Child Sex and the Law

[The Dharma Bum]

[exploited]

You are referring to the one study of 200 people, right? There are five studies referenced on Wikipedia, all published and peer reviewed, that note the same correlation.

I might also add that a quick Google search does seem to show that there is a consensus on the handedness issue. The relevant statistic is that 30% of pedophiles are left-handed; this number lines up with the percentage of sex offenders thought to be "true" pedophiles.

[The Dharma Bum]

and?

[The Dharma Bum]

Google says it, it must be science.

[exploited]

I'm not saying I'm an expert. I am just telling you that, from what I can see, the handedness correlation is valid. There appears to be a consensus on the issue, however I'd be glad to review whatever rebuttal you care to reference.

[The Dharma Bum]

I guess then you propose that as a society we should continue to compel left handers to use their right hand, because it cures pedophilia as well as witchcraft.

[exploited]

Not at all. Lefthanded people are no more likely to be pedophiles than anyone else. Pedophiles, however, are more likely to be lefthanded.

Stop pretending your butthurt over sharing a characteristic with some pedophiles is reason to ignore what appears to be a scientific consensus. That is pretty clearly what this is about. You don't see me getting all irrational because serial killers are white, and I am white, do you?

[The Dharma Bum]

I don't happen to be left handed.

[exploited]

Then I really don't understand why this upsets you so much.

This is the logic:

"The oven is hot. The sun is hot. Therefore all ovens are suns."

[The Dharma Bum]

I don't see why you think I am upset in any way?

I just don't find conclusions drawn from interviewing people any more compelling than I would find eyewitness testimony. It's a conclusion with it's basis in information that is of marginal quality, in my estimation, so I wouldn't drawn any absolute conclusions one way or another.

I think think the behavior our culture labels "pedophilia" was ubiquitous throughout the vast majority of human history. These kinds of studies are really case studies in confirmation bias.

Culturally this behavior is condemned so we seek justifications for this view with the best tool we have which is science (science has surpassed religious philosophy as pinnacle of human thought).

Example one time scientists noticed what they perceived to be a correlation between the bumps on a persons head and certain types of criminal behavior. At one time this was cutting edge scientific thinking and had a major impact on criminal justice. Today we recognize phrenology as the pseudo science it is because we see that the correlations that were assigned meaning according to our cultural perspective at the time were actually meaningless when viewed from a more sophisticated perspective than that of the Victorian Age.

Reading tea leaves, seeking meaning in the bumps on someone's head, or seeking meaning in compiled statistical correlations are all basically aspects of the same thing. Providing emotional support for when cultural expectations interfere with the wider pattern of social engagement.