Know What You're Talking About

Look. I know what it's like to be a reporter on a deadline -- I've done some freelance writing back before the comet fell, and it's not easy. It's okay to blow it now and then, and all of these stories above have a germ of truth to them. All I ask is a little perspective. The study about showers causing brain damage? Is there any other studies that agree with that? Are there other observations that support or wear-away at those claims? Same for internet addiction -- sounds kind of like New Age smoke and mirrors to me, but is there really something there, or do people just like to surf on the net because it's fun?
Context is one of the most important things any person can provide another. Without context it's just meaningless news and trivia. If I tell you that you have twice as big a risk of being hit by lightning if you wear a propeller on your head, is that bad? (Aside from the sudden lack of friends) If your odds change from 1 in ten million to 1 in five million -- sure, that's a change. But it doesn't seem all that significant in the grand scheme of things.
Likewise, when we talk scalability, security, languages, or any of the other technical stuff to our customers that we so love to talk about, many times we're just confusing them more than we're really helping. I've sat in rooms with some extremely smart people talking to their managers and I have felt truly sorry for those poor schmucks who had to take all that information and make something out of it. You've got to provide context.