofs through experimentation, incorporating differing opinions based on an accepted knowledge base. This sounds like science to me.

The reason why it sounds like science, Phillip, is because you are misappropriating scientific terms. Either you are deliberately creating a False Analogy or, more than likely, you are just an ass clown*. I wonder if Phillip can point me in the direction of an astrological hypothesis or "proof" which has been verified by experimentation?

I've written about the difference between science and pseudo science before:

A scientific theory is a concise and coherent set of concepts, claims and laws (frequently expressed mathematically) that can be used to precisely and accurately explain and predict natural phenomena.

A theory should include a mechanism that explains how its concepts, claims, and laws arise from lower-level theories.

Astrology fails these criteria miserably. Its very nature is to work in wishy-washy generalisations. This is the antipathy of science, which requires concise and coherent predictions and explanations for natural phenomena. And as to providing some kind of plausible mechanism...?

At the beginning of his letter, the ass clown claims that:

Astrological "readings" are symbolic personality and life path delineations that verify things we already know about ourselves as well as effectively making the unconscious conscious.

Well, just how good are astrologers?

The scientific community, where it has commented, claims that astrology has repeatedly failed to demonstrate its effectiveness in numerous controlled studies. Effect size studies in astrology conclude that the mean accuracy of astrological predictions is no greater than what is expected by chance, and astrology's perceived performance has disappeared on critical inspection. When tested against personality tests, astrologers have shown a consistent lack of agreement with these tests. One such double-blind study in which astrologers attempted to match birth charts with results of a personality test, which was published in the reputable peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature, claimed to refute astrologers' assertions that they can solve clients' personal problems by reading individuals' natal charts. The study concluded that astrologers had no special ability to interpret personality from astrological readings. Another study that used a personality test and a questionnaire contended that some astrologers failed to predict objective facts about people or agree with each other's interpretations.

Another bunch of ass clowns.

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* One whose stupidity and/or ineptitude exceeds the descriptive potential of both the terms ass and clown in isolation, and in so doing demands to be referred to as the conjugate of the two. (Ref: Urban Dictionary.)

Source: Astrology is not only star gazing - The Age - 24 Dec 2006 - Letters

Tags: Skepticism, False Analogy, Astrology, Fallacy

A travelling skeptic tests a dodgy claim

Recent visitors may have gathered that I am currently in Rome. I am, as has been pointed out by Theo, engaging in cultural learnings of Italia for make benefit glorious nation of Australia.

Today I engaged in some informal study of beggars and their habits. The most successful beggar by far seemed to be the fellow sitting on a busy pavement with three large and contented dogs. Passers-by seemed to be responding far more to the dog variable than (say) the limbless variable or destitute child variable used by other beggars. I walked close by the dog-beggar in the course of my researches and he said in English (as he rattled his tin) "is for food for dogs". (He had rightly judged that I spoke English, possibly because of my unfashionable clothes and reserved anglo manner.)

As a result of his utterance, I decided on an impromptu experiment to test his bona fides. I gestured to him to wait there (probably not necessary) and walked off purposefully. I walked a block to a small supermarket and bought a two kilogram bag of Pal dry dog food. I walked briskly back to the beggar and dogs and presented the bag of Pal with a flourish.

The dogs seemed pleased, but the beggar did not. I had saved the beggar a walk, had saved him having to go to the supermarket, saved him having to carry food back to his dogs. And yet he was, to be frank, positively rude (I think the fist and forearm raised skywards with a slap to the biceps is probably not a nice gesture).
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Update (by Theo): I had to put the picture in.

Another factoid bites the dust - courtesy of the skeptical traveller

At the time of this post I am still in Rome, and I have to say that one of the most persistent factoids about Italians is in my experience demonstrably false.

The factoid is commonly found in travel guides which provide sage advice for foreigners in Italy. It is commonly stated in a passage similar to this:

If the traveller attempts to speak a little Italian (no matter how poor or ineffectual), his or her Italian interlocutor will be pleased, and will bend over backwards to help answer queries, provide advice etc in English.

This claim is a pack of lies and I can prove it. Today, when I approached museum guards, transport officials, banking officials and tourist guides, I first spoke Italian to them before asking my question in English. I can provide the exact passage: "Al fresco, spagetti bolognese, lamborghini, al dente, cappuccino". When this smattering of Italian had no effect, I poked them in the chest and shouted thus: "I SAID, AL FRESCO, SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE, LAMBORGINI, AL DENTE, CAPPUCHINO - NOW SPEAK TO ME IN ENGLISH!"

Not only did they ignore me after this thoroughgoing attempt to establish a productive relationship, some of them even became aggressive.

Carl Sagan (Pseudo) Memorial / Demon Haunted World (Pseudo) Homage / [50th] Skeptics' Circle

As was suggested over at Pharyngula, the 20th of December is the tenth anniversary of Carl Sagan's death, and it is fitting that this great skeptic is given a bit of a tribute here. Though it seems that many bloggers are doing the same. For this circle I decided to re-read one of the most formative books of my intellectual life, Sagan's The Demon Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark. It is fair to say it had a direct influence on the eventuation of Humbug! and Humbugonline.

With these two things in mind, I though it best to classify posts in a similar fashion to some of the chapters of The Demon Haunted World - a semi homage to the book. (Wherever an appropriately related link from another blog wasn't submitted, or I couldn't find something searching for myself, or simply because I could, I've been completely shameless and linked to one of my old posts.) I've called it a pseudo memorial/homage because, well, like a pseudo science at first it might seem like a reasonable alternative to a real memorial/homage, but once you delve a bit deeper you'll discover it's a bit of a sham. Still, the facade will make you feel good for a while and unlike most pseudo sciences, this pseudo memorial/homage won't cost you a penny.


Carl Sagan (Pseudo) Memorial / Demon Haunted World (Pseudo) Homage / [50th] Skeptics' Circle

Preface - My Teachers:
Sagan begins his book with a tribute of his own, to his teachers. Unfortunately, as is not an uncommon experience, many were less than inspiring. No one kills an interest in science better than a science teacher (ahem..). For Sagan, this all changed in college. He learned science from a historical perspective (something that I think is of upmost importance for a well-rounded and interesting science course) and as an integral part of all human knowledge. As he says: "It was considered unthinkable for an aspiring physicist to not know Plato, Aristotle, Bach, Shakespeare, Gibbon, Malinowski and Freud - among many others."

As a science teacher myself, on occasion I attempt to inspire (at the very least I usually get a laugh). Though it's not specifically stated in the syllabus, teaching skepticism is also something I do. My Friday the 13th "experiments" on myself do both.

Chapters 1 & 2 - The Most Precious Thing & Science and Hope:
Sagan begins the book in earnest with his defence of science. In particular the distinction between science and pseudo science (something I've discussed here), how science helps us avoid being fooled into believing something that isn't true and teaches us how to think.

However, don't confuse Sagan's love of science with "Scientism" as D. N Menton has. Carl (rhymes with 'Sagan') Feagans sets Menton straight over at a Hot Cup of Joe.

One of the most memorable passages from chapter one points out the success of science based medicine:

We can pray over the cholera victim, or we can give her 500 milligrams of tetracycline every twelve hours… We can try nearly futile psychoanalytic talk therapy on the schizophrenic patient, or we can give him 300 to 500 milligrams a day of chlozapine...

On a similar note, at Respectful Insolence Orac points out that: "… there is a growing movement that insists that doctors should ask you about your spiritual life and make religious practices a part of medicine…"

My co-blogger, Jef, just last week found that not all doctors follow such wishy-washy rubbish.

Feeling a bit ill (or not)? Save some money and diagnose yourself with EoR's Woo World Self Treater "...which brings the finest and latest alternative therapies to one location and enables you to deal with your health concerns without the oppressive Big Pharma run Western Medical Establishment trying to kill you."

I tried it and, speaking from anecdote, it's brilliant. To protect my privacy I'll only give you a part of my diagnosis:

Quantum-consciousness analysis of your auric field shows you are suffering the symptoms of toxin overload, which is commonly seen among males born under the sign of Virgo. Swimming with dolphins has been shown to be effective in relieving the symptoms of toxin overload and allowing the body to heal itself. You can also boost your immune levels by remembering to deeply consider where you are, and commence colonic irrigations to remove toxins.

Chapter 3 - The Man in the Moon and the Face on Mars:
One of the main themes of The Demon Haunted World is intelligent alien life and the pseudo scientific claims for it. One of the claims Sagan begins with is the "face" on Mars. John Wilkins at Evolving Thoughts wrote about new images of the "face" in September.

Chapters 4 & 5 - Aliens & Spoofing and Secrecy:
Sagan continues looking at such claims, moving onto alien abduction and government cover-ups and conspiracies.

This is of particular interest to us here at Humbugonline. Ever since Jef admitted to travelling with aliens in a UFO, I've been defending myself from alien mind control. Further to this, I've conducted an experiment which proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it's not possible to land on the moon, and then Jef found this photo to top it off!

Chapter 10 - The Dragon in My Garage:
Sandy Szwarc at Junk Foodscience points out that some medical professionals simply think homeopathy is harmless fun. However, that's not the case. As the post says, it is costly, misleading and potentially harmful. More than that, it's simply a pseudo science:

Homeopathic followers often assert that these preparations defy modern testing or that there have been few tests on them. Both are false.

“Many providers of complementary and alternative medicine are convinced that their therapy defies the ‘straightjacket’ of reductionist research,” said a recent panel report from the Conference on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Methodology, National Institutes of Health. Supporters argue that alternative modalities are individualized, holistic, intuitive, etc, and call for a ‘paradigm shift’ in research.” However, the Panel concluded that these arguments are based on a series of misunderstandings and concerns can be resolved by properly designing the research, and that “if the aim is to test the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine, randomized controlled trials usually provide the least biased method for finding a reliable answer.”

Sandy's point could be straight out of The Demon Haunted World. Indeed, the late John Mack (a psychiatrist "…considered to be a leading authority on the spiritual or transformational effects of alleged alien encounter experiences"), as quoted by Sagan, could have been mistaken for a homeopath:

There are phenomena important enough to warrant serious research, and the metaphysics of the dominant Western scientific paradigm may be inadequate fully to support this research.

For more on the dragon, head over to Rockstars' Ramblings, where Bronze Dog pays homage to The Dragon in the Garage in the Carl Sagan Edition of the "Doggerel".

Chapter 12 - The Fine Art of Baloney Detection:
I consider this to be the most useful and important chapter of the book. All humans should learn how to detect baloney. Before I knew what a fallacy was I could still smell a bad argument. But knowing the various types of fallacies allows one to classify them. Sagan's baloney detection kit, made up of thinking techniques such as spinning another hypothesis and fallacies, is invaluable. Thankyou Carl.

At Rockstars' Ramblings, Bronze Dog takes a look at a misunderstanding of the ad hominem fallacy and points out that the quality of an argument is independent from the "hatefulness" of the arguer.

As a great example of baloney detection in action, you can't go past Bob Carroll of the Skeptic Dictionary. Bob unpacks his kit and uses it to expose the humbug filled arguments of an op-ed piece which claims that Two Mommies is One Two Many.

Chapter 14 - Antiscience:
Infophile at Rockstars' Ramblings, explains Quantum Mechanics. More importantly, how woos attempt to justify their claims using QM:

The logic the woos use to defend their claims boils down to asking how, if scientists don’t understand Quantum Mechanics, they can claim the woos are wrong about it? It’s simple, really. Scientists are confused about what causes all of this, not what can happen. The possible events in QM are all well-defined, and the calculations of probabilities are done deterministically.

This is the exact same conclusion Sagan reaches:

So how is a shamanistic or theological or New Age doctrine different from quantum mechanics? The answer is that even if we cannot understand it, we can verify that it works... the predictions of quantum mechanics are strikingly, and to high accuracy, confirmed.

But the shaman tells us that his doctrine is true because it too works - not on arcane matters of mathematical physics but on what really counts: he can cure people. Very well, then, let's accumulate the statistics on shamanistic cures...

Chapter 15 - Newton's Sleep:
Big Heathen Mike at Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant has a personal story to tell; how his lack of religion and his understanding of statistical probability allows him to deal with stress. What? Me worry?

This chapter on science and religion helped shape some of my own views. How can the two be reconciled? I've thought about this a great deal since reading The Demon Haunted World.

Chapter 19 - No Such Thing as a Dumb Question:
In this chapter Sagan laments the poor showing of US students in science and mathematics test scores compared to other western nations. He talks about the lack of scientific literacy amongst the general public, and the offence that evolution causes many people. One of the particular oddities of the United States is the Creationism/Evolution "debate". It's an oddity as it doesn't register on the radar here in Australia (or in the UK - where I taught for 1 & 1/2 years). As Sagan pointed out, when Americans were asked merely if they accept evolution, 45% said yes, whereas it was 70% in China. This is in the early 1990s - so things might be better by now? Well, maybe not. Especially if all the kiddies are wasting time playing Left Behind: Eternal Forces. It is simply Creationism in Video Game Form, as pointed out by Lord Runolfr.

OT - on the rare occasion I play a video game I go for Stick Cricket; far more wholesome than end of the world violence. (For the yanks, cricket is like baseball except it [test cricket] goes for 5 days and is more difficult. Australia is the best side in the world by far, and we are currently in the middle of giving the English a pasting. Don't worry though, they're used to it.)

Chapter 23 - Maxwell and the Nerds:
In one of the final chapters of The Demon Haunted World, Sagan looks at the sociology of science and the need for intellectual freedom. He begins the chapter by discussing the flaws of stereotyping, and points out that even if a stereotype is valid on average (say, men are taller than women) it is not going to hold for all individual cases (some women are taller than some men). One of the most detrimental stereotypes to the progress of science is that woman can't do it. I'm in no position to say whether this stereotype holds true for women in the professional arena today, but I can say that this perception is not one held by the many students I teach (and have taught), my colleagues, let alone the brilliant women who I went to university with.

That being said, the most common stereotype I have thrown at me by my students is that I'm a "nerd" because I teach science and mathematics. They usually ask me if I was in the "Chess Club" at school. I'll tell them to stop being silly, I played Bridge at school (jokes). Though these questions are in the form of a good-natured ribbing (they get a detention anyway… I love power!), they are quite revealing. Stereotypes abound and it is up to us to show them for what they are (I make sure to wear really cool sunglasses and a baseball cap; I don't walk, I strut).

Tara, at Aetiology, has dealt with similar stereotypes. She asks a series of rhetorical questions and gives examples of the "hot chick" stereotype. The argument goes something like this. "Hot chicks" don't like science fiction (and/or are no good at science). If you like science fiction (and/or are good at science) you are smart. Therefore, if you are a hot chick, you mustn't be smart.

I agree that it's a ridiculous stereotype, but I can't bring myself to feel too sorry for a smart hot chick... (except for my wife - she has to put up with me).
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That's the end of my pseudo homage to The Demon Haunted World. If you haven't read the book, you must. In fact, it is one of my few "must reads". Do so now... Go!

Finally, to end this Circle, Orac has posted Three things about Carl Sagan. A great post to end the tribute to Carl with.

The 51st Skeptics' Circle is to be hosted by See You at Enceladus - January 4, 2007. Have a great Christmas and New Year.

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Tags: Skepticism

Last chance for submission to the skeptics' circle

Any last minute entries for the 50th circle are more than welcome! The more the merrier. I'll squeeze them in right up until the deadline (tomorrow - 21st December).

Celebrity busybodies

Interesting article by Rod Liddle of the Times newspaper which indicates that he is a man who thinks on at least one issue as we do here at Humbugonline. The article title is Diana's ghastly legacy of emotion and celebrity busybodies. The article is prompted by a recent report which puts a number of conspiracy theories in their place. (Their place is the domain of genuine loons, and/or mildly delusional fantasists - I hope I offend many with this comment.)

A key quote:

"Next year we will be dragooned into commemorating the 10th anniversary of this poor woman's death, reaching out and hugging one another as Sir Elton John brays out that saccharine, clod-hopping song once again and the lesser celebrities - Bono, Sting, Chris de Burgh - queue up to tell us what she really stood for. Which is, in essence, what we all want: world peace, racial harmony, an end to Aids, no nasty bombs... (here follow some great put-downs of celebrities, then)... Scatty actresses and pop stars with oxtail soup between the ears circle the globe meeting popes and presidents and instructing them how to run their countries, save the rainforests and eliminate global misery..."

Read the whole thing, you'll be glad you did. (I'll leave the internal links to some of our previous posts on related topics to Theo's discretion.)

When in Rome, do as the Romans do - not

I am in Rome. If I based my actions on the old saying above (don't know the source off hand), then instead of gawking at all these amazing, not to be missed sights, I would:

• spend two hours in the morning primping and preening in front of a mirror
• walk purposefully from my apartment to public transport without even glancing sideways
• scowl at other Romans who checked my progress
• ignore every historic site or sight.
• buy and drink an espresso in one smooth movement while standing on the pavement and then bugger off immediately
• glance at my reflection in shop windows at every opportunity while walking at a brisk pace
• smoke a cigarette, then another cigarette, then another one until I reach my destination

On reflection, I think it best to not do as the Romans do when in Rome. I've paid a lot of money to get here, so I intend to follow this newly coined and essentially boring saying: "when in Rome, do as the tourists do".

I know it's not as catchy as the original, but it's much sounder advice.

A milky moral dilemma - not

This is another one of my flippant posts which doesn't have a great deal to do with informal fallacies in thinking and skepticism. It's just a self-indulgent observation drawn from a scenario I have actually encountered. I am currently travelling in the middle east and Europe with my immediate family and a few days ago we were royally ripped off by a taxi driver at the conclusion of our trip to the airport. We had an agreed price, and the taxi driver demanded three times the agreed price at the airport under circumstances where he thought he held all the cards. In a sense he did, as we ended up paying his extortionate fee (we had to catch the plane, we didn't know the local language, and any loud argument at an airport drop-off zone these days is to be avoided if you don't want to be taken away by security).

So I hushed the indignant women with me and forked over the extra cash. The driver was well-pleased but my companions required some calming.

I was OK because I had found another means of getting my money's worth. I had carefully balanced an opened carton of chocolate milk on my lap for the whole trip in order to avoid soiling the taxi-driver's apholstery. When he became aggressive and nasty at the end of the trip I'm afraid I put the carton down onto the floor under his front passenger seat without exercising proper care and diligence (I was distracted by his aggression). The faint "glop, glop" sound I heard as I handed over the extortion money suggests that the carton of milk was on its side under his passenger's seat rather than upright.

I have not disclosed my carelessness to my fellow-travellers as they have higher ethical standards than I do and would be appalled.

I on the other hand, am experiencing quiet satisfaction as I reflect that the spilt milk will be making its presence known to the driver about now.

If I had had the presence of mind I would have loved to have left a note under the seat - perhaps "no use crying over spilt milk", or "he who laughs last, laughs loudest" or "revenge is a dish best served cold".

How to win arguments with Hell's Kitchen

I received an email earlier in the week from Dirk, recommending the following:

… essay on how to win arguments, and while it may not be as watertight as those on your blog, it certainly seems to get the job done…

Here's one of my favourite techniques from the site Dirk recommends, Hell's Kitchen:

Use meaningless but weightly [sic] -sounding words and phrases.

Memorize this list:
Let me put it this way
In terms of
Vis-a-vis
Per se
As it were
Qua
So to speak

You should also memorize some Latin abbreviations such as "Q.E.D.," "e.g.," and "i.e." These are all short for "I speak Latin, and you do not."

Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say: "Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't have enough money."

You never win arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you say: "Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-a-vis Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often, so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were. Q.E.D."

Only a fool would challenge that statement.

Indeed.

Jef is the king of arguing in Bad Faith, but I'll soon catch him with these techniques. Hit the link above and learn.

Update: Thanks to Gary Curtis for sourcing the original, by Dave Barry.

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Tags: Fallacy, Argument, Bad Faith.

I could have been a medico after all

Sitting in a cafe in Haifa (Israel) I overheard a father and son (both medicos) discussing difficult patients. Father to son: "So I told him my diagnosis... kidney failure which needed immediate treatment, and he said 'I'd like to try some less invasive herbal treatments first', so I said 'you should get sick and die, now stop wasting my time and get out of my office'... he came back in five minutes and I scheduled dialysis and exploratory surgery, when he came out of recovery he asked me what his outlook was, I said 'you should get well and live'."

I had always thought medicine was out of the question for me because of my personality, but having overheard this I realised that there are successful medicos out there who are exactly like me.

Call for submissions for Skeptics' Circle 50

Lighting a candle (in the dark) for Sagan...

Skeptics' Circle 50 is due on the 21st of December, a day and ten years after the late and great Carl Sagan left us.

So as was suggested, and hosted here, this circle is going to be somewhat of a tribute to Sagan. I'll figure out how to make it a tribute later - just send any skeptical posts my way.

Get them in by Wednesday the 20th people.

The 49th Skeptics' Circle has arrived…

and can be found here, at Autism Street.

We're up next (21st December).

Striking a blow for social justice

Richard Carfirkin, obsessive-compulsive researcher on whores and whoring (and who among us is not) notes that the Catholic Church has saints for reformed prostitutes but none for reformed sex workers. According to Richard, the saints for reformed prostitutes are: Margaret of Cortona, Mary Magdalen and Mary of Egypt.

I followed up on Richard's researches and found out that discrimination in the Church is even more heinous than he suggests. Not only are there no saints for reformed sex-workers, but there are also no saints for reformed trollops, strumpets, harlots, hookers or whores.

I therefore propose nominating a portmanteau religious personage who can readily represent all shades of whoredom, whether reformed or not. I refer to Ishtar, the Whore of Babylon (icon pictured).

Words worth espousing - trollop and strumpet

My erstwhile comrade and contemporary friend Richard (RMC) Carfirkin* (pictured) was moved by a previous post (bringing back prostitution) to do some semantic research. Here is his conclusion:

I suspect that the term 'sex worker' came into vogue (despite being described as euphemistic by the COD) so that it was non-gender specific. Maybe as well, prostitutes were closely associated with women who did conventional 'sex' as opposed to what was done by those who tied up and whipped their subjects etc and perhaps never actually had contact with them (is this a Clintonesque argument?). There are forms of massage services (according to the advertisements in our local paper) that are'non-sexual' but obviously very erotic. I think that we are destined to live with the word as being a non-gender description for people (of legal age) who sell sexual services to others!

I think Richard may be right, it's almost too late to suppress "sex workers" (the expression, not the vocation) and to promote "prostitution" (the word, not the vocation). In any case, there's a far more important semantic battle to fight. I refer to the declining use of two excellent words which MUST be preserved by all who love the articulation of richly evocative and emotionally loaded archaisms. They are "trollop" and "strumpet".

I even have a suggestion for euphemists who like to use the awkward construction "sex worker". Please consider using "rent-a-trollop" or "strumpet-for-hire" as an alternative to "sex worker". Less ambiguous, gender-specific, proudly assertive and factually accurate.

*A pseudonym which will allow RMC types to identify Richard, but not his present employers!