An electronic cigarette caused armed police to detain 48 people, shut down a motorway and call in th - Polidicks

[QUOTE=LaughingStock;36641644]"oh probably just an e-cig"? hell no.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Sir Spicy Buns;36641618]But then again, what if it was a bomb[/QUOTE] let's play a game it's called "spot the cognitive bias" [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_rate_fallacy]base rate neglect[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representativeness_heuristic]representativeness bias[/url] are playing a role, because bombs are extremely fucking rare occurences and seeing vapor coming out of a box barely raises the probability of it being a bomb relative to other more mundane explanations, even though it strongly pattern-matches. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Availability_heuristic]availability bias:[/url] it's easier to remember examples of times when someone found a bomb in a car than it is to remember times they didn't, because the former is vivid and the latter isn't categorised as such. therefore one would overstate the probability of there being a bomb [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchoring]anchoring:[/url] once the idea of it being a bomb gets into your head, it isn't going away. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_aversion]general risk-averse behavior[/url] on the taxpayer's dime point is the police are being overreactive idiots

I saw a man walking by my house carrying a backpack I assumed there were guns in the backpack and he was planning to rob my house So I called the police on him. :downs: Better safe than sorry!

I fail to see what the hell could have taken 45 minutes to an hour to do here. They checked the bag, they found nothing, and then what? Did they play a round of volleyball with the bag?

Guys I was walking around and I saw a brown guy so I called the cops on him preemptively for stealing a bike :downs:

Am I the only person who found this so much more funny just because it was in Britain? I mean, I have absolutely no problem with the country -I'm of somewhat British descent myself-, but if this had taken place in Germany or France or something, I just wouldn't have found this as funny as I did because it was Britain.

[QUOTE=zakedodead;36642180]Guys I was walking around and I saw a brown guy so I called the cops on him preemptively for stealing a bike :downs:[/QUOTE]Such a shit straw man. [editline]5th July 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Upgrade123;36642071]I saw a man walking by my house carrying a backpack I assumed there were guns in the backpack and he was planning to rob my house So I called the police on him. :downs: Better safe than sorry![/QUOTE]Same with you. Seriously, there is a serious difference between "Wild assumptions with no cause for concern whatsoever." and "Something genuinely concerning because of the unusual nature of it."

i threw my cigarette i was smoking in my garbage when i read the article now nothing can harm me

[QUOTE=lavacano;36642172]I fail to see what the hell could have taken 45 minutes to an hour to do here. They checked the bag, they found nothing, and then what? Did they play a round of volleyball with the bag?[/QUOTE]A number of different procedures to make sure that, if something is found, it can be handled as necessary. They don't just send an officer up on to the bus to throw the thing open, it'd be the most idiotic move you could ever make when handling a potential bomb.

[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;36643426]A number of different procedures to make sure that, if something is found, it can be handled as necessary. They don't just send an officer up on to the bus to throw the thing open, it'd be the most idiotic move you could ever make when handling a potential bomb.[/QUOTE] And they couldn't have done most of those procedures on the way [b]to[/b] the site? I understand that a couple of them may require them to be with the bag at the time, but they knew what it was supposedly contained in so I don't see why they couldn't have just made most of their preparations on the way there.

[QUOTE=lavacano;36643465]And they couldn't have done most of those procedures on the way [b]to[/b] the site? I understand that a couple of them may require them to be with the bag at the time, but they knew what it was supposedly contained in so I don't see why they couldn't have just made most of their preparations on the way there.[/QUOTE]Not really, they're done on site. Things like setting up the clean tents in case it contains something hazardous, setting up blocks to keep others from approaching, things like that which have to be done on site.

[QUOTE=DentalDoctor;36643405]i threw my cigarette i was smoking in my garbage when i read the article now nothing can harm me[/QUOTE] Except lung cancer.