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When Beliefs and Facts Collide

schnell writes A New York Times article discusses a recent Yale study that shows that contrary to popular belief, increased scientific literacy does not correspond to increased belief in accepted scientific findings when it contradicts their religious or political views. The article notes that this is true across the political/religious spectrum and "factual and scientific evidence is often ineffective at reducing misperceptions and can even backfire on issues like weapons of mass destruction, health care reform and vaccines." So what is to be done? The article suggests that "we need to try to break the association between identity and factual beliefs on high-profile issues – for instance, by making clear that you can believe in human-induced climate change and still be a conservative Republican."

478 of 725 comments (clear)

  1. Not surprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Humans aren't motivated by logic. Instead, they use logic as a tool to satisfy their emotional needs. No tool suits every problem.

    1. Re:Not surprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      One thing that we all need to realize is that ALL of us have this same issue, not just the people who disagree with you.

    2. Re:Not surprising. by fustakrakich · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes we know. We've all discussed this a very short time ago. The intellect serves the primitive brain.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    3. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming."

      That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one. Science doesn't vote, it either provably is or it isn't.

      When we push beliefs on people and claim it's science, we shouldn't be surprised when they treat it as flexibly as they do any other belief. Nor should we be surprised when such misuse of science erodes their faith in its overall veracity.

      Is climate change human caused? Hell if I know. But I know it's been pushed on the public about as unscientifically as Eugenics and Phrenology.

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    4. Re: Not surprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      The percentages come from looking at all studies, papers, research, etc. and determining the number one one side or the other. The "voting" is indirect through statistics, not scientist going to the polls, so to speak.

    5. Re:Not surprising. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But I know it's been pushed on the public about as unscientifically as Eugenics and Phrenology.

      Whoa! Phrenology has no scientific basis, but Eugenics certainly does. If you take all the people with traits you don't like, and murder them, you will have fewer of those traits in the next generation. That is a scientific fact. Just because you don't like the political act of mass murder, doesn't make it scientifically invalid.

    6. Re:Not surprising. by rwa2 · · Score: 2

      Is climate change human caused? Hell if I know. But I know it's been pushed on the public about as unscientifically as Eugenics and Phrenology.

      Null hypothesis: Does human activity have no impact on the environment?

    7. Re:Not surprising. by mark-t · · Score: 1

      If you take all the people with traits you don't like, and murder them, you will have fewer of those traits in the next generation. That is a scientific fact. Just because you don't like the political act of mass murder, doesn't make it scientifically invalid.

      Do you have a case study that you can reference which substantiates this claim?

    8. Re:Not surprising. by Nemyst · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm sorry but that is extremely wrong. Science isn't math: it doesn't prove. The best you can do as a scientist is gather data and construct a model which fits this data. You then attempt to predict things and confirm those predictions with more data. The longer the model holds up, the more likely it is to be "right", but it's always just a model and it always could be shown wrong tomorrow.

      When a claim such as "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming." is given, what it means is that 97% of climate scientists currently accept the model that humans are causing global warming. It means that, according to the data they have available and the models they have analyzed and/or constructed, the notion that humans drive global warming is prevalent in just about every model that accurately fits the data.

      The only reason this whole thing is political (or a debate in the first place) is because there are people who stand to lose significantly from environmentally friendly measures and a move away from hydrocarbons.

    9. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      Phrenology has no scientific basis, but Eugenics certainly does. If you take all the people with traits you don't like, and murder them, you will have fewer of those traits in the next generation. That is a scientific fact.

      That's basic animal husbandry. Eugenics takes it a step further - to a belief that weeding out the undesirables in a population will improve the species. But the last century of animal husbandry and now genetics suggests a different result - that from bulldogs to dairy cows the more thoroughly bred the animal, the more fragile it becomes. That a loss of genetic diversity leads to extinction.

      Eugenics was presented as science -- look everybody, we can control attributes through breeding. Surely if we breed out the undesirable characteristics, our species will be better for it. But that conclusion didn't follow from the evidence. Eugenics' proponents made a long and unjustified leap to reach their conclusion from the available science. And in time they were proven wrong.

      In my opinion, current "climate change science" quacks like the same duck -- a core of sound science deep underneath a pile of conclusions far more profound than the science actually supports.

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    10. Re:Not surprising. by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Do you have a case study that you can reference which substantiates this claim?

      I'm not sure why you need a case study to support research that was originally done almost 150 years ago,
      but If you'll accept "not allowing the undesirables to breed" as a proxy for "murder them,"
      here's a more recent long term study: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_fox

      Or you could just read about Mendel's original research with pea plants and honey bees.

      --
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    11. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      The only reason this whole thing is political (or a debate in the first place) is because there are people who stand to lose significantly from environmentally friendly measures and a move away from hydrocarbons.

      And you and I are among them. The kind of massive economic shift needed to materially reduce the use of fossil fuels will seriously undermine your standard of living, as will the war with China necessary to stop them from burning coal.

      Before we undertake such a massive and costly effort, we'd better be damn sure we're right. Something more than 97% of published abstracts declining to reject human activity as a major cause of global warming. Like maybe a model that can be shown to have been solidly predictive a decade or two after its publication. With numbers far enough outside the error band to lend the model credibility.

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    12. Re:Not surprising. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      It could work if it was done according to proper scientific management. The historic approaches tended to involve determining that the lowest social classes somehow happened to carry all the bad genes.

      A more modern approach could be, for example, tracking down everyone who carries a Huntington's disease gene and offering them free sterilization, and the promise of access to PGD should they wish to breed in the future (Or, if you're on a budget, you could just kill them - either way works). Thus an undesirable trait is eliminated.

    13. Re:Not surprising. by Jawnn · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming."

      That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one.

      Actually, it is neither. It just is. As in "just is" a fact, readily observable and incontrovertible. Now, the suggestion that it is something else is, itself, a highly "political" statement clearly aimed at diminishing the weight of the fact that an overwhelming majority of those best equipped to assess the data have arrived at the same conclusion. No, the matter is not "settled". No scientist worthy of the title would even suggest as much, but the constantly repeated meme that we should thus do nothing until it is "settled" is simply insane.

    14. Re:Not surprising. by comp.sci · · Score: 2

      "That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one." How else can you convince a layperson at all? Wikipedia tells me that Fermat's last theorem was proven after hundreds of years but when I look at the proof it is 150 pages long and inaccessible to me. If you tell me that 97 of 100 mathematicians who reviewed this proof stated it is correct I would happily agree that the problem has been solved. Essentially what it does is show you that the vast majority of individuals in the environmental sciences have evaluated the evidence and came to the conclusion that human activities are causing global warming. Because I know I cannot possibly properly evaluate the existing evidence without years of study, I need to rely on them to make this judgment. (This is not debatable by the way, imagine laypeople trying to argue over a book-length assembly program and if it is as fast as it could be...)

    15. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      I don't suggest doing nothing. I suggest more research and more experimentation. I suggest public policy that encourages more nuclear power and addresses the dangerous build up of temporary storage for spent nuclear fuel, trading a risk of local toxicity for the proven regional air pollution and possible global impact.

      What I -don't- suggest is that we rush it. Let change evolve slowly on a low-cost vector until the science is good enough to support more radical action.

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    16. Re: Not surprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Pedantic much?

    17. Re:Not surprising. by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Null hypothesis: Does human activity have no impact on the environment?

      That's not the claim, however. The claim is that human activity impacts climate specifically, not just the environment (which can be as much as cutting your grass impacts the environment).

      --
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    18. Re:Not surprising. by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      fox is a mammal so the chances are very high. you never take on the all the genes of only one of your parents so the selection starts there

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    19. Re:Not surprising. by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Interesting

      True, but some of us are willing to accept that the universe doesn't give a fuck about ideology.

      When AGW first became a big issue in the 1990s I was talking against it as a big scam on Usenet; particularity my old haunt talk.origins. it was when one of the regulars, a biologist (why any scientist would waste his time debating Creationists I'll never understand), pointed out to me that the theory was reasonably well supported, there were a boatload of papers and that science isn't the product of emotional need, and I finally accepted that AGW, even if it suggested things that I didn't like, was legitimate science.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    20. Re:Not surprising. by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If you shot all the people you believe are demon possessed, there will be far less people you believe to be demon possessed. That doesn't make demon possession real.

      Eugenics is based in part on gross oversimplifications of genetics and in part on the absurd idea that attributes like economic status are biologically heredity.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    21. Re:Not surprising. by MightyMartian · · Score: 3

      Or we can analyse the fallacy involved in you trying, without any justification, to tie climatologists to eugenicists. It seems your Just as guilty of the behaviours laid out in the article ad, say, Creationists

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    22. Re:Not surprising. by ultranova · · Score: 5, Interesting

      One thing that we all need to realize is that ALL of us have this same issue, not just the people who disagree with you.

      The problem is that admitting it puts you at a significant disadvantage at debates. If you can no longer summon the (self-)righteous fury your opponent can, not only are you more likely to give in from sheer exhaustion, but people viewing the debate are likely to consider your opponent as dominant and confuse that as being right. This, in turn, can have unfortunate consequences if the topic is something actually important, rather than just a means to establishing pack hierarchy.

      I don't know if it's possible to tame your inner alpha male to the point where you can let it handle poo-flinging contests with other monkeys while still keeping your human intelligence in control of what you believe in or do, but if it is we'd better learn how fast, because we're running out of time. Or perhaps the problem is precisely the idea that it needs to be "tamed", rather than recruited as a member of the internal team. Perhaps we should simply accept that humans tend to establish pecking order, and practice how to do so without slipping into abuse or idiocy.

      Then again, that would require admitting that people who think mainly in terms of pack hierarchy and territory aren't necessarily any less intelligent than people who think mainly in terms of logic and science, they just interpret the same message through a different lens. And that might be an unbearable blow to quite a few egos.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    23. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      How else can you convince a layperson at all?

      How do you make other people do what you think they should do? You don't.

      You tell them what you're sure is true with a simplified explanation of why using the language of certainty. Then you tell them what you believe to be true and why, using the language of uncertainty. Then you acknowledge any competing theories that haven't been strictly disproven, again with the language of uncertainty, and briefly discuss the merits behind those points of view.

      Anyone who needs to make a decision on that information will then ask their personal subject matter expert to spot check you -- do any of your certain claims appear questionable? Does any of the uncertainty in your beliefs appear to be mere wishful thinking? Did you deliberately omit the competition?

      Folks won't make their decision on the facts. They'll make their decision based on whether they believe you're honest. Behaving like a used car salesman, using the language of certainty for everything you believe and ridiculing that which you don't, dissuades folks from finding you credible. The hard sell sometimes achieves a single result but it never achieves sustainable results over time.

      --
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    24. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      Go right ahead. This should be entertaining. Or was that the limit of your analysis?

      Before you get too worked up, allow me to point out that the phrase, "In my opinion" encourages critical thinking but pretty much precludes offering the statement which follows as a scientific result.

      --
      Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
    25. Re:Not surprising. by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "fox is a mammal so the chances are very high. you never take on the all the genes of only one of your parents"

      In the bible, there's a mammal who did this.

    26. Re:Not surprising. by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      Yes, absolutely. But at the same time no one ever said that Science was a democracy. Just because 97% of scientists believe that the current model is correct does not really give any more credence to it than is only 3% believed it. The majority of people believe that there is a god, that doesn't mean that the model saying that "god created the universe" is the most likely to be correct one (made even more so since it has been the accepted one for tens of thousands of years). I guess at the end of the day scientific fact/knowledge is an individual pursuit. The data and the methods are there for anyone to use and you cannot just survey and go with the percentage over 50%.

      --
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    27. Re:Not surprising. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1, Insightful

      When AGW first became a big issue in the 1990s I was talking against it as a big scam on Usenet; particularity my old haunt talk.origins. it was when one of the regulars, a biologist (why any scientist would waste his time debating Creationists I'll never understand), pointed out to me that the theory was reasonably well supported, there were a boatload of papers and that science isn't the product of emotional need, and I finally accepted that AGW, even if it suggested things that I didn't like, was legitimate science.

      Funny. I've had the opposite experience.

      I was first introduced to the issue by Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", and pretty much accepted what he was saying... except that there was some nagging doubt due to things like unlabeled graphs and the like in his presentation.

      It was when I started digging into the science that I started changing my mind. I found irresponsible handling of data, bizarre secrecy where there shouldn't be any, and so on. And all this has mushroomed in recent years.

      Case in point: the recent admission by NCDC that certain USHCN data had been derived and used improperly, and they had known it for a long time. They said they had "intended to fix it" at some undefined point in the future, but the question is: why was it not fixed already, and why had they not told anyone (including scientists) about it, even though they knew about it?

      And how about the recent "97%" claim by the people at SkepticalScience? It was dirt simple to show that it was nothing but statistical bullshit. Why would an organization representing responsible scientists lie to people?

      The IPCC's latest report states clearly that the science supporting their position is weaker than ever... yet they're even more certain that it's true. WTF?

      It is shenanigans like these that have fueled my skepticism. Those aren't the actions of responsible scientists.

    28. Re:Not surprising. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Humans aren't a rational animal. They are a rationalizing animal.
      -- Heinlein.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    29. Re:Not surprising. by Chas · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nobody but Americans talk about religion in science.
      The rest of the planet doesn't care about old men in the sky.

      Tell that to the Taliban, Boko Haram, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc, etc.

      Please come back when you actually have a clue about the subject to which you're speaking and not simply sounding off from your nether orifice.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    30. Re:Not surprising. by ultranova · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Phrenology has no scientific basis, but Eugenics certainly does. If you take all the people with traits you don't like, and murder them, you will have fewer of those traits in the next generation. That is a scientific fact.

      Assuming the trait is genetically inherited and dependent on genotype in a simple way, possibly. If it's memetic, your attempts to stamp it out could well end up spreading it further by drawing attention to it. But even if it's genetic, evolution has failed to weed out things that will outright kill people, such as Fatal familial insomnia or hemophilia.

      This is all ignoring the fact that actual eugenics programs don't typically target specific genes or even traits, but such "traits" as "being poor" or "not staying in kitchen and making sandwiches". They aren't scientific, they're political.

      Just because you don't like the political act of mass murder, doesn't make it scientifically invalid.

      No, because it was not scientifically valid in the first place. The only reason we're still hearing about eugenics - or ever heard about it in the first place - is that some people get off on cruelty yet don't have the guts to simply admit that, so they make excuses and public policy rather than joining appropriate clubs and dealing with their tastes in the private.

      Mind you, the same goes for a lot of stupider policies...

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    31. Re:Not surprising. by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      Scientists are not pure logic, emotion free computers. To assert that they are is ignorant at best.

      If you read about any breakthrough that turns accepted science on its head, there is usually a small number of scientists who do not accept the new way. Is it pride? Stubbornness? Or belief that the old way has been right for so long that it has to be right? Surely it wouldn't be finding a valid flaw in the new way, which everyone can dispassionately verify?

      There are plenty more who believe an issue is settled and needs no more research. Individual scientists, not science as a whole.

      If you still doubt , consider how many have reviewed the data collection and analyses of every landmark paper.

      There is considerable room for belief and faith for individual scientists. Not as a collective body, but they did not poll a collective body. They polled imperfect, human scientists.

    32. Re:Not surprising. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Whoa! Phrenology has no scientific basis, but Eugenics certainly does. If you take all the people with traits you don't like, and murder them, you will have fewer of those traits in the next generation.

      While it is certainly true that selective breeding is a scientific fact, almost all historical eugenicist movements have NOT been based on scientifically verified traits. Take some time and read about the nonsense criteria that eugenics people would use -- measuring ear size or facial characteristics to determine "degenerate" people more likely to be stupid or commit crimes.

      You seem to think that "eugenics" is just a synonym for "selective breeding" or something. While the proponents of eugenics often claim that, in fact their criteria for selection were generally based on bogus "science" (even phrenology) and generally tend to be motivated more by politics or class distinctions than science.

      So, no, actual eugenics as practiced does NOT have a scientific basis, even if the general principle might theoretically work.

    33. Re:Not surprising. by digitig · · Score: 1

      Much of the rest of the planet (not all) is less polarised between science and religion, and finds ways -- with varying degrees of intellectual credibility -- of accommodating both without significant conflict. Typically that will involve accepting the science where it's pretty definitive (eg, evolution) whilst leaving things open when the science tries to stray into metaphysics (eg, dualism versus materialism).

      --
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    34. Re:Not surprising. by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Humans aren't motivated by logic.

      Of course not. Logic, by its very nature, cannot be a motivator.

      Instead, they use logic as a tool to satisfy their emotional needs.

      That's understating the use of logic.

      No tool suits every problem.

      Logic adds value to the understanding of all problems.
      The gist of the sum of your statements subtly undercuts the value of the human mind. What is your motivation?

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    35. Re:Not surprising. by fazig · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Is this a case of belief vs. scientific fact? Technically we are are animals.
      It doesn't matter if it's people, foxes or peas, for genetics the same principles apply to all living things that reproduce in the same fashion, as in two sexes that combine their genetic material into an offspring.
      Agriculture has used selective breeding for plants and animals, that follows the very same principle, for ages with great success.

      The big difference between us and 'lower animals' as well as plants is that we created a system of morals and ethics that mostly apply to us and not those other lifeforms. And since most of us aren't sociopaths unable to feel empathy we don't like the concept of eugenics applied to the human society because it would have very inconvenient consequences. I wouldn't want it. But all that doesn't change the fact that the basis for Eugenics is in fact scientific.

    36. Re:Not surprising. by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      Can I get you to concede that there are scientists unworthy of the title?

      And that many scientists belive that consensus with no serious contending alternative explanations is effectively settled? With the caveat that new evidence requires new scrutiny, of course.

      And while I'm here, though a scientist may be less susceptible, can we agree that poll wording and analysis means the 97% number is not a fact, and certainly not incontrovertible. It is a data point with a measure of uncertainty, and additional ambiguity due to using langauge to convey ideas, instead of pure thought, combined with post analysis and reporting which distills and simplifies the results so they approximate a fact.

    37. Re:Not surprising. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming.

      Actually, it potentially shows some science related to the topic of this article: It could easily mean that the evidence is overwhelming but a minority of 3% is unable to accept it for irrational reasons (it certainly works through the religious pathway with creationists, for example).

      When we push beliefs on people and claim it's science, we shouldn't be surprised when they treat it as flexibly as they do any other belief.

      All science is automatically a belief. Any piece of knowledge is automatically a belief, as regarded by cognitive psychology. This statement of yours is useless.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    38. Re:Not surprising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Been downtown lately? I submit that it's time we gave eugenics another shot.

    39. Re:Not surprising. by Nephandus · · Score: 2
      Dualism is based on nothing. There's literally no basis for it. It's not open. It's not a coherent question. It's a bizarrely unnecessary collection of contradictions. It's an asspull by faithers that want "mind" to be more than brain, when they don't know shit about "mind" beyond their baseless dogma and refuse to learn about brains. You get the woo leaders smugly condescending to scientists when the former's got nothing but buzzwords he verifiably doesn't even understand. Dualism's less sensible on its face than evolution ever was, which even the likes of Hippocrates could've told you.

      Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain come joys, delights, laughter and sports, and sorrows, griefs, despondency, and lamentations. And by this, in an especial manner, we acquire wisdom and knowledge, and see and hear, and know what are foul and what are fair, what are bad and what are good, what are sweet, and what unsavory; some we discriminate by habit, and some we perceive by their utility.

      The man himself from ~400 BC

      --
      "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
    40. Re: Not surprising. by Nephandus · · Score: 1

      How many eugenics programs were based on scientific rigor or even half-assed logic? When multiple genes contribute it's harder to remove "a" trait since it's an emergent property of multiple traits.

      The Soviets never even tried killing all theists. They just somewhat haphazardly killed groups and individuals that were causing problems at the time. They ignored any that weren't a problem. It was about propaganda not remotely genes. Homosexuality might not even be genetic. Very early developmental issues seem to be involved, so you'd possibly have to change how our sexual dimorphism physically works to remove the possibility. Humans aren't special though. Genes still dominate our behavior.

      --
      "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
    41. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      Can I get you to concede that there are scientists unworthy of the title? And that many scientists belive that consensus with no serious contending alternative explanations is effectively settled?

      Yes and yes. But I would suggest that those who fall into the latter category generally also fall into the former.

      A theory has to coherently explain all of the evidence and make correct predictions about experiments not yet performed. Epicycles had no contenders for quite a while. But anyone who considered the orbits of the planets a settled matter was a fool -- each time data collection improved, epicycles' prediction was a little bit off yet again.

      Put another way: I don't have to know the truth to know when someone is full of bull. I merely need recognize the characteristics of BS. It could still be the truth, but the guy BSing me is ruled out as a credible source for that knowledge.

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    42. Re:Not surprising. by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming." That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one. Science doesn't vote, it either provably is or it isn't.

      In a way it does vote. The simplest model/explanation that explains (matches) the observed world is considered the highest ranked. Science is essentially an algorithm that sorts models by matches and simplicity, but with the added request that tests be done to refine the ranking and observations, and that new models be added to the pool where feasible.

      The epicycle model of the solar system could be made to match the movement of the planets with enough parts (more circles, more bars), but it grew both complex and required the existence of "invisible" parts, namely crystal-like disks and bars. Newton instead gave a simple equation that matched without all the complexity, and had only ONE invisible part: Gravity.

    43. Re:Not surprising. by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      As an experiment, let's kill all the slashdot trolls, and then see if the troll rate goes down over time.

    44. Re:Not surprising. by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Wow! That was well reasoned and lucid.

      --
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    45. Re:Not surprising. by matbury · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Re: "And you and I are among them. The kind of massive economic shift needed to materially reduce the use of fossil fuels will seriously undermine your standard of living, as will the war with China necessary to stop them from burning coal." -- I disagree. The USA is currently in a better than usual position to start investing in its energy needs for the future.

      We're rapidly approaching "peak oil" (some say we've already passed it) and so it's only going to get more expensive and environmentally damaging to extract and process in the immediate future. This means that while the US economy remains heavily dependent on oil and gas, it's going to get more and more expensive to run and eventually production and service costs will reach an unprofitable tipping point and the economy will likely crash. Expect to see more attempts to grab/control more countries' natural resources in an attempt to mitigate this... in other words, a lot more military conflict and political unheaval in the world (some also say that this is already happening).

      At the other end of the spectrum, Germany has relatively few empirical interests around the world (they import most of their energy and until recently relied on nuclear power) and its economy is mostly based on exporting its engineering, design, and management expertise, so any savings they can make in energy sourcing will boost their economy quickly and substantially. They're leading the EU in investing in switching over to renewable energy sources, creating Europ-wide electric rail local, national, and international mass-transportation systems, developing more efficient, lower emissions housing and businesses, legislating and funding for its widespread deployment, and developing the expertise to do this for other countries too.

      The US is getting left behind in this respect. If the US invests in switching over its energy production to modern, renewable sources and efficient more effective infrastructure, it'll not only have a more secure future in the geopolitical and global economic sense, but govt. funded infrastructure projects like this were partly what brought the US out of the great depression in the 1930s (FDR's new deal). The US infrastructure is in dire need of an overhaul right now and, because of the recession, it'd be relatively cheap to do it (Remember those optimistic Obama speeches and rhetoric about switching over bankrupt car manufacturing companies to infrastructure projects? What ever happened to that?).

      Meanwhile, China, India, Brazil, etc. are also investing substantially in renewable energy sources and technologies and infrastructure. Nothern European countries make substantial savings in domestic and business energy consumption through higher efficiency, e.g. better insulation, more efficient heating and lighting systems, better re-use and recycling, which necessitates efficient and effective central planning. To a great extent, doing this in the US would mean accepting that they're no longer a nation of "pioneer settlers" in a land of infinite space and resources (the US changed from major exporter to major importer decades ago) and that they need to consolidate and collectivise their infrastructure. Good luck with that in the current US political and ideological climate though.
       

    46. Re:Not surprising. by hsthompson69 · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I had a very similar experience - the more you applied any sort of rational skepticism, the more defensive the proponents of AGW got. It became a team sport, rather than a scientific inquiry.

      The truth is, humans have a non-zero effect on our environment.

      The truth is, this effect is almost surely completely unpredictable, and quite likely insignificant.

      When expressing rational doubt is greeted with censure, and demands to "step in line", you've stopped doing science, and started preaching yet another religion.

    47. Re:Not surprising. by chipschap · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's what GW needs to be all about, legitimate science and letting the science speak for itself. Unfortunately the likes of Al Gore have been a real problem for obtaining wide acceptance of GW. Let's please drop the hype and posturing on both sides and follow the science. This isn't about what someone would like to believe or wants to believe. It's about finding and accepting the scientific truth, and then doing what's necessary (and not doing what's not necessary). And please don't imply anything from this comment about whether the scientific truth already is or is not determined. "Belief" (or non-belief) in GW is not necessarily a measure of scientifc literacy. It's more like "if you agree with me then you're literate" and that applies to both sides.

    48. Re:Not surprising. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1, Informative

      Talk to me agitation when you've read the IPCC report.

      Agitation?

      In any case, I have. It's available right here.

      Do you deny that is says the climate sensitivity for CO2 is lower than they reported before? Do you deny that the projections for increased severe weather events is low labeled "low confidence"? Etc.

      Read the damned thing yourself.

    49. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      I was unaware that foxes constituted "people".

      What is your reason for treating foxes differently than people? What can change people? Some sky god?

    50. Re:Not surprising. by St.Creed · · Score: 1

      The problem with eugenics was not just that it said that culling undesirables was a way to improve the species, it also specifically designated who was undesirable: the poor, the retarded, the jews, blacks, and everyone who differed from the social norm in general. Now tell me: what genetic condition would produce dissenters? Or unemployed? The whole concept was way more retarded than its victims.

      --
      Therefore, by the (faulty) logic you're using, you're just a cow with a keyboard - osu-neko (2604)
    51. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      Whereas Alfred Russel Wallace, who I believe can rightly be regarded as far more legitimate than Darwin himself (after all, he had a working paper that was observational while Darwin was still putsing and had nothing written, read Wallace's work, and back-fit "his" ideas to the notes from his voyage) but who simply wasn't a famous noble (damn pleb, stay out of the spotlight!), elucidated a theory of theism and the impossibility of life without it.

      What's the reason for this unprovoked and gratuitous assault on Darwin? Darwin didn't start as a famous noble either though admittedly started with a somewhat better economic position (and social status) than Wallace.

      Perhaps you ought to read Darwin first before you cast judgment? "The Origin of Species" is remarkable as a coherent, broad, and detailed argument for evolution. While much has been said about how we've moved on since then with far better and more nuanced understanding of biology and evolutionary processes, it is still remarkable how well Darwin's works can stand up to scrutiny, even today. I think these works will long stand as examples of how to make thoughtful, convincing scientific arguments.

    52. Re:Not surprising. by excelsior_gr · · Score: 1

      You'll have to acknowledge though that in the rest of the "western" world religion and science are kept nice and separate. For example, debates on whether kids at school should learn about the genesis or evolution are very, very seldom. They are both taught at school, one at religion class and the other at biology class. People do go to church, pray etc. but they also know that this has nothing to do with science.

    53. Re:Not surprising. by mi · · Score: 1

      If you take all the people with traits you don't like, and murder them

      Whoa! Wait a minute — you don't have to murder anyone (unless you need a scapegoat to explain your regime's failures to your citizens). You can simply discourage (or outright block) them from procreating.

      Organizations like "Planned Parenthood" were created for that exact purpose — and I'm quoting from their founder — "to assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit". Not that you'd find this bit of info on the organization's Wikipedia page...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    54. Re:Not surprising. by Jawnn · · Score: 1

      Can I get you to concede that there are climate scientists unworthy of the title?

      TFTFY. And yes, I will happily stipulate as much if you will admit that the vast majority of the tiny minority of "climate" scientists who still deny the overwhelming evidence have dubious credentials or have an interest in preventing meaningful change in energy policy, or both.
      Wait for it..., wait for it... Yep. Crickets.

    55. Re:Not surprising. by Jawnn · · Score: 1

      I don't suggest doing nothing. I suggest more research and more experimentation. I suggest public policy that encourages more nuclear power and addresses the dangerous build up of temporary storage for spent nuclear fuel, trading a risk of local toxicity for the proven regional air pollution and possible global impact.

      What I -don't- suggest is that we rush it. Let change evolve slowly on a low-cost vector until the science is good enough to support more radical action.

      So you suggest doing nothing to arrest the carbon emissions that appear to be fueling the climate change. That is, in effect, nothing. "Slowly evolving change" will not get it done. Certainly, some scenarios indicate that we've already passed the tipping point. And yet you advocate "caution". Like I said, insane.

    56. Re:Not surprising. by digitig · · Score: 1

      Dualism is based on nothing, true, but the same can be said for materialism and idealism. You've stepped outside science and into metaphysics, in just the way I described.

      Now, it is possible to reason about metaphysics, but trying to argue from science ("based on nothing"), ad-hominem attacks ("don't know shit about "mind" beyond their baseless dogma and refuse to learn about brains") and handwaving ("woo") doesn't make for a coherent case.

      Try reading "Aping Humanity" by Raymond Tallis -- prominent atheist, neuroscientist and philosopher -- and you might learn that things are more complex than you think. Assuming you're willing to move beyond baseless dogma, that is.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    57. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The article was written about people like you Jane.

      It was when I started digging into the science that I started changing my mind. I found irresponsible handling of data, bizarre secrecy where there shouldn't be any, and so on. And all this has mushroomed in recent years.

      Where by "digging" you mean reading and believing what it said on "Watt's Up With That", because the politics were more in alignment with yours than Al Gore's were.

    58. Re:Not surprising. by gutnor · · Score: 1

      economic status are biologically heredity

      Just nitpicking there, but worded like this, it definitively is. The easiest way to get rich/powerful is to be the child of somebody rich/powerful. Of course, as you wanted to say, the reason has nothing to do with genetic.

    59. Re: Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1, Troll

      You're another of the people TFA was written about.

    60. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Your experience comes about because it's very boring having to debunk the same old denialist myths hundreds of times over many years. You may find it fun to repeat yourself on things you've already been proved wrong on, but it's not that entertaining for the other side.

    61. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Tell that to the Taliban, Boko Haram, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc, etc.

      What good company the American religious right keeps!

    62. Re:Not surprising. by infinitelink · · Score: 1

      Not an assault on Darwin, assault on myths of Darwin and juxtaposition of the simple fact that the guy who had all the writing done and who was eventually ignored despite having demonstrably better work in some ways actually believed in some power in the sky if not an old man. And no challenge is made here to the place of Darwin's work as significant in history. ;)

      --
      Intelligent idiots are we. | Evil men do not understand justice.
    63. Re:Not surprising. by ComputersKai · · Score: 1

      *claps*

    64. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Origin of Species was a great work for it's time, but it's probably not worth spending much time on it as it's so outdated. It works at the wrong abstraction. Natural selection works at the level of genes, not species.

    65. Re:Not surprising. by canadian_right · · Score: 1

      Many people are much more willing to change their mind when presented with evidence that contradicts favored beliefs than religious fundamentalists, and others who strongly identify who they are to a particular dogma.

      There seems to be a .lot more "noisy" republicans/conservatives that are proud of not changing their mind in the face of evidence than there are democrats/liberals with this trait. For example some liberals are now promoting nuclear energey now that global climate change has proved to be a much bigger issue.

      --
      Anarchists never rule
    66. Re:Not surprising. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 2

      Parent poster didn't do his research, preferring to post what fit his ideological preconceptions instead.

      I've actually read a number of treatises written by the founders of eugenics in the mid-1800s through its heyday in the early 1900s, including all of the literature on cultural "degeneration" etc. that led to targeting of Jews, Roma, poor people, stupid people, etc. on the basis of incredibly shaky science. Have you?

      I suggest before going around suggesting that someone hasn't done research that you do your own. There are some hints at eugenics by a small number of people today (including people like James Watson, who unfortunately has succumbed to some pretty weird ideas in his old age), but it was most popular historically -- and the vast majority of people who were in favor of it were not participating in a scientific enterprise.

    67. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one. Science doesn't vote, it either provably is or it isn't.

      Actually consensus *IS* the way that science works. Nothing in science is ever proved. Proof only exists in mathematics and the court room. Science only ever comes to a consensus on the best explanation for observed phenomenon.

      Is climate change human caused? Hell if I know.

      If you know more about science maybe you would. Although if the article is correct, maybe not.

    68. Re:Not surprising. by canadian_right · · Score: 4, Informative

      Pretty much everything in your post is wrong. The IPCC's latest report does NOT state that the science supporting global climate change is "weaker than ever". Sure, a few minor botches were discovered in the report, but that doesn't change the fact that there is overwhelming evidence, supported by over 90% of climate scientists, that global climate change is real and caused by human actions.

      --
      Anarchists never rule
    69. Re:Not surprising. by Your.Master · · Score: 1

      By any standard. The term undesirable is used because it's not specific.

    70. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Contrary to some religious beliefs people are animals. And respond to selection in exactly the same way as other animals. And indeed non animal life. The selection mechanism being the gene, whether fox, human or pot plant.

    71. Re:Not surprising. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1
      Actually, you know, ya could start by reading your own link:

      Watson continued by expressing his support of eugenics -- the science that deals with the improvement of hereditary qualities of the human race -- in that it is the science of having better children.

      However, he tempered his support by acknowledging the negative consequences of state efforts in support of eugenics including massive sterilizations at mental institutions in the United States and Sweden and the excesses of the German eugenics programs.

      In other words, Watson believes it can be done "correctly," but most people who have tried it have done really bad (and unscientific) crap.

    72. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In Harry Potter there's a dragon.

    73. Re:Not surprising. by Sabriel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You know what's really weird? That so many people without a PhD in climatology think they need to look at the research to know whether the scientists are right or wrong.

      http://in.reuters.com/article/...

      Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that efforts to address climate change should focus on engineering methods to adapt to shifting weather patterns and rising sea levels rather than trying to eliminate use of fossil fuels.

      Tillerson said humans have long adapted to change, and governments should create policies to cope with the Earth's rising temperatures.

      "Changes to weather patterns that move crop production areas around -- we'll adapt to that. It's an engineering problem and it has engineering solutions," Tillerson said in a presentation to the Council on Foreign Relations.

      It's so much easier to just follow the money.

    74. Re: Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Further, any time historically hat anyone has ever attempted any kind of eugenics procedure on mankind, it inevitably fails to produce the desired result. Say that you killed every believer in god, for example... Or tried to wipe out homosexuality by killing everyone who was gay.

      Are you presenting the latter as the historica cases you claim, or as hypotheticals that the phrase "say that" implies.

      So what are these historical cases of eugenics that failed? And did they fail because the science is wrong, or because politics intervened to cut short the attempt.

    75. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      that from bulldogs to dairy cows the more thoroughly bred the animal, the more fragile it becomes. That a loss of genetic diversity leads to extinction.

      It's more fragile if the selection wasn't aimed towards robustness - compare and contrast with natural selection that *IS* geared towards robustness.

      There's nothing fundamental about selection that will produce fragility. In fact if robustness is you r major goal, you could certainly produce more robustness faster than nature. Nature's selection being somewhat inefficient.

      In my opinion, current "climate change science" quacks like the same duck -- a core of sound science deep underneath a pile of conclusions far more profound than the science actually supports.

      Maybe you haven't thought that through either.

    76. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      assault on myths of Darwin and juxtaposition of the simple fact that the guy who had all the writing done and who was eventually ignored despite having demonstrably better work in some ways actually believed in some power in the sky if not an old man.

      What are you trying to say here? Darwin was Christian and Wallace was a spiritualist. So both had some sort of belief along these lines.

    77. Re:Not surprising. by mark-t · · Score: 1

      Because to the best of my knowledge, any effort that has ever been made in history to "limit undesirable traits" in humanity has always failed, quite abysmally. Whether this is because of the politics involved or not is irrelevant to the point that no actual successfully completed studies have occurred in recorded history to verify the notion.

    78. Re:Not surprising. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Thanks for chiming in, sociopath.

      Now fuck off. Go back down into your basement and cut apart some more stray cats.

    79. Re:Not surprising. by Nephandus · · Score: 2

      Materialism is based on physics. "Spiritual" leaders don't get passes for scientific ignorance, so calling out the appeal to false authority isn't fallacious ad hominem. You've got no case. "Aping Mankind" is just a religious-humanism-based appeal to consequences to handwave science for fear that humans aren't fucking magic, just animals. Tallis even states this as his prime motive.

      --
      "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
    80. Re:Not surprising. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Here's some corn. Now, why don't you waddle off to the pond.

    81. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Origin of Species was a great work for it's time, but it's probably not worth spending much time on it as it's so outdated. It works at the wrong abstraction. Natural selection works at the level of genes, not species.

      This is poor advice at two levels. First, natural selection does work at the level of species too. Else there wouldn't be identifiable species or the possibility of species going extinct. Darwin wouldn't have gotten far with the theory of evolution, if it weren't for the huge variety of observable species.

      Nor should one read Darwin just for the science, but rather to see how a master writer and scientist puts together a beautiful and profound scientific argument. So much of scientific writing today is crap. It's poorly written and stuffed with cliche, sometimes not even understood by the author much less anyone else who reads it.

    82. Re:Not surprising. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      In other words, Watson says 'Put somebody really powerful in charge so it can be implemented correctly....'

      We tried that numerous times in the 20th century. It sucked.

    83. Re: Not surprising. by mark-t · · Score: 1

      Why they failed is not as significant as the point THAT they failed... A cornerstone of science is repeatability, but if something hasn't even ever been recorded to happen *ONCE*, how can you call it repeatable? How can you call it science? Even if it *IS* politics that's getting in the way... there's still no repeatable scientific study to substantiate the claim.

    84. Re:Not surprising. by digitig · · Score: 1

      Materialism is based on physics.

      Er, no. How can you possibly base materialism (a metaphysical position) on physics? Materialism is (usually) an assumption of physics (some, though not many, physicists assume dualism instead). If you try to use physics to argue for materialism you have a circular argument; the most you can claim from that is that materialism and physics are consistent with each other. Which of course they are, that doesn't make materialism the only metaphysical position consistent with physics.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    85. Re: Not surprising. by mark-t · · Score: 1

      How many eugenics programs were based on scientific rigor or even half-assed logic?

      Very few, if any... admittedly.

      Historically speaking, however, that's how eugenics has been practiced when it has been applied to human beings. Off hand, historically, I can think of cases where they've tried to remove undesirable traits by executing people who had those traits were with homosexuals, believers in jesus, to the poor, to people who are left handed, and to even people who needed corrective lenses (I personally know someone who, during WW2, narrowly escaped being executed for that last reason).

      So yeah... not very scientific.

      But that still doesn't mean there's ever been a scientific study performed to conclude that it would work.

    86. Re:Not surprising. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      The American dream being the fantasy that this isn't true.

      The American dream is alive and well, depending on where in America you live. If you live in a rural county in South Carolina, then you are screwed, because those counties are some of the least economically mobile places on earth. Poor people there tend to stay poor. But the most mobile place, not just in America, but anywhere on earth, is Santa Clara County, California. No where on the planet are there more rich people that used to be poor. America is still the land of opportunity, but the opportunities are not evenly distributed. You have to go look for them.

    87. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      I suggest the Ashkenazim, a subgroup of Jews from Eastern Europe, as a counterexample. There seems to have been selection pressure for genes that promote intelligence during their stay in Europe (particularly, when the population was isolated socially and economically from around 800 AD to 1650 AD).

    88. Re:Not surprising. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Science is essentially an algorithm that sorts models by matches and simplicity,

      It's nowhere near that simple. For science to be an algorhithm would mean that it 'runs' on a machine. To the contrary, it is a social endeavor carried out by scientists. Who generally build their careers around the hypotheses that their particular 'school' of science works toward proving. Scientists are set in their way and work long and hard to support their science. They're not flip-flops that a sort routine bubbles up through.

    89. Re:Not surprising. by williamhb · · Score: 1

      Paraphrase the statement as those you are trying to convince are likely to, and you'll see why we're stuck: 97% of people who earn money from conducting climate science think what they do is terribly important. The problem is not the vested interests in industry; the environmental movement shot itself and climate science in the foot. The debate shifted from science to politics the moment we insisted that the public "must" believe us and tried to enforce "believing in climate change" as a social requirement (you're not one of those reprehensible deniers are you?). Science is a practice, not a campaign that if you disagree with what we say you must be called dirtier and dirtier names until you give up and agree with us so we'll stop insulting you. Unfortunately, those mistakes have already been made -- like it or not, climate science is no longer viewed as independent. As practitioners, we (scientists in general) are hugely dependent a large state (public funding of our jobs), and climate scientists started campaigning, associating themselves with activism, and then (mostly non-scientist) activists started to pour out invective at the public and at opponents for questioning us or disagreeing with us. And frankly we might as well have hung out a shingle saying "Pay us or we'll make you sorry" for all the credibility good it did us.

    90. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      The article was written about us. The sort of anti-scientific hypocrisy present in a considerable portion of your posts here, is a common manifestation of that. You are merely a pot calling a kettle black.

    91. Re:Not surprising. by Nephandus · · Score: 1

      Ontological argument is necessarily epistemologically based, duh. Of course, it's circular. Ontological argument inconsistent with scientific epistemology necessarily constitutes a rejection of science, which sanely raises derision. There's a reason cosmology's now under epistemology not "metaphysics" (reducing metaphysics to only ontology) because otherwise pretends asspulling's legitimate as any claim of fact. Solipsism for instance as an ontological claim constitutes a claim of fact, which should be a serious problem to anyone (not that a true solipsist would care...). Some form of pragmat(ic)ism is a necessity for any coherent argument, even with yourself. It's "epistemological" but necessarily defines the limits of coherent ontology too.

      --
      "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
    92. Re:Not surprising. by infinitelink · · Score: 1

      One headed down a positivist trajectory, setting a trend; one went the other way. The point is that "old men in the sky" bespeaks a lot of foolishness. Whether theistic or otherwise, philosophies that impose constraints and morals, mysteries and hard things to consider on how to be moral vs. simply succeed, always have a place in human endeavors, whether scientific or political, business or personal (though I see the latter as a somewhat false dichotomy). When these things are forgotten not only are bets on constraints on harms off (see China), the foundations of each of those spheres get undermined and their purposes becomes only "success", whatever that is in the eyes of the actor.

      --
      Intelligent idiots are we. | Evil men do not understand justice.
    93. Re:Not surprising. by dryeo · · Score: 1

      Comparing epicycles and the denial that increasing CO2 levels can affect things do have much in common, basically wishful thinking based on preconceived ideas.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    94. Re:Not surprising. by mtthwbrnd · · Score: 1

      That's a great observation! If I didn't already comment on this thread I would mod your right up.

    95. Re:Not surprising. by I_Lost_My_Puppy · · Score: 1

      Parent's post is one of those that sounds nice, but is factually incorrect, so please mod it down.

      I'm sorry, I can't find the "-1 You're wrong" mod.

    96. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      One headed down a positivist trajectory, setting a trend; one went the other way.

      Which did which? I think their stances on religion and belief preclude either from a pure positivist trajectory.

      The point is that "old men in the sky" bespeaks a lot of foolishness.

      You already attributed this phrase to Hayek not Darwin or Wallace. I don't get the reason why this is mentioned here.

      Whether theistic or otherwise, philosophies that impose constraints and morals, mysteries and hard things to consider on how to be moral vs. simply succeed, always have a place in human endeavors

      I think this is a problem with any sort of change. The old morality becomes detached and decays when change obsoletes some of its foundation. A solution which IMHO makes morality more resistant and adaptable to change, is to remove its dependency on "old men in the sky" and other extraneous beliefs that ultimately do not matter.

      Believe something is right and act on that basis, because it is right (or at least creates a sound basis for a just and fair society), not because a sky god tells you to. Else when the sky god goes away, the morality does too - at least until a new morality is established.

    97. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      You already attributed this phrase to Hayek not Darwin or Wallace. I don't get the reason why this is mentioned here.

      Sorry, I read to the beginning of the thread and get that now.

      I still find it weird how you went straight in your reply to the above shallow observation into a criticism of Darwin and a discussion of morality changes in society.

    98. Re:Not surprising. by mjwx · · Score: 1

      Eugenics is based in part on gross oversimplifications of genetics and in part on the absurd idea that attributes like economic status are biologically heredity.

      Yes and no,

      We've got a long history of breeding programs in animals to say that yes, a lot of traits are hereditary and are usually passed on by selective breeding. A horse sired by a successful racehorse is more likely to be a successful racehorse. Its not guaranteed because of the problems of random genetic mutation, recessive genes and natural variation but it is more likely. Also when you're running a breeding program for horses you dont keep breeding the failures, you send them off to be made into glue and dog food.

      Even in humans, some traits are hereditary, my dad isn't bald, his dad died with a full head of hair, it's likely me and my children wont go bald either because there's no history of male pattern baldness in my family... however there is an increased risk of Diabetes because I have a family history.

      However this is when you base it on scientific observation. If you go around shooting all the redheads* you will eventually get rid of the gene that causes red hair, it will take many generations though... However if you're criteria for living or dying is something as irrational and unprovable as demonic possession, you've got problems eugenics will never solve.

      * I do not, under any circumstances recommend the systematic annihilation of red haired people. They currently hold Scotland and the Scots are not a people to be fucked with lightly.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    99. Re:Not surprising. by penguinoid · · Score: 1

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming."

      That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one.

      Wrong, it is a scientific fact. Some scientist measured a trait (belief that human activities cause global warming) in a population (climate scientists), and reported the number in said population with the trait. The correlation between number of scientists that believe in a theory and the predictive accuracy of said theory is a separate (and also scientific) question, and also part of the very useful rhetorical device known as "argument from authority".

      It is, however, incredibly easy to insert politics into polls, by even minor rewording of the poll question vs the report, or by one of the many possible methods of biasing the sample population. For example, for the question "Do you believe that human CO2 emissions cause an increase in temperature?" 100% of the people who respond "no" are ignorant of some very basic science*, or lying. Whereas if you ask the question as "Do you believe, as a matter of scientific fact, that if it were not for human activities, half or more of the increase in average global temperature would not have occurred?", an answer of "yes" indicates a high level of confidence in an analysis requiring reams of data and hours of supercomputer time. Yet either of those questions could (and would) be translated to "percent of [tested population] that believes in AGW".

      *CO2 is a greenhouse gas, which means it is more transparent to energy radiated from the sun than from the earth. Note that the wording of that question avoided all of the things, such as "how much" and "for how long", that would make the answer relevant to anyone, except as a test, or as propaganda.

      Science doesn't vote, it either provably is or it isn't.

      Nope, it either makes good predictions or it doesn't -- truth is for the mathematicians and philosophers. Much of science has been provably false, eg Newtonian physics and various specific theories of evolution, and those theories have been discarded and replaced with different, slightly better approximations. That the refinements often retain much of the original theory and sometimes the same name doesn't mean the original was not provably of inferior predictive power (not provably false, because it is about predictive power not about truth). Note that it is the predictive power of science (not the truth) that is useful for designing technology. For example, even if Newtonian physics is false, people still use it instead of relativistic quantum mechanics, if they can get away with it.

      Sorry to be such a stickler for detail; it's just that in my experience whenever someone starts talking about "truth" in the context of science, instead of "accuracy" or "predictive power", it's generally an indication that I'm about to be treated to a load of rhetoric.

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    100. Re:Not surprising. by mi · · Score: 1

      the decision for that should be made by the mother. Which eliminates everything that is morally wrong with eugenics.

      Almost all. For full fairness, the father should have a say too — if he is on the hook for 18-21 years of child support, he ought to be able to weight-in on whether to abort, for example.

      And then, of course, there is the uncomfortable truth, that fetuses of a certain race are aborted much more often, than others. Something, the noisiest defenders of the procedure's legality — had they been self-consistent in their thought — would've called evidence of racism...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    101. Re:Not surprising. by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      Playing devil's advocate. Say the deniers prevent any motion and surprise, surprise 100 yrs rolls around and those predictions failed. In fact very little has changed (other than new orleans flooding via a hurricane and the big one in LA but I digress) will people still sware the science is accurate? No. Those scientists will be stood beside those who believed the earth was the center of the universe, those that believed in aether and that the earth was flat. There is alot of economic damage that can be done with those policies. We need to 100%. And that's the problem. With this science we can't be.

    102. Re:Not surprising. by floobedy · · Score: 2

      this is why people don't believe in AGW. Because every time that a proponent of it comes into contact with something that disagrees with their tidy view of the world, the first thing they do is lash out. And in the minds of a rational person, this simply screams "scam."

      You don't believe in AGW because someone on slashdot was impolite in a comment? Which proves the whole thing is a scam to any "rational" person?

      Try this. People who think the world is flat are fuckfaces. Does that imply that the round-earth idea is a scam?

    103. Re:Not surprising. by floobedy · · Score: 1

      For example some liberals are now promoting nuclear energey now that global climate change has proved to be a much bigger issue.

      Some liberals do, but others don't. To me, it appears there's a small group of people who are reasonable and who really consider things. I would say that they are mildly liberal on average. Which does not imply that most people who are liberal are reasonable and really consider things.

    104. Re:Not surprising. by blindseer · · Score: 1

      I do not believe you want to give Germany as an example of a country smoothy transitioning to alternative energy. They have some of the most expensive electricity in the world, largely because of their investment in wind and solar. The wind power they do have is in the wrong place at the wrong time and they don't have the power lines and storage infrastructure to deal with it. They've turned to burning "brown" coal, coal high in stuff we don't want in the air, to keep the lights on and electric prices from skyrocketing.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    105. Re:Not surprising. by weilawei · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hats off to you! Holy shit, you managed to do the impossible. Folks, get out your checkbooks! I won't get into the middle of the AGW debate itself, but rather your huge gaping logical error:

      The truth is, this effect is almost surely completely unpredictable, and quite likely insignificant.

      First, you state that the effects are "almost surely completely unpredictable". Then you make a prediction, drawing the conclusion that the effects are "quite likely insignificant". For fucks sake, if you don't have a model with good predictive power, you certainly can't draw any "quite likely" conclusions. Your proper response should have been that "the effects are unknown" if no model exists with good predictive power.

    106. Re:Not surprising. by dargaud · · Score: 1

      The problem is that admitting it puts you at a significant disadvantage at debates. If you can no longer summon the (self-)righteous fury your opponent can, not only are you more likely to give in from sheer exhaustion, but people viewing the debate are likely to consider your opponent as dominant and confuse that as being right.

      This is why I hate debates. It's not the person who is right who wins, it's the one who flings the poo the farthest. I was aghast to discover those 'debate competitions' in US schools: pick a subject and 2 people, one has to debate pro, the other against. And fuck the truth, let's just get ready to form another generation of lawyers and politicians.

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
    107. Re:Not surprising. by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It was when I started digging into the science that I started changing my mind. I found irresponsible handling of data, bizarre secrecy where there shouldn't be any, and so on. And all this has mushroomed in recent years.

      So you haven't actually starting digging into science (you know, the underlying physics and chemistry, climate models etc). Instead, you started digging into the scandals associated with that science, under the assumption that if you find sufficiently many, that would disprove the theory.

    108. Re:Not surprising. by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Who counts Stalin and Mao as "progressive"?

      (aside from American conservative right, that is)

    109. Re:Not surprising. by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Eugenics per se does not have anything to do with the specific traits, it's human population control in general. The historical applications of eugenics were based on such notions, yes (and also racism), but that is not a prerequisite.

    110. Re:Not surprising. by mtthwbrnd · · Score: 1

      Well all of the poor people who can't heat their homes in the West would disagree with you. Especially the pensioners who freeze to death every year because they are too scared to turn the heating on.

      On the one hand "people *like* you" (not you, I know, but people like you - please I don't want to listen to your bitching about it) are happy for the third world shit holes to use energy "because they need to bring their standards up to ours" but on the other you won't defend the right of your own people to not freeze to death.

    111. Re:Not surprising. by mtthwbrnd · · Score: 1

      "The majority of people believe that there is a god" ahhh, but they are mere people. Who cares what they think? We are talking about scientists! Sharp trained and finely tuned minds which guide us always towards the light.

    112. Re:Not surprising. by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      Sure it does. At least to those who aren't sure the earth is round.

      The problem is that real things can be used to scam people. A used car salesman might say the EPA estimated fuel milage for this car is 28 miles yo a gallon but he knows the engine is in a state of disrepair and it will be lucky to get 20mpg.

      Anthropogenic global warming has certainly seen its shady parts too. From congressional staffers usong an almanac to pick yhe historically hottest day of summer to schedule hearing on it then turning th AC off and claiming it was broke to groups like jubily2000 gettjng their goals included in the kyoto protocal which was billed as a cure butbearly made a first step. And thats without getting into the smaller issues like skepyics being refused access to data and methods being deleted so original works cannot be validated.

      Here is a popular scam people call up asking for a donation to some retired or fallen police officers fund. The fund exists but the requests are not official and the money never gets to the fund. A scam through and through- but the fund is real. And when you ask to many questions, they get pissy, mouth off and hang up.

    113. Re:Not surprising. by floobedy · · Score: 1

      Sure it does. At least to those who aren't sure the earth is round.

      No it doesn't. I was asking whether the procedure was logically valid, not whether some people think it's valid. The two aren't the same.

    114. Re:Not surprising. by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      Actually, you cannot separate the two. Its valid regardless because those who would lable something a scam are not convinced it is real. And even if they where convinced, they aren't convinced in the application hense the questioning which spures the backlash.

    115. Re:Not surprising. by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      First, natural selection does work at the level of species too. Else there wouldn't be identifiable species or the possibility of species going extinct. Darwin wouldn't have gotten far with the theory of evolution, if it weren't for the huge variety of observable species.

      Evolution really does operate at the level of genes. The species is more of a macroscopically observable manifestation of a collection of genes plus noise. The thing is a species is poorly defined. You can't definitively tell when two species have formed from one and so on, for example.

      Genes on the other hand are much more discrete.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    116. Re:Not surprising. by tbannist · · Score: 2

      I was first introduced to the issue by Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", and pretty much accepted what he was saying... except that there was some nagging doubt due to things like unlabeled graphs and the like in his presentation.

      Those nagging doubts? They're the manifestation of your political identity conflicting with the science.

      It was when I started digging into the science that I started changing my mind. I found irresponsible handling of data, bizarre secrecy where there shouldn't be any, and so on. And all this has mushroomed in recent years.

      And this is how you rationalize your refusal to accept the science. You use selective thinking to focus on minor issues while ignoring what should be the glaring obvious parts.

      Case in point: the recent admission by NCDC that certain USHCN data had been derived and used improperly, and they had known it for a long time. They said they had "intended to fix it" at some undefined point in the future, but the question is: why was it not fixed already, and why had they not told anyone (including scientists) about it, even though they knew about it?

      Are you referring to this? It seems like a rather minor bug.

      And how about the recent "97%" claim by the people at SkepticalScience? It was dirt simple to show that it was nothing but statistical bullshit. Why would an organization representing responsible scientists lie to people?

      Except that it hasn't been shown to be "nothing but statistical bullshit". I have yet to see a credible refutation of their claim that 97% of the published scientific articles that take a position on climate change support the consensus position that global warming is happening and driven by human activity. The argument that I'm assuming that you are referring to is the one made by Anthony Watts that they should not have excluded papers that do not discuss global climate change or global warming. However, it seems fair to me that when you are looking at positions taken on a issue to only look at papers which discuss the issue.

      The IPCC's latest report states clearly that the science supporting their position is weaker than ever... yet they're even more certain that it's true. WTF?

      That's a very interesting interpretation of the IPCC report, but one that most people do not get after reading the report. I strongly suspect it is a result of more selective thinking. You place undue emphasis on minor details of the report like a decrease in confidence of the link between severe weather and global average temperature and the lower of the top end of reasonable climate sensitivity, while ignoring the increase in the bottom end of reasonable climate sensitivity to conlcude that the "position is weaker than ever" while I think unbiased readers generally come away with the impression that uncertainty has decreased (because both the upper and lower limits have tightened).

      Personally, I didn't believe in global warming when I first heard about it in the 90s, but since then I have been convinced that it is true. My experience with so called "skeptics" like yourself has played no little part in that belief. I have found that the actual scientific proponents tends to have well researched and detailed explanations for why and how it's happening, but the so-called skeptics tend to have arguments based on emotion and finger-pointing. Time and again you, in particular, have disappointed me with claims that were poorly backed up. Invariably when I investigate your claims I find them to be blown out of proportion, mistaken, or referencing some kook's incomprehensible arguments*.

      I could, in theory, be falling for the same blinded b

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    117. Re:Not surprising. by Immerman · · Score: 1

      All of science is based on the idea that something for which there is no evidence probably doesn't exist. Maybe gravity is actually based on the actions of invisible fairies, but unless and until you have *evidence* of the existence of such fairies the broader scientific community is going to say you're nuts. Similarly claiming the mind has it's roots in magic/soul/etc. Unless and until you have evidence that there is something outside normal physics involved, the default assumption is that there is not. Occam's Razor is not without it's flaws, but it is extremely efficient in trimming out the vast bulk of magical thinking from the scientific community.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    118. Re:Not surprising. by Lord+Lemur · · Score: 1

      Nobody, of any value to humanity, but Americans talk about religion in science.
      The rest of the planet doesn't care about old men in the sky.

      ffty

    119. Re:Not surprising. by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming."

      That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one.

      I don't recall anyone pretending it was a scientific statement - it is a refutation of the central argument of denialism, which is that the scientists need to convince them (the denialist) personally, plus every other 2 bit ex-weatherman blogger and paid off stooge before the science can be considered valid. In other words, 85-90% of the arguments made by denialists rely on a burden of proof fallacy.

      Science doesn't vote, it either provably is or it isn't.

      And hence the problem with the denialist position, there is no "proof", or even demonstrable evidence in support of it. It isn't science.

    120. Re:Not surprising. by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
      That's disappointing. I've heard you argue in a relatively intelligent tone for your cause - albeit you are somewhat gun shy of producing any proof of your assertions. This might have led me to think that your (relatively) rational tone arose from a position which you had formed via a rational process.

      But is seems instead (by your own admission) you arrived at this position through onboarding mysticism, magical thinking, circular logic and fallacy.

      A pity.

    121. Re:Not surprising. by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

      Sure it does. At least to those who aren't sure the earth is round.

      You imply that round earthers bear some responsibility for the ignorance and stupidity of flat earthers. That is a complete nonsense. If people are stupid, then calling them stupid is merely an accurate diagnosis. If they are deliberately choosing, through ego or fear, to not accept something obvious, then they, and they alone are responsible for that choice.

      Climate scientists are not responsible for the small group of people who choose to remain ignorant of the facts in order to preserve the denialist myth. They themselves are responsible. If they get their way and delay action on climate change, and the worst that happens is that some people on the internet call them a nasty name, they should count themselves as lucky. Delays in taking action will wipe trillions off the world GDP. Someone, somewhere will one day ask if we should recoup that money from the people responsible for the delay.

    122. Re:Not surprising. by ggrocca · · Score: 1

      I was a long time skeptic, because I initially found that the statistical grounds on which such statements were made to be shaky. But models, technique and science in general has gone a long way (despite the fact that some scientists have damaged it by abandoning their role and becoming political activistists - a serious error IMHO).

      A milestone in my opinion has been the fact that Richard A. Muller changed idea:
      http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07...

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...

      He was, AFAIK, the last serious scientists to be a skeptic in this regard. His research was partially funded by partisan groups such as the Koch brothers and he changed idea nonetheless. Kudos to the man for respecting the work he did and taking the results he got at face value regardless of where his money came from and his previous beliefs about it.

      I've talked a lot of times with friends of mine, many of which are physicists and some of them with PhDs in fluids and atmospheric physics, about these issues and all of them (everyone of them more qualified than me on such matters, and none of them with vested interests) have gone from cautious skepticism to acceptance of the basic fact that global warming is happening and we are the most probable cause. What that might entails for us and the planet in the future nobody knows, but everybody again agrees that IT COULD BE BAD.

      You maybe should think again and consider changing position another time. My take is that being able to change opinions and beliefs is always a badge of merit; too many people just want to believe what suits them regardless of facts, and facts are sometimes really difficult to get/assess/analyze. We should respect reality and honest attempts at understanding it. We have to be skeptic, but without falling in love with the outcomes of our own skepticism, which is one of the most difficult things to do for us humans.

    123. Re:Not surprising. by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "The bible is not an accepted study. its more like arguing the Grimm fairytales could be used to support your scientific position - in other words, its a non-starter"

      Fairy Tales? This is Science Fiction, it has clones, flying people, technology to walk on water, everything!

    124. Re:Not surprising. by Golddess · · Score: 1

      You may find it fun to repeat yourself on things you've already been proved wrong on

      Except they haven't yet been proved wrong. Yes, the things they bring up have already been proved wrong time and time again, but they personally were not aware of it.

      I forget the exact details, but during the 2008 presidential election, I responded to a thread that I think was about Barack Obama's birth certificate being no business of ours, saying that if the constitution requires the president be a naturally born citizen, then for any presidential candidate, their birth certificate is our business. And the replies I got figuratively bit my head off. I did not know why my post elicited such anger, because at the time I did not know about the large group of people trying to get Obama disqualified on the grounds of his not being a naturally born citizen, and of their dismissal of his birth certificate, or whatever.

      Like I said, I don't remember the exact details. But the point is, if I was a different person, then instead of trying to figure out why this hatred got directed towards me, I might've immediately sided with the "birthers" and ignored any future attempts at "proving" me wrong.

      It may get annoying debunking the same myths again and again, but please remember that for the person bringing the myth to your attention, they may have just heard about it and are legitimately curious about why this thing they just heard about does not debunk AGW.

      --
      "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
    125. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's a very valid point, and where I don't recognise the username I do often go over the same ground. But I've been here long enough to recognise the regular faces, and there's a small core group of the same denialists commenting on every climate story. And they HAVE been personally proved wrong on these myths time and time again, and they continue to come back and repeat the myths again, as if the MiB had wiped their memories each time.

    126. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 2

      I am not red-baiting, simply pointing out that 'Progressives' have always waved 'Science (tm)' around like something they own.

      It's not that progressives own science. It's that so many on the far right choose to be anti-science.

    127. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      The very anti-science I just mentioned.

    128. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      No, species are just a phenomenon of genes. All apparent species natural selection can be explained by gene natural selection, but not vice versa.

      For example 90% of the cells in your body are not homo-sapiens at all. They contain genes, but they are a multitude of bacterias with their own genes. And without them we wouldn't live. We are an incredibly complex symbiosis of many different forms of life each with their own set of genes. Thinking natural selection works at the level of species doesn't even touch this larger truth.

    129. Re: Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      A cornerstone of science is repeatability, but if something hasn't even ever been recorded to happen *ONCE*, how can you call it repeatable?

      Easy. Man is not a special thing created by a god. It's simply a species of animal. And artificial selection has been demonstrated to work thousands of times.

      You are not special.

    130. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      The American dream is alive and well, depending on where in America you live.

      It isn't and it never was. It's the American Dream, not the American Reality.

    131. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Deny natural climate change all you want

      I never have. Not even a little bit. And neither has any climate scientist. It's not an either/or. The fact that most of the climate change of the last century is anthropogenic does not mean that there isn't natural climate change over different time intervals.

      Yet another straw man from you - yet another demonstration of your lack of real arguments.

    132. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      The article was written about us.

      Thanks for the admission.

      The sort of anti-scientific hypocrisy present in a considerable portion of your posts here, is a common manifestation of that.

      You can't find a single case of me contradicting any consensus opinion of scientists. Guaranteed. I'm afraid you can't play tit-for-tat here. Balance is not believing the truth lies between two opposing opinions. The AGW deniers are anti-science. Period.

    133. Re:Not surprising. by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      How can you put "overwhelming" and "fact" in the same sentence?

      Can you imagine a lab for biochem students being written up to put an "overwhelming" amount of copper chloride in a solution?

      You are confirming Nietchze's claim: "there are no facts, just opinions".

    134. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      And then, of course, there is the uncomfortable truth, that fetuses of a certain race are aborted much more often, than others. Something, the noisiest defenders of the procedure's legality â" had they been self-consistent in their thought â" would've called evidence of racism...

      As usual with statistical differences between races, it can probably be entirely explained by wealth differences. It's a tertiary effect of racism. If people don't feel they can afford to support a child they are more likely to abort. For any race. But because of primary racism, black people and hispanics are significantly poorer on average.

      Which means the answer is not banning abortion, but banning the racism that leads to the financial inequity.

    135. Re:Not surprising. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      it was when one of the regulars, a biologist (why any scientist would waste his time debating Creationists I'll never understand),

      The purpose of the debate is not with the creationist. The creationist has faith, and not much can shake that.

      The purpose of the debate is not with the denier. The denier has political will, and often has a well greased palm.

      The purpose of hte debate is to try to keep them from working their destructive magic. Or else we'd be teaching about how the universe was created in October 4004 b.c.e. and that dinosaurs were actually Jesus puppies.

      In Advanced science classes.

      That's reason number one

      The second reason is that it is just so damned much fun. Nothing like a fundie or denier foaming at the mouth.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    136. Re:Not surprising. by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      "traits you don't like"

      Traits matter very little. Behavior does.

      You seem to be conflating two things which have an extended gulf between them.

    137. Re:Not surprising. by Sciath · · Score: 1

      It's flabbergasting from where you would draw such conclusions. The 2013 IPCC Summary for Policy Makers clearly concludes the climate temperatures have increased over the past 800,000 years and that recent decadal changes are directly related to anthropogenic carbon emissions (70%). The contradictions seem to only exist in your own mind. Literally every recent IPCC report (Including the 2014 SPM) clearly concludes anthropogenic activity is warming the planet in particular the upper 70 meters or so of the global oceans. http://ipcc.ch/

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
    138. Re:Not surprising. by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      That's a fallacy, that scientists have consensus, or that the majority of scientists are always right. Plenty of very respected scientists question various aspects of AGW, for recent example antarctic melting done via AGW vs. volcanoes. Always amusing when a non-scientist thinks they are being intellectual merely by siding with either the largest or most vocal group of scientists.

    139. Re:Not surprising. by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      Thank you for finally admitting for your side their claims are unscientific.

    140. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      You can't find a single case of me contradicting any consensus opinion of scientists.

      And there we go again. Fallacy after fallacy. Here, the fallacy of argument from authority.

      The AGW deniers are anti-science. Period.

      And the ad hominem fallacy. You're not bringing a thing to the table.

    141. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1
      Except that species are a thing we actually observe. Trees don't breed with cats. And there are actually cases where closely species have evolved in a way to appear very distinct (for a recent example, guenon monkeys in central Africa.

      The species is more of a macroscopically observable manifestation of a collection of genes plus noise.

      Which makes it something that doesn't happen at the level of genes - by definition of "macroscopically observable".

      We don't say, for a similar example, that music operates at the level of the Brownian motion of air particles even though sounds such as those of music are transmitted through such a medium. You would be glossing over both the macroscopic properties of the air medium which define and transmit sound and the structure of music (and its perception by a human audience) which differentiates it from arbitrary sounds.

    142. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      No, species are just a phenomenon of genes.

      First, you admit here that species actually exist. Second, you're just not getting it. It's not just genes, but a collection of genes acting together. As I noted in response to serviscope_minor, there are other examples of macroscopic phenomena which don't make sense to consider only in terms of the smallest scale that contains the phenomena.

      Finally, natural selection is just the winnowing process. An organism can indeed experience selection from a single gene (such as the difference between being susceptible to poisoning or not to some chemical in the environment, which can be triggered by a single gene). But it can also experience higher level selection (such as survival being dependent on morphological properties such as size, speed, or physical appearance) which can depend on a subtle mix of large numbers of genes acting together.

    143. Re:Not surprising. by Chas · · Score: 1

      Honestly I don't know enough about the rest of the world to make a cogent reply to this.

      I *do* know that the Jesus freaks here who keep trying to insert bible study into science here are off their fucking gourds though.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    144. Re:Not surprising. by Chas · · Score: 1

      Fuck you.

      The original statement was "nobody BUT Americans".

      So stop trying to move the goalposts asshole. You're wrong. Man up.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    145. Re:Not surprising. by Chas · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but being anti-science isn't the sole purview of the far right.

      At least in the US, the left has it's own track record for hamstringing science and scientific advancement.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    146. Re:Not surprising. by Chas · · Score: 1

      Tell that to the Taliban, Boko Haram, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc, etc.

      What good company the American religious right keeps!

      You'll get no arguments from me there.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    147. Re:Not surprising. by khayman80 · · Score: 1

      This is a reply to several comments Jane posted at Dumb Scientist and at the bottom of this thread which shows that Jane Q. Public is a man named Lonny Eachus. I've copied it here because Jane asked to be notified.

      Jane Q. Public posted on 2014-07-01 at 15:17

      Thanks for the quote, but clicking on the copying link shows that I already quoted it almost two years ago. That next comment even shows that I properly notified Jane on 2009-07-20 at 1:40AM, which was a few hours after I posted this article.

      First, my quote was from the original source, not from your blog. I, for one, prefer not to post quotes of quotes of quotes. As for the notification, that was 5 years ago, or close enough. How often have you notified me since, that you have been posting ONGOING diatribes containing my comments out of context? I’ve come here to look every couple of years or so, but your comments elsewhere have gotten rather extreme, so I decided to look again.

      My statement that “your posts are among the most educated and polite of those taking your position” is a scathing criticism of climate contrarians, not a compliment. I don’t expect you to daily search my page, because, as I’ve told you, I’m posting my comments as replies to your most recent Slashdot comment to make a frozen public copy, and to give you a chance to respond on neutral ground.

      No, you told me (see quote above) that you were writing “a blog article” (which is generally understood to be a one-time thing, because of the word ARTICLE), not a years-long one-sided “debate”. And I will remind you that long ago I retracted any permission to so use my words. I am simply not obligated to come to your site to defend myself from your distortions.

      I am quite familiar with the fair use doctrine, and what it says about publicly available material. But I will remind you also what that name means. Not all forms of “use” are fair game.

      Which of the arguments you made earlier have been supported by time?

      I do not intend to get into an argument about it here. I made an observation. If you disagree, you disagree.

      Jane Q. Public posted on 2014-07-01 at 15:26

      I will also point out that your claim to the effect that you are “freezing comments in time” is pretty obviously disingenuous. The vast majority of comments of mine that you have used still exist in original form and could easily be referenced in their entirety, rather than cherry-picked fragments.

      The excuse you make is not justification for repeatedly presenting my own comments in a manner that is obviously intended to reflect meanings or nuances that were not intended when I wrote them. I have mentioned this to you many times now.

      First you claimed I hadn't notified you until after this article was posted, which you felt was "somewhat unethical". After I linked and quoted my notification, you didn't retract your suggestion that I'm "somewhat unethical". Instead, you complained about the way I quoted my notification.

      Then you claimed I hadn't notified you after I wrote this article until "much later" when I'd actually notified you within a few hours. Will you retract your claim, or is "much later" actually defined as a few hours in Janeland?

      Now you're claiming I don't notify you each time I write a comment debunking your misinformation. But again, I'd been posting my com

    148. Re:Not surprising. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Since I have bookmarks, about 2 seconds.

      Do I have a local copy? No. Why? Because IPCC decided to publish the many sections of it separately.

    149. Re:Not surprising. by Prune · · Score: 1

      who unfortunately has succumbed to some pretty weird ideas in his old age

      How can you make such an inappropriate comment? It's suitable for politics, not supposedly rational discussion.

      It's really simple, if you look at it from the point of view of stochastic search algorithms. If you significantly weaken selection pressure (as we've done and will continue to do increasingly) while mutation and crossover continue to randomize the gene pool, the average fitness of a population by any given metric will fall over time (because the gene pool is very far from random, and individuals are on average closer to some (local) maximum of the current fitness function than a set random samples would be). There's just no way around it. If there's no natural selection, then there's a clear case to be made for artificial selection. I equate eugenics with selective breeding in the most general sense. It doesn't require genocide, and it doesn't require preventing anyone from reproducing -- it only requires encouraging reproduction for some portion of the population. While that still is distasteful for some, I'm still waiting for an alternative proposal for the very long term.

      --
      "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
    150. Re:Not surprising. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Then you claimed I hadn't notified you after I wrote this article until "much later" when I'd actually notified you within a few hours. Will you retract your claim, or is "much later" actually defined as a few hours in Janeland?

      First, as I mentioned to you before elsewhere, it isn't an "article". It doesn't meet any standard definition of "article". It's a rambling, ongoing diatribe that reads like little more than a monument to your ego.

      Second, as I have clearly explained to you several times, when I discussed this with you after that time I was also referring to LATER posts of yours, not the first one. Not that it really matters, because afterward is still afterward. You might disagree with my interpretation of "much later" in regard to the original post, but that's your opinion.

      After that you gave me no notice at all of most of your distortions, in which you took even more comments of mine out of context, assigned wholly imagined meanings and motivations to them, and "argued" with them all by yourself, where you didn't have any fear of being contradicted. (Why? Because I don't care about you and don't visit your website every day... nor should I be forced to do so in order to incessantly correct your mis-characterizations of my words.)

      The rest of your rant is loaded with similar bullshit. Yet again you are trying to mislead people for personal, and apparently rather strange, reasons of your own.

      I will repeat what I wrote in another thread: all you are doing by indulging in this obsession is making yourself look foolish. I understand that you don't seem to think so, but that causes me some concern. Others have written about it before here, too.

      Do you still dismiss flat statements like "the CO2 increase is attributable to human activity" as disingenuous

      This is a classic example of your attempts to distort my comments. First, I might have ignorantly denied that C02 increases were due to human activity, years ago. I have not intentionally made any such statement in recent years, since I do not believe any such thing. But more to the point is this:

      ... and claim that we're only contributing a small percentage despite the fact that ~200% of the CO2 increase is attributable to human activity?

      The "small percentage" I mentioned was in reference to this. You can argue if you like that a ~ 27.3% increase is large but I disagree, since climate sensitivity to CO2 is widely acknowledged to be based on a geometric progression.

      We also need to keep in mind, though, what percentage that is of the overall atmosphere: (CO2 % of all atmosphere. Which is a very small percentage indeed, even though Wikipedia puts it higher than NCDC does in the above page.

      Further, you appear to be claiming that we have contributed about "200% of the CO2 increase" ourselves, when that is simply not logically possible. While we might have produced 200% as much CO2, if so obviously much of it has been absorbed in one way or another by the environment. While you might have a problem with that, it is a completely separate argument. It is not possible for us to have contributed "200% of the increase", because only 100% of the increase actually exists. Once again you demonstrate a bizarrely weak grasp of logic for someone who presents himself as a scientist.

      Do you still link to "PSI" blog posts accusing scientists of fraud because Dr. Salby said accumulation of human emitted CO2 is somehow unphysical? Do you acknowledge these "PSI" accusations of fraud are baseless, or do you think they're honest, true and correct?

      If my memory serves (and it may not), I linked to that page once in the past. A

    151. Re:Not surprising. by khayman80 · · Score: 1

      Okay, so we can never agree on the fundamental fact that our carbon emissions are ~200% larger than the rise in atmospheric CO2.

    152. Re:Not surprising. by mi · · Score: 1

      Which means the answer is not banning abortion, but banning the racism that leads to the financial inequity.

      "Banning racism"... That's a good one. You can't ban thoughts — not yet, anyway. At most, you can prohibit some manifestations of those thoughts...

      More importantly, though, racism is not the reason. Oh, it does exist, but that's not the reason for the Blacks' poverty. You see, Asians are targets of racism too — in America. Jews were targets of racism in Europe for centuries — and remain in certain places. Yet, neither of those two groups are worse off, on average, than the surrounding population at large. In fact, they tend to be better off — despite the racism.

      I don't know, what the actual reason's are — may be, it is all of the condescending efforts to "help" Blacks (such as via affirmative action), that are holding them down. I am not sure. But racism is not it.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    153. Re:Not surprising. by khayman80 · · Score: 1

      The "small percentage" I mentioned was in reference to this. You can argue if you like that a ~ 27.3% increase is large but I disagree, since climate sensitivity to CO2 is widely acknowledged to be based on a geometric progression.

      As I've said, we've increased CO2 by ~40% but your link refers to the CO2 rise between 1900 (290 ppm) to 2000 (369 ppm) which is an increase of ~27.24%. But we're actually living in 2014, and CO2 in real life is now at ~400 ppm because we're increasing it so rapidly that even NOAA websites rapidly go out of date. That's a ~37.93% increase even if you take "1900" to be the start of the the Industrial Revolution.

      Also, climate sensitivity is logarithmic, not geometric. But it's hard to remember that our CO2 emissions are probably more rapid than any events in the last 300 million years. Even logarithmic climate sensitivity allows for accelerating warming if the CO2 concentration rises faster than exponentially. Since 1960, atmospheric CO2 concentration has risen faster than exponentially. Tamino showed this by taking the logarithm of the Mauna Loa measurements and noting a statistically significant acceleration.

      We also need to keep in mind, though, what percentage that is of the overall atmosphere: (CO2 % of all atmosphere [wikimedia.org]. Which is a very small percentage indeed, even though Wikipedia puts it higher than NCDC does in the above page.

      Why do we need to keep that in mind, any more than we need to keep in mind the very small percentage of alcohol or LSD in the bloodstream? The same percentage increase of ~40% also occurs when we notice that before 1850 there were ~4 kg of CO2 over each square meter of Earth's surface. Now there are ~6. We did that.

    154. Re:Not surprising. by khayman80 · · Score: 1

      Just in case this is an exercise in pedantry, I should correct my statement to say that our carbon emissions are ~200% as large as the rise in atmospheric CO2.

    155. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      Haters gonna hate.

      --
      Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
    156. Re:Not surprising. by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      You don't believe in AGW because someone on slashdot was impolite in a comment? Which proves the whole thing is a scam to any "rational" person?

      Try this. People who think the world is flat are fuckfaces. Does that imply that the round-earth idea is a scam?

      Sorry, your logic doesn't fly. Let's try it this way, people who support AGW only because government funding tells them to support it. With the fact that they use this heavy funding to silence dissenting points of view. They also use said funding as a political method to stifle dissenting points of view.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    157. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      So you have nothing.

    158. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      That's a fallacy, that scientists have consensus, or that the majority of scientists are always right.

      Wrong.

      Plenty of very respected scientists question various aspects of AGW, for recent example antarctic melting done via AGW vs. volcanoes.

      Excellent. Now why aren't they publishing papers?

      Always amusing when a non-scientist thinks they are being intellectual merely by siding with either the largest or most vocal group of scientists.

      Come back when you know how science is done.

    159. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      If only linking to it was the same thing as reading it.

    160. Re:Not surprising. by hawkfish · · Score: 1

      All of science is based on the idea that something for which there is no evidence probably doesn't exist. Maybe gravity is actually based on the actions of invisible fairies, but unless and until you have *evidence* of the existence of such fairies the broader scientific community is going to say you're nuts. Similarly claiming the mind has it's roots in magic/soul/etc. Unless and until you have evidence that there is something outside normal physics involved, the default assumption is that there is not. Occam's Razor is not without it's flaws, but it is extremely efficient in trimming out the vast bulk of magical thinking from the scientific community.

      Physical laws are - by their very definition - non-material. Ideas like the holographic universe suggest the primacy of information over matter. We should proceed cautiously, but pure materialism seems pretty obviously wrong to me. There are even suggestions (e.g. the small variations in the gravitational constant over time) that physical laws may be "habits". I have no idea what this implies, but it suggests we should look at non-material processes.

      --
      You will not drink with us, but you would taste our steel? - Walter Matthau, The Pirates
    161. Re:Not surprising. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Do you have a case study that you can reference which substantiates this claim?

      So, you are asserting that you believe that if I killed all brown-eyed people tomorrow, that in a generation you think there will be a significant number of brown eyed people?

      You don't believe in DNA and heredity because "eugenics" is bad?

    162. Re:Not surprising. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      The American dream is more alive in India than the USA. There is more class movement in a society with formal castes than in the USA.

    163. Re:Not surprising. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      No, because it was not scientifically valid in the first place.

      So, you are asserting that you believe that if I killed all brown-eyed people tomorrow, that in a generation you think there will be a significant number of brown eyed people?

      You don't believe in DNA and heredity because "eugenics" is bad?

    164. Re:Not surprising. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      You seem to think that "eugenics" is just a synonym for "selective breeding" or something.

      Because it is. The word means planning genetic changes to the human condition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...

      While the proponents of eugenics often claim that, in fact their criteria for selection were generally based on bogus "science" (even phrenology) and generally tend to be motivated more by politics or class distinctions than science.

      Yes, the people executing eugenics were often following invalid desires (breeding out violence without having identified traits for violence). But that doesn't invalidate the scientific basis of it.

      It's been associated with the social movements more so than the science of it, but the science is still valid.

    165. Re:Not surprising. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      I've actually read a number of treatises written by the founders of eugenics in the mid-1800s through its heyday in the early 1900s, including all of the literature on cultural "degeneration" etc. that led to targeting of Jews, Roma, poor people, stupid people, etc. on the basis of incredibly shaky science. Have you?

      Yes. The science was valid, but the social agenda was unrelated to the science of genetics. "If we kill more undesirables, there will be fewer undesirables. Science says so!"

      "Eugenics" is "Genocide" + "science". Genocide is the problem, not science. Genocide happened long before, and long after the "eugenics" movement.

      When you ignore the emotion around the word, Eugenics is the belief that societal breeding pressure can affect the gene pool. That the societal pressures have always been poor is unrelated to the science behind the general theory.

    166. Re:Not surprising. by Sciath · · Score: 1

      Ludicrous... (science) does "vote". It's called scientific "consensus". And your comparison with Eugenics and Phrenology are lacking in scientific consensus. There is a scientific consensus on global warming and that carbon emissions are a major factor in rising global temperatures. There is far less consensus on the validity of eugenics (although that may change with advances in genetic manipulation capabilities) and there is no consensus in the scientific professions that agree with the premises of Phrenology. That's not to say that scientific consensus is immutable as Newton and Einstein have demonstrated. But one can at any given time base reasonable conclusions upon the best available evidence and the consensus at the time of those who invest their time and knowledge in studying certain scientific fields. And please, don't assert the "argument from authority" fallacy. There is a difference and hierarchies of so-called "authorities". For example a politician could be considered an authority by virtue of their high social standing but it does not necessarily make them an authority in physics. Even individual scientists can disagree. What makes the difference is the scientific consensus.

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
    167. Re:Not surprising. by Sciath · · Score: 1

      That statement was asserted (by you) out of context. Sanger was referring to (a separate group) the eugenicists. She clearly goes on to explain that Planned Parenthood is focused upon providing women reproductive choice. Which is an altogether different matter.

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
    168. Re:Not surprising. by mi · · Score: 1

      That statement was asserted (by you) out of context.

      This was a good opportunity for you to provide the surrounding context, but you missed it for some reason...

      Which is an altogether different matter.

      Is it different? When the same person believes, "the unfit" should be either encouraged to not procreate or simply prohibited from procreating, goes on and establishes a network of abortion clinics, can it really be denied, that the belief and the act are rather connected to each other? Of course, they are...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    169. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      First, you admit here that species actually exist.

      Admit? No part of the argument is the existence of species. There's no "admission" here. it was never in contention. But a species is no longer the best level to consider evolution at.

      As I noted in response to serviscope_minor, there are other examples of macroscopic phenomena which don't make sense to consider only in terms of the smallest scale that contains the phenomena.

      There's sound, and there's music. Your contention is that evolution is like music, not sound. That's wrong, because music is about a subjective appreciation of art. And evolution, like sound, is a purely objective physical process. Music only exists at a macroscopic level. Evolution exists at the gene level.

      That you observe the outcomes of gene selection at the species level rather then the gene level is a function of what your senses are capable of perceiving not what is actually happening. You also may notice that iron goes rusty, and to you that means it turns from grey to reddish brown. But what's really happening is happening at the molecular level.

      But it can also experience higher level selection (such as survival being dependent on morphological properties such as size, speed, or physical appearance) which can depend on a subtle mix of large numbers of genes acting together.

      Correct. But the way those high level features continue is through selection of those genes individually. There is no other level that selection works at. If a gene finds itself in an lifeform that has an advantage in part because the action of that gene in combination with other genes, then it will be more likely to successfully reproduce. Period.

    170. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but being anti-science isn't the sole purview of the far right.

      Indeed you do get the occasional progressive fruit-cake too. But the right have a real talent for it.

    171. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      That's not a fact, that's an assertion.

      No, it's a fact.

      Show me your necessary and sufficient falsifiable hypothesis statement that excludes natural climate change at any rate over 50%.

      Drivel.

    172. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      "Banning racism"... That's a good one. You can't ban thoughts â" not yet, anyway. At most, you can prohibit some manifestations of those thoughts...

      Thoughts are irrelevant. Only actions impinge on others. And in civilised countries racist actions are already banned.

      that's not the reason for the Blacks' poverty. You see, Asians are targets of racism too â" in America. Jews were targets of racism in Europe for centuries â" and remain in certain places. Yet, neither of those two groups are worse off, on average, than the surrounding population at large. In fact, they tend to be better off â" despite the racism.

      Not in the same way. Black racism consists of the assumption that they are criminal, violent and or stupid. Theses are not the assumptions about Asians or Jews. Which means they don't suffer the same disadvantages in the employment market that blacks do.

      There are complex cultural differences too, but their existence doesn't mean that the racism element isn't significant and probably prominent.

    173. Re:Not surprising. by mi · · Score: 1

      Thoughts are irrelevant.

      Racism, which you proposed to ban earlier is exactly that — a thought... To avoid such semantic problems in the future, do try to use more precise terms.

      And in civilised countries racist actions are already banned.

      And the Blacks only seem to be worse off over the decades. It is not anybody's "racist action", that causes residents of government housing projects (affectionately known as "ghettos") to pee in the stairwells...

      Black racism consists of the assumption that they are criminal, violent and or stupid. Theses are not the assumptions about Asians or Jews.

      I'm not exactly sure, what beef American Blacks have with the Asians, but, being myself a European Jew, I do know, what anti-semites claim: we are, supposedly, thieves and cheaters (whom nobody should be hiring, of course), constantly scheming to undermine the nations we happen to live in for the sake of Israel (thus should not be hired into government either). Oh, and we use the blood of Christian babies to make matzos...

      Are you going to sincerely claim, such accusations don't affect "employment opportunities"?

      Which means they don't suffer the same disadvantages in the employment market that blacks do.

      Nonsense. Of course, the disadvantages are the same — or worse. In Russia, for example, there were official limits on how many Jews can enter universities, how many could live outside specially-set areas. Certain trades were closed off completely. Yet, somehow, that didn't prevent the Jews from doing well back then. USSR dispensed with the official racism of the Tsars, but the sentiment remained: my own father, for example, had to go to a different city's university — in the late 1960ies — because Kyiv State University was famous for anti-Semitic admission officers. Yet, that didn't prevent him from succeeding — even he remained sufficiently bitter to move his family to the US upon the first opportunity.

      Post-Soviet Russia today remains anti-Semitic (though the other ex-Soviet republics no so much), but Jews manage to strive anyway: there are industrialists (of Russian kind) and politicians in addition to the customary lawyers, doctors, and engineers. Perhaps, that's because nobody tried to be condescending to them — the way American Illiberals are towards Blacks...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    174. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Racism, which you proposed to ban earlier [slashdot.org] is exactly that â" a thought... To avoid such semantic problems in the future, do try to use more precise terms.

      Here's one. Fuck off you pretentious turd with a persecution complex.

    175. Re:Not surprising. by mi · · Score: 1

      you pretentious turd with a persecution complex

      Thank you. Your racism will make me stronger.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    176. Re:Not surprising. by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      Nobody but Americans talk about religion in science.
      The rest of the planet doesn't care about old men in the sky.

      Tell that to the Taliban, Boko Haram, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc, etc.

      Please come back when you actually have a clue about the subject to which you're speaking and not simply sounding off from your nether orifice.

      So you are saying that Americans and Muslim extremists allow religion to influence their society to a similar degree.....

      Many polls have shown that Americans, when compared to other developed, western-style countries, are far more likely to disbelieve things like evolution, man-made climate change, etc.. and all due to religion.

    177. Re:Not surprising. by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      "97 percent of climate scientists believe human activities are causing global warming."

      That's not a scientific statement, it's a political one.

      Actually, it is neither. It just is. As in "just is" a fact, readily observable and incontrovertible. Now, the suggestion that it is something else is, itself, a highly "political" statement clearly aimed at diminishing the weight of the fact that an overwhelming majority of those best equipped to assess the data have arrived at the same conclusion. No, the matter is not "settled". No scientist worthy of the title would even suggest as much, but the constantly repeated meme that we should thus do nothing until it is "settled" is simply insane.

      Creationists might describe The Theory of Evolution as "just a theory", implying it is just one of many competing (equal) views of how life evolved.
      Scientists of course would understand that once something is called "Theory X", it is well validated by experiments over time, and has little competition from other theories.

      Of course no scientists would say "X is settled", because they understand the nature of how the scientific method works, and how nothing is every proven, etc.. but I think we should start using the word "settled" when describing AGW because the average layperson not going to be aware of distinctions like I mentioned above.

      I wish more scientists and/or science promoters/writers would stop trying to be literally accurate with wording (when talking to the public) and just use terms that are convincing at this point. Correct terminology be damned.

    178. Re:Not surprising. by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      And you and I are among them.

      Nope. The more we abolish hydrocarbons, the better I will be. We should have solar on every building, and in every road. At which time we'd have about 4x the amount of power we use. And being locally generated, will have lower cost and better availability. We just have some minor issues about storage, that'll be easy to solve in the time frame of installing the distributed power solution.

    179. Re:Not surprising. by khallow · · Score: 1

      Admit? No part of the argument is the existence of species. There's no "admission" here. it was never in contention. But a species is no longer the best level to consider evolution at.

      This was never in contention by anyone. That includes you and me.

      That you observe the outcomes of gene selection at the species level rather then the gene level is a function of what your senses are capable of perceiving not what is actually happening. You also may notice that iron goes rusty, and to you that means it turns from grey to reddish brown. But what's really happening is happening at the molecular level.

      Just because an observation can be made at a different, finer scale doesn't mean the observed effects at the current scale don't happen. This is a particularly bizarre claim to make especially since you grant the macroscopic effects in question such as species or iron changing color. The speciation of terrestrial organisms and the changing of color of a visible mass of oxidizing iron are real things - they happen even if the effect is caused by small scale processes.

      Correct. But the way those high level features continue is through selection of those genes individually. There is no other level that selection works at.

      The obvious counterexample here, which we've been discussing for the past few days, is the existence of species. There is no gene you can point to which specifies what species you are or which you can change to become a different, viable species. It is a property of a higher scale than the single gene level and has survived a billion years or more of natural selection.

      I suppose species are a somewhat unreliable emergent property of large numbers of genes experiencing selection. Thus, the existence of species disproves your assertion.

      I'm puzzled what was supposed to be wrong with my assertion in the first place. I didn't advocate reading Darwin because he had the perfect model of evolution from the atomic level on up. That is just a red herring.

      But having said that, his arguments hold up remarkably well. For all the talk here of modern genetics, blurring of the distinction of species, etc, it remains that most work since has just been a fleshing out of the biological mechanisms by which his theory applies and the collecting of a vast amount of supporting evidence.

    180. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 2

      Why are you constantly trolling climate discussions when you've been proved wrong so many times? No one bothers wasting their time on you any more.

    181. Re:Not surprising. by Sciath · · Score: 1

      Your own citation from Wikipedia clearly states that her preference was to leave the actual choice (to be or not to be) up to the individual and she was not a supporter to the Nazi style (or similar) euthanasia programs. Yes... it is possible to believe in one ideal but also realize that ideal is simply not practical because of other legal, social and psychological constraints. Thus... her approach of establishing clinics where women made the choice. Your world is perhaps too black and white. For example, I personally believe that gun ownership and carry should be easier to attain in many states than what it currently is. However I also recognize that my belief is not equally shared. But that would not prevent me from being politically active to change the social consciousness of those who disagree. I think Sanger did what she felt could be a workable solution to a difficult social problem while still having her own personal views. Ultimately she left the choice p to the individual which is exactly the way it should be.

      --
      "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
    182. Re:Not surprising. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      the base requirement for science - the necessary and sufficient falsifiable hypothesis statement.

      So you keep incorrectly saying. Karl Popper did not define science.

    183. Re:Not surprising. by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Have I read every paper associated with the Assessment Report? No. But then neither have you.

      Have I read the summaries? Yes.

      What, you think the summaries are dishonest? Yes or no?

    184. Re:Not surprising. by Spazmania · · Score: 1

      Shame you don't understand logical fallacies.

      "Appeal to consequences" means an argument that something must be false because the consequences would be bad. I made no such argument. I said, "we'd better be damn sure we're right" before undertaking an effort with such negative consequences.

      Unproven is not the same as false, nor is disputing unfounded conclusions the same as calling the conclusions untrue. This is one of the central fallacies that the alarmists have been perpetrating: that anyone who says, "hold on, it looks like you should investigate this a little more thoroughly" is a "denier" claiming that the hypotheses are false.

      Climate alarmists may yet find sufficient scientific evidence to justify drastic action. I claim only that the ringing of the alarm bells is premature and I even suggest a form of acceptable evidence which, if found, would sustain the yet unproven claims.

      Unfortunately science only works when scientists are at liberty to try as hard as they can to demonstrate counter-examples to your theory. The whole "denier" politics discourages folks from asking the questions scientists must ask in order to sustain or refute the hypotheses on the table. Your politics have gotten in the way of actually proving whether you're right.

      --
      Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
  2. Emotional Contradictions by JoeJohnson2175 · · Score: 1

    The inherit problem is that we second-guess our subconscious intuition with emotional overrides.

    1. Re:Emotional Contradictions by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      Emotion seems to be applied to the input first, as an immediate self preservation evaluation. Whether the information is a risk in some fashion and requires action.

      Is it a warning like "Duck!" or "The Dow is dropping like its hot"? Or a positive message like "Unzip your pants so I may pleasure you"?

      Reading means we skip the emotional cues in vocalizations, and have to go on the message alone. The tone of the words can have a similar effect, for I can sound angry or whimsical by choosing select words.

      After that, evaluation on how to deal with the information begins. Is it redundant, contradictory, or new? This may be the subconscious part, but it is still tinged with emotion.

      Contradictory information has to be rejected or assimilated, and strategies like cognitive dissonance are in play. Experience plays a role, so accepting or rejecting your early environment may decide if you accept or reject this information, not the truthiness of the information.

      The source is considered, as you may believe the president or talk show host more or less readily. This could be emotional or subconscious.

      If the information is unscathed, you are now ready for logical evaluation. The trick is turning off automatic evaluation, which is nearly impossible due to how information arrives.

      And thanks for not replying to say that you carefully consider new information logically because you are neither normal nor representative. Most people have the initial emotional response, and have to override it with logic, and fail to.

      Admitting you are wrong is a great evaluation of how this happens, or fails to. I work with a masterful reframer and deflector who is absolutely never wrong, and it is like watching an artist paint a beautiful, intricate scene using bullshit paint on a bullshit canvas. He doesn't believe it is bullshit, truly.

  3. Yep by Black+Parrot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Those damb religio-political dogmatists keep blocking publication of my papers on the theory of anturgic phrogneal boropathy.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  4. quelle surprise by fche · · Score: 5, Funny

    "for instance, by making clear that you can believe in human-induced climate change and still be a conservative Republican."

    Unsurprisingly, TFA/NYT chose that polarity as an exemplar instead of its opposite.

    1. Re:quelle surprise by Charliemopps · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, but climate change is scientific fact. The opposing view that you're referring to would be that Liberal republicans could believe in the fantasy that climate change does not exist... and while it's true there are such democrats out there, they are not relevant to this topic. I think that, if you wanted to include democrats in a similar light you'd have to ask them about nuclear power. They tend to completely disregard science when it comes to technologies they fear. Thought this is a generalization. Which is the funny thing about this story. They seem to be reporting "Generalizations about an entire group of people are not 100% accurate!" Well, duh...

    2. Re:quelle surprise by fche · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "what is the scientific doctrine that Democrats typically reject?"

      I wouldn't go so far as "typically ..." etc., but here are some candidates:

      - "more guns, less crime"
      - "skepticism in global warming science is warranted"
      - "collectivist economies fail"

    3. Re: quelle surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Vaccinations believe it or not. The I can't risk the horror of vacinations is rooted in several costal democratic areas.

    4. Re:quelle surprise by forsted · · Score: 1

      Sorry, no. The question was requesting a scientific doctrine, not a religious one.

    5. Re: quelle surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Also the "if it's a GMO it's bad" belief is another bit of left-leaning anti-science.

    6. Re:quelle surprise by Imrik · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Gravity isn't a scientific fact, exaggerating your position doesn't make it stronger.

    7. Re:quelle surprise by Skarjak · · Score: 1

      I hope you realize you are proving the article's point.

    8. Re:quelle surprise by Friggo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Nuclear power is an imperfect example as well, because the argument there isn't about the science - no one is disputing that nuclear reactions exist, and that electricity can be generated. The argument is more about whether humans can build and manage nuclear power plants with the near perfection that is required.

      Oh, ye of little faith. There are absolutely people who believe that nuclear reactions doesn't not work.
      http://www.big-lies.org/NUKE-L...
      There are nutters everywere.

    9. Re:quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      I don't think that those examples are anywhere near as apt as the global warming one. For one, these do not have such overwhelming scientific backing. Secondly, they are not as often quoted by the politicians.

      Finally, they are overly-specific claims. The "more guns, less crime" claim misleads the gun control aims in that they are attempting to reduce the gun-related murders. Nobody claims that scepticism is a bad thing, but denialism dressed up as scepticism is. And all economies can fail, but few politicians advocate such a simplistic economy.

    10. Re:quelle surprise by HanzoSpam · · Score: 1, Informative

      What is its opposite to which you refer? If you are looking for an example of people disbelieving science when it conflicts with their own religious or political views, what is the scientific doctrine that Democrats typically reject?

      Ask Scientific American.

      --

      Progressivism: Parasites helping parasites to help themselves - to other people's stuff.
    11. Re:quelle surprise by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      Science - Member of the species Homo sapiens sapiens.

      You could have at least tried to go with the embryo vs fetus argument (which I left open for you...) but that would have required that you actually knew some of the science.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    12. Re: quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      The GMO example is probably the best one so far. It is a claim that does go against most of the science, and I imagine is more likely to be a partisan argument. I doubt that even a large minority of Democrats would ever state this though, so in that respect it is not the perfect example.

      I still think that the Republican/GW example is the best one, easily beating the Democrat/GMO and Republican/evolution choices. The implication that there is some agenda in selecting it is unwarranted.

    13. Re:quelle surprise by Nemyst · · Score: 1

      Two of those aren't scientific doctrines, and there isn't an overwhelming agreement from their respective communities on which side is the correct one. Skepticism on global warming science is just some more bullshit that Republicans feed you, frankly. Armchair scientists are a plague, not healthy.

    14. Re:quelle surprise by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

      Gravity isn't a scientific fact, exaggerating your position doesn't make it stronger.

      Yes it is. The argument you're making is silly, and old.
      It's called href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance">Ad ignorantiam

      Using that argument I could disprove every "Fact" that's ever occurred. Are we all living in the matrix? Is this all the dream of a sleeping baby floating on a cloud? Yes, anything is possible, there are no "facts."

      But baring the dreams of floating sleeping babies, gravity is a FACT. Just like climate change. In science we deal with probobilities, and the probobility of climate change being real surpassed the threshold of being a "Fact" in the 1940s. Not in 2000, not in the 1980s, the nineteen forties. The difraction effects of CO2 in the atmosphere have been studied and well understood since the 1800's! The effects on planetary scale were studied on venus and confirmed. CO2 measurements were made and confirmed the rise of CO2 as well as warming in the 1940s. Studies showing their effect on the modern climate were proven in the 1970s.

      And, just in case you do believe in the sleeping baby theory, if the sleeping baby is using any sort of logic to imagine our fictitious universe, then climate change is still a problem and we still need to address it, baby or not.

    15. Re:quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

      That assumes that the politicians have stated that this problem can be solved with one action (in this case the signing of an agreement). It may be that they know that an international agreement must occur as a first step in a long process that requires the various countries keep a dialogue going.

    16. Re:quelle surprise by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      What you are doing there is presenting a hypothesis. A nice hypothesis, but you haven't looked into any data that might support (or discount) it.

      Let's do that, shall we? Here's a start for you. The hysteria runs deep.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    17. Re: quelle surprise by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Did these observations and conclusions that warming began in the 40s correct for the warming in the 30s? Remember, Dust Bowl and all?

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    18. Re:quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

      Well you are the one who made the original claim without any evidence, so surely you should judge your own post in the same way. Why not produce a link where someone says that signing an agreement is all that needs to be done to fix climate change. I am happy to be proven wrong.

    19. Re:quelle surprise by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I think that, if you wanted to include democrats in a similar light you'd have to ask them about nuclear power. They tend to completely disregard science when it comes to technologies they fear.

      I'm not a democrat, but as an anti-USA-nuclear liberal I also don't disregard science. Instead, I believe that the pro-nuclear lobby is blatantly ignoring human nature. Maybe it's just American nature, I don't know. I simply don't trust my country to safely operate, maintain, and deal with the waste from nuclear reactors. That doesn't mean I think nobody should do nuclear. It means I'm opposed to it here.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    20. Re:quelle surprise by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Not so much democrats per se, but environmental campaigners still tend to have something of an irrational distrust of nuclear. Largely based on arguments which were once true, but no longer apply to modern reactor designs.

    21. Re:quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

      Damn it, I forgot to add the line to my post that your linked article wasn't proof of your claim because it actually did go on to state what needed to be done to tackle the problem. It was not simply a case of "sign the agreement and that's it".

    22. Re:quelle surprise by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      So, one of the most common arguments among idiots is, "I don't need to provide evidence, you do." That kind of reasoning is why they are idiots.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    23. Re:quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      The problem is that it is almost impossible to prove that nobody thinks that signing an agreement is all that needs to be done, because to do so I would have to provide statements from every single one of those people.

      However, you can disprove me in an instant by showing a single statement where someone makes such a daft claim. The one link that you did provide did not show this, as it discussed the further actions that were required beyond just making an agreement. It really is a demonstration of my claim.

    24. Re:quelle surprise by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Finding non-scientific statements by politicians is trivial.
      As for you, I don't care to prove you wrong.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    25. Re:quelle surprise by schnell · · Score: 1

      what is the scientific doctrine that Democrats typically reject?

      I wouldn't call these doctrines, but liberals (by the US definition) tend to be mistrustful of big corporations and the military, and as a result tend to show selection bias in seeing threats from them even where it may not scientifically warranted. Examples might be the hysteria over banning GMOs and nuclear power, or advocacy for scientifically dubious ideas like homeopathy or most "new age" thinking. It's not science per se, but there are also various liberal ideas about things like welfare and education that continue to be championed despite significant research indicating that these programs are in fact harmful in the long run.

      Personally, I find the Democratic rejections of science less troubling than some of the typically Republican ones, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.

      --
      "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin
    26. Re:quelle surprise by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

      Finding non-scientific statements by politicians is trivial.

      Who said anything about scientific statements? This was about the Kyoto agreements and the like.

      As for you, I don't care to prove you wrong.

      Well, it would also be to prove you right. Remember, it was you who brought up the issue of looking "into any data that might support (or discount) it."

    27. Re:quelle surprise by AnontheDestroyer · · Score: 1

      So the debate should be over what we do about AGW, not whether it is happening. That's the point. Right now, in the US, we can do basically nothing about it because one whole party has chosen to bury their head in the sand from the word, "go."

    28. Re:quelle surprise by AnontheDestroyer · · Score: 1

      That humans are contributing to global warming is an established scientific fact. You're wailing away on what appears to be a non-sequitur here, not even a straw man.

    29. Re: quelle surprise by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      You're seriously going to cite the dust bowl to refute climate change? The most ass backwards thing I've read in months.
      You do not understand what climate change even IS, yet you're still arguing that it doesn't exist.

    30. Re: quelle surprise by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Not agenda, just exposed bias.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    31. Re:quelle surprise by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

      We are wading into philosophical waters. I practice something akin to pragmatism, or instrumentalism. The cool thing about this approach is that it is belief free. It's all about usefulness. Simply put, don't confuse the map for the territory. Models are as good as they are useful. They can help us do stuff, and they can lead us to greater insight, leading to more useful models. But it leaves room for mystery. I don't pretend to truly grok whatever it is that I experience - that we call gravity - just because I can predict a trajectory.

      Beliefs tend to close doors, seed dogmas, and lead to consensus thinking. Instrumentalism neutralizes beliefs, showing them for what they really are: opinions. This allows for greater flexibility and freedom of thought. I find the instrumentalist approach fun and exciting; it leaves the possibility wide open that we are only barely scratching the surface of reality.

      Instrumentalism is even applicable in mysticism. If I were to use a certain meditation technique, and I found I could get consistent, positive, and beneficial results, great! But to use those positive experiences as the basis for a belief that Jesus or Buddha was radiating me with golden light... that would be a mistake. Human beings have been engaging in mystical and religious practices for thousands of years. The instrumentalist approach offers a way to intelligently engage and experiment with these practices without getting sucked in or consumed by a quagmire of beliefs. I'm an optimist. I see instrumentalism as an approach that could have a unifying effect; I think it could help bridge the gap between science and religion. At the very least I think it could lead to educated people treating religious people with a little more respect, even the ones who are hopelessly stuck in a repugnant belief system.

    32. Re:quelle surprise by IIJamesII · · Score: 2

      The other big problem is political. There is no need to rely on inherently dangerous designs. What we need is more innovation. We need funding for lots of smaller projects rather than one or two mammoth projects. There is no reason why we can't build a nuclear reactor that is safe and cheap sometime in the next 5 - 10 years if we put our minds to it. I am a climate skeptic, but I also recognize that fossil fuels are dirty, finite and expensive. Nuclear is the only way forward, and skeptics and alarmists should be able to get together on this issue and push hard. It benefits everybody.

    33. Re:quelle surprise by Kohath · · Score: 1

      So the debate should be over what we do about AGW, not whether it is happening.

      It's not whether it's happening, it's whether it's beneficial, neutral, a small problem, or a large problem. If it's not a large problem, why should we do anything?

      Right now, in the US, we can do basically nothing about it because one whole party has chosen to bury their head in the sand from the word, "go."

      And even if they had not, we still couldn't do anything very significant because we're only one country out of more than 200, with less than 5% of the world's population. And the US per capita carbon emissions have been dropping while per capita carbon emissions in India and China, countries which together have about 8x our population, have been rising fast.

      We could definitely have a real discussion if it weren't always "We hate oil companies. We're all going to die!!!" vs. "It's 100% phony.". But that still wouldn't lead to any significant action, because all significant actions are extremely severe, and any action that is even remotely affordable is insignificant.

    34. Re:quelle surprise by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

      Heck, the government should take a big chunk of the 80 billion they spend promoting global warming and spend it on researching solutions (to a lot of problems). Meanwhile nuclear projects can't get the funding they need. The MIT fusion program was almost shut down. Focus Fusion is resorting to crowd funding to get the equipment they need. Wtf? It makes no sense.

    35. Re:quelle surprise by lenski · · Score: 1

      I'm with others upthread whose expectation is not that "nuclear is impossible to do properly", but rather "Nuclear is impossible to responsibly here". Executives with authority over large projects have an essentially perfect record of focusing on finances and schedule to the exclusion of all other factors, most notably the safety of the many people who are likely affected by the executives' decisions long after the executives have deployed their golden parachutes.

      It's also worth noting that the executives involved have an essentially perfect record of focusing (there's that word again) on the difficulty of proving that increased frequency of negative health effects are due to the facilities that they manage.

      So in the context of applying "scientific principles" to policy debates whether the debate is over nuclear safety or AGW, it's my opinion that people with well-financed megaphones argue that "science cannot prove anything" while simultaneously arguing that "scientific proof is required" before taking any action. Works for them, not so much for everyone else.

      Some specific examples

      • Dangers of smoking
      • Nicotine addiction
      • Effects of polychlorinated bisphenols
      • Groundwater pollution due to nuclear technology

      Finally, I'm old enough to remember that the only way to get industrialists off their lazy asses in the 60's and 70's was by "government action". "Self-regulation" wasn't worth a good GodDamn.

    36. Re:quelle surprise by tomhath · · Score: 1
      Actually the NYT opinion piece (not a news article) points out that the majority of Republicans are open to the idea of global warming:

      For instance, 46 percent of Republicans said there is not solid evidence of global warming

      I doubt that 54% of Republicans support the Democrats' knee jerk response to change the situation though. There's far more to cutting our dependence on fossil fuel than subsidizing impractical alternatives.

    37. Re: quelle surprise by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Is it unreasonable that claims of warming beginning in the 30s might use data from before, at least the 30s? Certainly from the early 1800s, if not before?

      Seriously, is it that hard to discuss this?

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    38. Re: quelle surprise by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      I'm not arguing that global warming doesn't exist, nor of it is man made our not. Just asking if the premise that it began in t 30s took into account the dramatic warming of the 30s.

      This is what makes this an impossible debate? If you are not lockstep with the AGW faithful, they demonize you as Luddite, ignorant, anti-science, evil.

      Take that and stuff it. Reason with me or stop pretending you have science.

      My disagreement with you is, in this thread, still hypothetical. At least let me make the statement, please, before you decide if I'm for or against something, k?

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    39. Re: quelle surprise by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Apologies for the typos.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    40. Re:quelle surprise by radtea · · Score: 1

      Yes, but climate change is scientific fact.

      Insofar as that statement isn't gibberish (that is: not very far) it's anti-science.

      Here's a question for you: is it a "scientific fact" that the impact of an extraterrestrial body occurred at the KT boundary and cause the mass extinction associated with that world-wide discontinuity in the geological record?

      A fair majority of scientists concerned with the question certainly think so. But there are some notable hold-outs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...

      People whose area of expertise is directly relevant to the question at hand, who bring up cogent if not compelling counter-arguments, alternative interpretations of the evidence, facts that appear to be in contradiction to the impact theory, and so on.

      Yet they don't have a crowd of anti-scientific loud-mouths calling them "Denialists" or accusing them of being shills for "Big Paleontology."

      They sometimes get into heated discussions at scientific meetings, but that's the way science works: there is no limit on the questions we can ask and if we have evidence and Bayesian argument we get a seat at the table, no matter how wigged out the ideas might seem ab initio.

      Only in the area of AGW has the arena become a completely political one, where anti-scientific loudmouths compete with shills for Big Hydrocarbon, and everyone ignores the serious question, which is: given its almost certain human activity is adding about 0.25% to the Earth's energy budget (1.6 W/m**2) and we have almost no idea how the climate will respond to that (despite what climatologists sometimes claim about their unphysical models) how do we best respond?

      There is a loud and well-funded contingent who believe in "abstinence only" solutions, despite those having failed in every other case they have been applied to (drugs, alcohol, contraception...)

      There are green-energy people promoting solar, wind, algal biodeisel, biomass, and other carbon-neutral forms of energy generation and storage.

      There are people working on better battery tech (Heinlein's "shipstones").

      There are people saying we should seriously consider nuclear power as the only currently known working alternative to base-load coal.

      There are people saying we should investigate geo-engineering to stablize CO2 levels.

      And there are people saying that since we don't know what is going to happen we should do nothing (see: Shills for Big Hydrocarbon, above)

      All of that important stuff in the middle gets drowned out by the anti-scientific loud-mouths and bullies allied with the first and last of those groups, who do nothing but spew gibberish like "climate change is a scientific fact" as if that added something to the debate rather than helped to quell the debate we should be having.

      "Scientific literacy" is not or should not be knowledge of discoveries, but a willingness to practice the discipline (not method) that is science: the discipline of testing ideas by systematic observation, controlled experiment and Bayesian inference. If you aren't practicing that discipline, you are almost certainly an enemy of science, because that is the natural state of the human mind.

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
    41. Re:quelle surprise by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Well, it would also be to prove you right. Remember, it was you who brought up the issue of looking "into any data that might support (or discount) it."

      And I'm the only one who even brought data to this discussion.

      Talking with you is pointless because you haven't gotten over the issue of "finding out who is right rather than what is right." Fix that problem and we might have a good conversation.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    42. Re: quelle surprise by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

      On the contrary, I have very good scientific reasons for being against GMO and it seems to me that the belief that GM is good is based upon blind faith.

      The reason for this blind faith is that some science is used to create GM and the belief that progress must be best and GM is progress and that progress is needed to feed the poor.

      The people with this blind faith do not seem to have a large knowledge of all the surrounding issues such as:

      Knowledge of crop rotation as a natural productive alternative that is better to soil and better to long term productivity levels.
      Extortion that has been done by GM corp's where GM has been planted and when the seed has traveled into neighbouring farms, the GM corp has then sued other farmers for having patented seed in there crop.

      Knowing that in the past GM crops where created in the past that turned out to be detrimental to peoples health. Selective breeding would be far far less likely to create crops that poison people slowly or are a carcinogenic risk.

      Knowing that the method of combining genes is (or was) a completely haphazard method whereby the gene from the plant to be altered is taken, the snippets of gene wanted were then randomly mashed in to that old gene. Unwanted abnormalities of unknown consequences were not tested for, they merely tested the resulting plant for the desired trait. This is a method that I strongly object to.

      The realisation that GM is typically of one genetic variety, this creates a danger of a whole genetic species being wiped out in one go once it becomes vulnerable to a new strain of virus or bacterial infection.

      The fact that farmers have worked out that the combination of non-organic fertiliser, GM seed and GM companies fertiliser etc can actually be more expensive than farming without those things.

      The knowledge that the GM + GM pesticide combinations only appear to have short lifetimes (the pests develop resistance then eat the crop) and the GM companies only care about their profits and not about any damage they do to the ecosystem with their pesticides.

      I think the biggest danger is in the lack of genetic diversity, with the risk that whole GM species could be wiped out without that natural genetic diversity, that's not fear-mongering, that's something that often happens. Natural genetic variation can be the key to quickly finding the resistant plants. GM seeds don't have anywhere near the same level of natural genetic variation - they are cloned from a single source.

      - Left leaning person who takes scientific theories seriously.

      So, what is your belief that GM is good based on?

      --
      Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
    43. Re: quelle surprise by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

      "It is a claim that does go against most of the science"

      What is the claim that goes against the science in relation to GMO exactly? (note I answered the parents post already.)

      I am aware of the majority of European people's resistance to GM food for example, but this is not the same as a singular 'claim'.

      --
      Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
    44. Re:quelle surprise by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
      Once again, nobody cares whether you believe it. You beliefs are irrelevant to the debate, and making statements of belief in response to statements of fact is indulging in fallacy.

      What matters is whether you can prove. The strength of your assertion (that climate change is caused by x where x != anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases) rests on your proof of the assertion.

    45. Re:quelle surprise by Kohath · · Score: 1

      What matters is whether you can prove.

      No one can prove temperatures will rise in the future. Nothing about the future can be proven until it happens and you measure it. Proof isn't the standard for discussions about predictions from computer models.

    46. Re:quelle surprise by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
      Feel free to offer whatever evidence you have for your theory (which put simply, states: anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases defy the laws of thermodynamics, whereas pre-industrial traces of those same gases do not). Publish this work for peer review.

      Nothing about the future can be proven until it happens and you measure it. Proof isn't the standard for discussions about predictions from computer models.

      And yet you lot constantly assure us that the temperature will not continue to rise because of the increased concentrations of CO2, and apparently this prediction is so obvious that you needn't offer any explanation or proof or evidence and any criticism of your methodology is met with cries of conspiracy and dishonesty.

      Have you the faintest notion of how weak your argument sounds? "Nobody can predict the future - except me of course"

    47. Re:quelle surprise by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Average temperatures will probably rise a very small amount. CO2 causes a small increase. The computer models presume this small amount will be multiplied several times over by strong positive feedback. But the feedback amount and direction has yet to be empirically proven.

      The relative stability of the climate, despite numerous past disruptions, argues against strong positive feedback. If there were strong positive feedback, past disruptions would have caused the climate to get apocalyptically hot, like the alarmists claim the current disruption will do. Warm-climate-doomsday didn't happen then, why will it happen now?

    48. Re:quelle surprise by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

      Average temperatures will probably rise a very small amount. CO2 causes a small increase.

      That's speculation, not evidence. I said evidence.

      The computer models presume this small amount will be multiplied several times over by strong positive feedback. But the feedback amount and direction has yet to be empirically proven.

      So in fact, the feedback could be greater than the models predict, since (you baselessly allege) the model predictions are uncertain.

      Thanks for validating the need for urgent action.

      The relative stability of the climate, despite numerous past disruptions, argues against strong positive feedback.

      Relatively stability compared to what? Other versions of the earth?

      If there were strong positive feedback, past disruptions would have caused the climate to get apocalyptically hot

      No it wouldn't. You have no idea what you are talking about. DNRF.

    49. Re:quelle surprise by Kohath · · Score: 1

      That's speculation, not evidence. I said evidence.

      There's no such thing as evidence regarding the future. When the future becomes the present, we can measure it. Until then, we can only predict. Absolutely everyone knows this.

      So in fact, the feedback could be greater than the models predict, since (you baselessly allege) the model predictions are uncertain.

      Thanks for validating the need for urgent action.

      If the models underestimate the feedback, then, short of a holocaust (which I presume you aren't openly advocating) there's no significant action anyone could take. We could do insignificant things for the sake of "doing something", but the benefits would be tiny, even if the costs were huge.

      If the models are right, for example, Germany's pioneering $110 Billion energy program will delay the expected temperature increase in the year 2100 by 37 hours.

      The relative stability of the climate, despite numerous past disruptions, argues against strong positive feedback.

      Relatively stability compared to what? Other versions of the earth?

      Compared to a climate that gets disrupted a little by some warming event or some additional carbon in the atmosphere, then the strong positive feedback makes it warmer and warmer and warmer until it's too hot to live. If this had happened, we wouldn't be here to talk about it. The Earth's climate is more stable, relatively, than this.

      If the feedback were mildly negative instead of strongly positive, the climate would tend toward temperatures within a range -- like the climate we have here on Earth. Disruptions would raise or lower the temperature sometimes, but temperatures would stabilize.

      If there were strong positive feedback, past disruptions would have caused the climate to get apocalyptically hot

      No it wouldn't.

      Where's your evidence?

    50. Re:quelle surprise by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      So you are opposed to a carbon free source that has killed no one in this whole country after 70 years but has elsewhere?

      It only hasn't killed anyone in this country due to luck. We have the same shitty reactors as Fukushima, sitting on fault lines and so on, with spent fuel sitting around in pools dependent on backup power which is on-site. Only the Tsunami risk is absent, but a big enough 'quake will do the job and is feasible at a number of sites.

      But you are for it there but not here?

      I am for it in places which seem to be able to manage it, and not in places which are just piling up their waste and finding more and more excuses for not dealing with it.

      Wait until you hear the number of people killed in plane crashes HERE!

      I only care about the number of people killed by plane crashes, less the number of people killed in plane crashes. You can choose whether or not to get on a plane.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    51. Re:quelle surprise by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

      There's no such thing as evidence regarding the future.

      So, in fact, you have no idea what the impacts of dumping billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere might be? (Ahem) Quelle surprise.

      Then of course, as a consequence your baseless and un-evidenced assertions that 150 years of climate science must be wrong because because o! please I pinky swear! sounds about as believable as a guy who claims that there are no owls, that owls are a conspiracy theory established by biologists in days of yore to milk money from the citizenry. I see no reason for me to believe it. Can you provide a single, reason for me to believe this fairytale?

      So in fact, the feedback could be greater than the models predict, since (you baselessly allege) the model predictions are uncertain. Thanks for validating the need for urgent action.

      If the models underestimate the feedback, then, short of a holocaust (which I presume you aren't openly advocating) there's no significant action anyone could take. We could do insignificant things for the sake of "doing something", but the benefits would be tiny, even if the costs were huge.

      Well, it's your theory. Feel free to curl up and die at the hopelessness of it if you so desire. None of which will impact what the rest of us plan to do, of course.

      If the models are right, for example, Germany's pioneering $110 Billion energy program will delay the expected temperature increase in the year 2100 by 37 hours [weeklystandard.com].

      I don't read conspiracy blogs penned by lunatics.

      The relative stability of the climate, despite numerous past disruptions, argues against strong positive feedback.

      Relatively stability compared to what? Other versions of the earth?

      Compared to a climate that gets disrupted a little by some warming event or some additional carbon in the atmosphere, then the strong positive feedback makes it warmer and warmer and warmer until it's too hot to live. If this had happened, we wouldn't be here to talk about it. The Earth's climate is more stable, relatively, than this.

      warmer and warmer and warmer until it's too hot to live?

      So, based on the current models of feedback, what precise percentage atmospheric CO2 concentration is required to trigger this "runaway" feedback? What are the feedbacks in question?

      It's not my job to educate you on these things, but obviously feedback mechanisms are generally limited: ice reflects sunlight, so melting the ice creates a positive feedback, but there is no more ice to melt the feedback ceases. Melting permafrost triggers the clathrate gun, punching methane into the system - but once all the methane trapped in the permafrost has escapes into the atmosphere, feedback from the escaping methane ceases.

      I say 'generally' because of course, you would not have entered into this conversation without a detailed knowledge of what feedback mechanisms can trigger runaway warming, having modelled these yourself in detail.

      So what are these 'runaway' mechanisms?

      If there were strong positive feedback, past disruptions would have caused the climate to get apocalyptically hot

      No it wouldn't.

      Where's your evidence?

      Science says so. You don't get to question it, unless you come armed with BETTER science.

    52. Re:quelle surprise by jwhitener · · Score: 1

      Nuclear power, and also quite of few Anti-Vaccine folks unfortunately.

    53. Re:quelle surprise by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      The Law of Gravity is the fact that it exists. The Theory of Gravity isn't a fact, but is the best description we have for how to model it.

      Climate change is a "fact" in that we know that there has *always* been climate change, so it would take something extraordinary to prevent climate change. That something extraordinary hasn't happened. Which direction, how fast, and causes are separate questions.

    54. Re: quelle surprise by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, like the vegetables designed to generate their own insecticides, effectively turning the vegetables into poison. Even the "light" versions are generally so that more poisons can be used on them than "normal". Both are scientifically demonstrably to be "bad" for the consumer. The "good" GMO was mostly done with selective breeding. Maybe a few colors or shapes are "good" GMO, but mostly it's about getting the maximum chemicals in/on the food, and that's why GMO is globally hated. That and a fear of terminator genes.

  5. Religion poisons eveyrthing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Is something Christopher Hitchens would say

  6. Belief in Dupes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://science.slashdot.org/story/14/05/28/0332258/belief-in-evolution-doesnt-measure-science-literacy?sdsrc=popbyskid

    It's not like it was a buried Slashdot post. It had >500 comments to it and has appeared for over a month in the "Stories you Might Like". How about reading Slashdot once in a while, Slashdot editors?

  7. And the tooth fairy gives $50 bills by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    > by making clear that you can believe in human-induced climate change and still believe that Sadam Hussein had anything to do with 9/11.

    Sorry, but as soon as you start doing evidence or science based political reasoning, most of the Republican platform stops making sense.

  8. Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 2

    for instance, by making clear that you can believe in human-induced climate change and still be a conservative Republican

    How about making it clear that people have a wide variety of views on things like GWT, and its not simply true believers vs deniers. How about making it clear that not all Democrats believe in gun control.

    1. Re:Generalization Fail by itzly · · Score: 1

      The problem is that only laymen have a wide variety of views, while scientist are mostly share the same view.

    2. Re:Generalization Fail by pepty · · Score: 3, Insightful
      All of the Democrats in the house believe in gun control. But then again, so do all of the Republicans:

      http://www.politicususa.com/2013/12/03/gop-house-decides-2nd-amendment-limits-approves-gun-control-measure-voice-vote.html

      The republicans are much better at drawing people together based on commonalities in what they hate and fear than the Democrats. That has worked best by pushing simple yes/no good/bad simplified versions of issues - like gun control - and burying the complications.

    3. Re:Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      Do you think scientists are all exactly in line on the rate of GW, the extent to which it is exacerbated by human activities, which of those activities are most impacting, to what extent we can improve the situation, and the expected impacts in the future?

    4. Re:Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The republicans are much better at drawing people together based on commonalities in what they hate and fear than the Democrats. That has worked best by pushing simple yes/no good/bad simplified versions of issues - like gun control - and burying the complications.

      Better? How about the "war on women" for example? Nobody has a monopoly on expertise in using those tactics.

    5. Re:Generalization Fail by AnontheDestroyer · · Score: 2

      What is GWT? Google Web Toolkit?

      97% of scientists agree that humans are causing global warming. You're apparently asking for both sides of the debate to be given equal time, 50/50, when the consensus is nowhere near 50/50.

    6. Re:Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1
      GWT = Global Warming Theory.

      You're apparently asking for both sides of the debate to be given equal time

      I see you are good at making assumptions about what other people mean with no solid basis. If you think there are only two takes on GWT, or that it must be a 100% agree and 100% disagree scenario, then you can just add yourself to the list of unproductive people to discuss it with.

    7. Re:Generalization Fail by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

      97% of scientists do not agree that humans are causing dangerous levels of global warming. That is a myth that needs to be busted.

    8. Re:Generalization Fail by NotSanguine · · Score: 2

      Do you think scientists are all exactly in line on the rate of GW, the extent to which it is exacerbated by human activities, which of those activities are most impacting, to what extent we can improve the situation, and the expected impacts in the future?

      No. But that's not the claim that's being made. The claim is that 97% of climate scientists agree (based on their research and the data underpinning that research) that AGW (climate change due to human impact) exists. Questions about severity, impact and potential mitigation/solutions are not included in that claim. Understand now?

      --
      No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    9. Re:Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      No, that was not the claim. The claim was simply that "scientists mostly share the same view". And when discussed in context with the article of this thread, the point is that the black and white departmentalization doesn't makes sense. In your case, you are departmentalizing the 97% as all being completely in line with each other. In reality, there is a scale, and within that 97% there are varying degrees of certainty on any of the key aspects as well as interpretation of the data. And, as with most things, the truth is somewhere in between the extremes.

    10. Re:Generalization Fail by blindseer · · Score: 1

      Wow, these people think that by making it illegal to have weapons that cannot be detected by x-ray or metal detectors that they solved the problem. Just because something is illegal does not mean that something cannot be done.

      What problem are they trying to solve with this? Murder is still illegal but people still do it. How does making it illegal to have an "undetectable" gun supposed to stop murder? I'm assuming that is the problem they are trying to solve.

      Here's an idea. How about those people in Congress stop telling us what weapons we can own so that we can defend ourselves against the murderers? It's in the US Constitution after all.

      I veered off topic here. The issue is that Republicans and Democrats both want to disarm us. That is why I propose we vote both parties out of existence. Any politician that joins a political party should never be voted into office again. Political parties are a large part of why we are in the mess we are in, IMHO.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    11. Re:Generalization Fail by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

      No, that was not the claim. The claim was simply that "scientists mostly share the same view". And when discussed in context with the article of this thread, the point is that the black and white departmentalization doesn't makes sense. In your case, you are departmentalizing the 97% as all being completely in line with each other. In reality, there is a scale, and within that 97% there are varying degrees of certainty on any of the key aspects as well as interpretation of the data. And, as with most things, the truth is somewhere in between the extremes.

      Perhaps you should read my comment again. The claim is (and not my claim, either) that the conclusions (and data) of that 97% actually agree that AGW exists. Agreement about how much impact, potential (if any) action to be taken and the validity of any particular climate model or models is much more fragmentary and is, as it should be, contested, discussed and, most importantly, research along these lines continues.

      I never asserted that those 97% are "completely in line with each other." I merely noted that the oft-cited study which makes such a 97% claim, only claims that 97% of climate scientists agree that AGW *exists*. I make no claims or assertions at all. I was attempting (and in your case, apparently failing) to clarify that single point.

      My apologies if my grasp of English was inadequate to that task.

      --
      No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    12. Re:Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      Since my post that you first responded to was a reply to a different member's post and not yours, I can see why you were confused.

    13. Re:Generalization Fail by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

      Since my post that you first responded to was a reply to a different member's post and not yours, I can see why you were confused.

      I'm not at all confused.

      --
      No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
    14. Re:Generalization Fail by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      I was responding to: http://slashdot.org/~itzly

      There is no claim of "97% ..." in this post, which simply says "The problem is that only laymen have a wide variety of views, while scientist are mostly share the same view.". So, if you find your "97%" claim in there somewhere, feel free to show me.

  9. What if? by war4peace · · Score: 1

    I'm relatively literate from a scientific perspective, I hate all politicians equally and I have no religious beliefs.
    Where does that put me?

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    1. Re:What if? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      That puts you on NSA watchlist.

    2. Re:What if? by war4peace · · Score: 1

      I'm nothing resembling -ist. I simply live outside any religious belief. I could say that at the same time accept all of them and don't particularly care about any, apart from a knowledge perspective. I like knowing about them (think "20 questions") but that's it.

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    3. Re:What if? by calstraycat · · Score: 5, Informative

      Doomsought wrote: "Are you Atheist? If so, you still have a religious belief."

      This a a tired and specious argument. Not believing in something for which there is no evidence is not a religion.

      But, let's put your hypothesis to a test. Do you believe in Santa Claus? No? Ok, you are an asanta-clausist and practice the religion of asanta-clausism. Do you believe in leprechauns? No? OK, you are an aleprechaunsist practicing the religion of aleprechaunsism. Do you believe the souls of the dead hang around and haunt houses? No? You're nothing but a aghostist worshiping at the alter of aghostism. Get it? Atheists simply don't believe in god the same way you don't believe in Santa Claus. That doesn't make it a religion.

      Oh and you obviously don't understand science either. The scientific method does not rely on on the "assumption of fallibility". Where the hell did you get that from? Maybe you mean falsifiability? Falsifiability is a very different concept and is key to the scientific method. Humans are fallible. Scientists know this which why experiments must be repeatable and statistical analysis of data is required. But the scientific method doesn't "rely" on the "assumption of fallibility" in any way.

    4. Re:What if? by Deadstick · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, but thanks to Richard Dawkins, atheism now has people going door to door trying to convert people. .

      Where? All I get is Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and Baptists.

    5. Re:What if? by war4peace · · Score: 1

      Depends on country, my friend.
      Not everybody lives where you live :)

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    6. Re:What if? by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that would be a hilarious conversation. Ding-dong! "Hello, have you accepted rationality and the lack of superstition as your lord and savior?"

    7. Re:What if? by cbeaudry · · Score: 1

      People do not give a shit what label you put on it.
      They don't give a flying crap what dictionary definition is attached to the word "ATHEIST".

      They equate it the same way CALSTRAYCAT described it.

      Do you believe in Santa Clause: NO
      Do you believe in GOD : NO
      = Same SHIT

      So, no one cares what you or anyone else says the OFFICIAL definition of Atheist or Agnostic is, that's semantics they don't GIVASHIT about.

      THEY DO NOT BELIEVE THERE IS A GOD AND THEY DO NOT HAVE TO PROVE IT.

      Get that through your thick skull.

  10. Yet it was working before the merchants came in by dbIII · · Score: 4, Informative

    Climate science recognised El Nino/La Nina before the current bunch of "fundamentalists" got popular by blaming the 1906 San Francisco earthquake on Gods will instead of geology. The latest batch of science denialism is just the latest recruiting drive for that bunch of merchants in the temple - all you have to do is deny reality and fill the collection box with cash and a dumbed down cardboard God of an unchanging world will make it all better.

    1. Re:Yet it was working before the merchants came in by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      ...the current bunch of "fundamentalists" got popular by blaming the 1906 San Francisco earthquake on Gods will instead of geology

      Citation needed. Personally, this is the first time I hear of this.

    2. Re:Yet it was working before the merchants came in by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Look up Azusa Street Revival - the weird science denial end of Pentacostalism we see today grew rapidly on the premise that God was doing a Sodom and Gommorah on San Francisco. It's mentioned in a lot of places including a couple of pages near the end of Simon Winchesters book on the 1906 earthquake "The Crack at the Edge of the World."
      For added irony Islam had a similar movement come out of a reaction to Krakatoa and these paticular "Christian" fundamentalists resemble that far more than they do other branches of Christianity.

  11. They never really "collide" by nurb432 · · Score: 1

    The facts are just ignored by the ignorant. Facts should eradicate any beliefs at time of presenting them.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    1. Re:They never really "collide" by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      I don't believe you.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
  12. Who is this "we?" by overshoot · · Score: 1

    we need to try to break the association between identity and factual beliefs on high-profile issues

    I suspect that there are more than a few groups and people with influence who disagree. And from the evidence, they're likely to continue to get their way.

    --
    Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
  13. Re:Factual beliefs? by pepty · · Score: 1

    religious zealots are the ones who see most clearly that science functions as a religion in modern society

    In the sense that science and religion both underpin the way people see and interact with the universe, other people, and many of their attempts to control both. Sort of how apples function as oranges if what you are doing is holding a piece of fruit or chucking it at someone's head. Eating them are somewhat different experiences though.

  14. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'll believe in CAGW when the scientists quit fudging the numbers and it still shows it...

    They aren't "fudging" numbers. This is climate data, it's HARD to deal with. You're talking about millions, even billions of measurements over periods of centuries. There are more moving parts to this data than you can possible conceive of. And companies that make profits off of fossil fuels have armies of people scouring their data for the tiniest errors. Surprise surprise they find some on occasion.

    when they can explain historical data that contradicts the theory...

    It doesn't. It's dead on.

    and when they can explain why the warming has stopped for the last couple of decades.

    It hasn't, at all.
    You are confusing local and short term temperature variations with a global, long term problem. People working for... well... whomever doesn't want you to believe in climate change, pick and chose data from a specific time, or location, or both... and show a cooling period in that specific area or at a specific time and then claim "Global warming is reverse! It's all lies" but this isn't about that specific area or time. This is about then GLOBAL AVERAGE temperature of the entire planet. That is, without a doubt, increasing. It's very slow, but it's like compound interest. It just keeps growing and growing, melting ice, heating bogs, and compounding the issue further. Temperatures in North Dakota falling for the past 10yrs is not relevant. The climate is a very, very, complicated machine.

    As it is, he fudging is so blatant that "climate science" is nothing of the sort...it's a Trojan horse for the same lod tired leftist government takeoff of economies. That trick never works.

    Plenty of scientists are republicans or even further right. Yet, less than 10 (that's ten0 out of hundreds of thousands, disagree with the simple finding that humans are altering the average global temperature of the planet. A global conspiracy to make your gas more expensive could never have that kind of influence. This is a consensus of unquestionable proportions. Either all the wind turbine makers and solar panel manufacturers have a hell of a lot more money than we thought and are using it to bribe the scientific community on a scale unprecedented in human history, or we really do have a problem.

    I think that if there's one thing everyone could agree on, dumping crap into our atmosphere is a bad thing. We can fix it, and become a world leader in cheap power or we can sit back and hope all our scientists are lying to us. I, personally, am going with the former. And no, I'm not a democrat or a leftist.

  15. Ideological Footprint by jmd · · Score: 1

    Something like this might go a long way in providing an alternative to the usual suspects:

    http://ideologicalfootprint.org/

  16. There's belief, there's facts and there's politics by mark_reh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    " for instance, by making clear that you can believe in human-induced climate change and still be a conservative Republican."

    But you can't. The Republicans won't have you.

    Ignorance is a choice, just like belief. The real problem is to get people to reject ignorance. The difficulty in that is that ignorance, like belief, is easy. Rejecting ignorance requires effort. That is why there are so many people who choose ignorance and belief over reason and fact.

    For many, being identified as a member of a specific group, even if that group wants you to believe stupid things, is more important than objective reality. They must get something from that group membership that outweighs what they would get from reality. Reality CAN be a bitch.
     

  17. Scientific Literacy is not Enough... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    One of the main issues is that we teach kids what to think, but we don't teach them how to think. You can shove facts at them all you want, but if they don't have the ability to critically analyze something then what's the use. A critical thinking course in philosophy should be mandatory for high school students.

  18. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

    I'll believe in CAGW when the scientists quit fudging the numbers and it still shows it

    Are you seriously saying that every single scientific study that matches the Global Warming theory has had their numbers fudged? How do you know? If you are given any random article from a journal, can you point to the data that has been altered to fit the theory?

    If not, the perhaps the alleged fudging isn't as blatant - or as widespread - as you suggest. It could be that it is only obvious that the data is bunk if you come at it from the assumption that all the global warming theories are false; in which case you are obviously a perfect match for what this story is all about.

  19. As usual wrong conclusions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Well first off I'm rather disturbed that more people believe that humans have existed in current form since the beginning of time (33%) than are skeptical of global warming (26%). Before blaming that on the religious right, I think the more likely group is the people who listen to top 40 radio.

    But overall this article mixes so many things that make little sense. For example, it uses the belief in WMDs prior to the invasion of Iraq, something that has nothing to do with scientific knowledge. Many of the other things (evolution, global warming, etc) really require a very high level (post graduate) to really understand. I have some high school and college life science knowledge, but I was not a biochemistry major. Based on my limited knowledge, the internal workings of the eukaryote cell is darn close to freaking magic. I found it much less amazing and magical when I had less knowledge. I'm not a religious guy, but I could certainly see how a little knowledge would INCREASE my belief in intelligent design.

  20. Re:It's Okay by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You must be an American if you equate liberal with socialist. In Europe, they tend to be the very opposite of each other.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  21. How dare they question my facts! by eatvegetables · · Score: 2

    Increased scientific literacy increases sceptism toward those who claim to be the standard bearers of truth. "The more I learn the more I learn how little I know." Some old smart dude said something like this once.

  22. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by fche · · Score: 2

    "Yet, less than 10 (that's ten out of hundreds of thousands, disagree with the simple finding that humans are altering the average global temperature of the planet"

    I'm sorry, until reading this point, I thought you were being serious.

  23. Are you sure these are scientific doctrine? by UpnAtom · · Score: 3, Funny

    Really?

  24. Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

    Science says fetuses don't have the brain capacity or structure to be even vaguely human until 20 weeks or so. Whether this is true or not is another matter.

    1. Re:Other way around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Oddly abortion is the current exemplification of Darwinism.

    2. Re:Other way around by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      Science says fetuses don't have the brain capacity or structure to be even vaguely human until 20 weeks or so.

      Sorry, science does not define "human" as having a particular "brain capacity or structure"

      Human is a species, specifically Homo sapiens sapiens.

      Under your belief system, apparently severely mentally disabled people arent human? What about really really intelligent people? Are they not human too?

      This is what the left does. They de-humanize that which they want to restrict, steal, or deny rights to.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    3. Re:Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

      We're not talking about my belief system, we're talking about "scientific doctrine", or as I interpret it, scientific populism.

      Also, severely mentally handicapped are perhaps 2 orders of magnitude ahead of 19 week old fetuses in terms of recognisable intelligence.

      For what it's worth, I'm a centrist in my country (UK).

    4. Re:Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 2

      True enough, pace Levitt & Dubner.

      It would be a brave anthropologist who tried to figure out what traits were more likely to survive the 'threat' of abortion.

    5. Re:Other way around by Rockoon · · Score: 1

      We're not talking about my belief system, we're talking about "scientific doctrine", or as I interpret it, scientific populism.

      Then why are you going on about "brain capacity or structure" when we are discussing what is and is not human?

      Clearly you want it to be about your belief system rather than what is and is not a human scientifically. You would be very hard pressed to find a biologist tell you that a human beings fetus is not human. Results would be different when talking about an embryo, but I suspect that just the mere distinction between fetus and embryo has already injected too much science into the discussion for you to adequately deal with without you putting in some research.

      If you do need to do some research at this point, then you were never equipped to enter this discussion. That whole embyro to fetus to baby process is the science of it, while "brain capacity or structure" is pseudo-science used by philosophers rather than scientists.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    6. Re: Other way around by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      Can we extend that observation to justify the euthanasia of babies, children, out adults with intellects below a certain threshold? Or does birth convey more rights?

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    7. Re:Other way around by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      I've a tortoise in a box downstairs that's ahead of a 20 week old fetus. The tortoise can navigate, seek food, consume food and... well, that's actually it. It's a tortoise. They don't do very much, but a lot more than a fetus.

    8. Re:Other way around by Rockoon · · Score: 2

      Yes, it cant be that the science disagrees with your philosophy.

      You can't have the debate on honest grounds where we debate if a human fetus has rights -- instead you just want to define, completely unscientifically, that a human fetus isnt human.

      Is it that you are afraid that you don't have much of an argument if we just talk about if a particular set of humans should have rights?

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    9. Re:Other way around by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      You seem pretty anti-abortionist. The article is telling me not to bother talking rationally with you.

      Besides Rockoon's response to this, you make a serious mistake is assuming people who agree with Rockoon's scientific basis are automatically anti-abortion.

      I have stated in past comments that I agree that the unborn humans are indeed of the species Homo sapiens, yet I still am not opposed to abortion.

      In simpler terms, a fetus or embryo is human, but I'm not preventing someone from killing it for whatever reason they wish to.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    10. Re:Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

      you make a serious mistake is assuming people who agree with Rockoon's scientific basis are automatically anti-abortion.

      Nope, I said nothing about anyone but Rockoon. Indeed, your other mistaken assumption is the same one he made: that by "human" I meant belonging to the species homo sapiens. I was actually talking more about the common understanding of human as 'being a person'.

      BTW, a human corpse is another example of the species homo sapiens.

    11. Re:Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

      There are probably a whole family of mites in my eyebrows that are ahead of even a one month old baby, never mind a 19 week fetus.

      There is no scientific argument against abortion @19 weeks. Such arguments are faith-based -- that there is a soul and that abortion is the deprivation of life of that soul.

      I have respect for that argument. I don't have respect for pseudoscientific arguments that a 19 week old fetus should have the same rights as a child.

    12. Re: Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

      Pace SuricouRaven's post, they'd have to be less intellectual than a tortoise.

    13. Re:Other way around by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      The pro-life movement is full of bad science, mostly owing to a very strong confirmation bias. Chief of them is a widespread belief that abortion causes breast cancer (A link denied by just about ever mainstream medical association that has anything to do with cancer), followed by a long list of the dangers of abortion. A good part of that is due to reporting bias - every time a woman has any type of serious complication following abortion, it gets plastered all over the pro-life campaigning organisations media sites* - all the better if there is a hint of malpractice involved. In much the same way that media saturation of every child abduction convinces parents that every strange man is a pedophile, this creates the impression that abortion is an incredibly dangerous procedure - when the truth is that, statistically, the mortality rate for abortion (even the late term) is a fraction of that for completed pregnancy and birth.

      *Example: http://www.onenewsnow.com/pro-...

    14. Re:Other way around by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      [you to Rockoon] You seem pretty anti-abortionist.

      [me to you] you make a serious mistake is assuming people who agree with Rockoon's scientific basis are automatically anti-abortion.

      Nope, I said nothing about anyone but Rockoon.

      I just reviewed Rockoon's posts, and find no indication if he is for or against abortion. For you to make the claim that someone who states that science dictates that a human embryo is a human being, of the species H. sapiens, is "pretty anti-abortionist", it naturally follows that you think everyone who states that scientific fact is against abortion. If you don't have that view, how do you justify your decision in Rockoon's case, when he never even specifically mentions the issue?

      Indeed, your other mistaken assumption is the same one he made: that by "human" I meant belonging to the species homo sapiens. I was actually talking more about the common understanding of human as 'being a person'.

      Then you are either a perfect example of the claim in the article, and reject science because of personal beliefs, or you never contributed a thing to the discussion because you aren't replying to Rockoon's original post. My interpretation of the exchange between you and him would argue for the first choice there.

      BTW, a human corpse is another example of the species homo sapiens.

      Yes, just as a dead butterfly pinned in a collection is an example of its species. I was going to say that this does not change the discussion above in any way. But actually, it diminishes your argument, because a dead person has no brain activity at all, and your argument is based on brain ability.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    15. Re:Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

      If you don't have that view, how do you justify your decision in Rockoon's case, when he never even specifically mentions the issue?

      In his first comment Rockoon said: "This is what the left does. They de-humanize that which they want to restrict, steal, or deny rights to."

      Note the last option can only really refer to fetuses and embryos.

      Indeed, your other mistaken assumption is the same one he made: that by "human" I meant belonging to the species homo sapiens. I was actually talking more about the common understanding of human as 'being a person'.

      Then you are either a perfect example of the claim in the article, and reject science because of personal beliefs, or you never contributed a thing to the discussion because you aren't replying to Rockoon's original post. My interpretation of the exchange between you and him would argue for the first choice there.

      I wasn't aware Rockoon was making a species argument and if so, it was completely irrelevant to the abortion sub-debate anyway.

      BTW, a human corpse is another example of the species homo sapiens.

      Yes, just as a dead butterfly pinned in a collection is an example of its species. I was going to say that this does not change the discussion above in any way. But actually, it diminishes your argument, because a dead person has no brain activity at all, and your argument is based on brain ability.

      Nope, you completely misread the thread. I already stated that wasn't my personal opinion.

    16. Re:Other way around by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      I should just stop feeding a troll, but I can't resist.

      If you don't have that view, how do you justify your decision in Rockoon's case, when he never even specifically mentions the issue?

      In his first comment Rockoon said: "This is what the left does. They de-humanize that which they want to restrict, steal, or deny rights to."

      Note the last option can only really refer to fetuses and embryos.

      And that comment followed one talking about mentally disabled people. Which was a class of people that were de-humanized and denied rights to, just as Rockoon said.
      Even with the embryo question, there still is no evidence in his posts you responded to that he is "pretty anti-abortion". That is still an assumption you made based on his stating of scientific items.

      Indeed, your other mistaken assumption is the same one he made: that by "human" I meant belonging to the species homo sapiens. I was actually talking more about the common understanding of human as 'being a person'.

      Then you are either a perfect example of the claim in the article, and reject science because of personal beliefs, or you never contributed a thing to the discussion because you aren't replying to Rockoon's original post. My interpretation of the exchange between you and him would argue for the first choice there.

      I wasn't aware Rockoon was making a species argument and if so, it was completely irrelevant to the abortion sub-debate anyway.

      And now you are trolling. His very first post above is saying an embryo is a human being, and then he specifically states that a human embryo is Homo sapiens sapiens. The second "sapiens" refers to modern man specifically. And you say you don't realize he is making a species argument.

      Also, how can it be "completely irrelevant to the abortion sub-debate anyway", when there was no such topic in the posts?

      BTW, a human corpse is another example of the species homo sapiens.

      Yes, just as a dead butterfly pinned in a collection is an example of its species. I was going to say that this does not change the discussion above in any way. But actually, it diminishes your argument, because a dead person has no brain activity at all, and your argument is based on brain ability.

      Nope, you completely misread the thread. I already stated that wasn't my personal opinion.

      And trolling again. You post a scientific argument as if it is your belief, and defend it as if it is your belief, dismiss people who dispute what is apparently your belief, and now claim it wasn't your belief all along. So you were just jerking off the thread for personal enjoyment.

      Thank you UpnAtom, you have been a most enlightening subject.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    17. Re: Other way around by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      We had a tortoise as a pet when I was young. My observation about tortoises is that they operate on a time scale much, much slower than humans. I wouldn't say they are highly intelligent animals, but they do have a wisdom about them. If you take the time to get to know them they are as complex and unique as any two dogs or cats are from one another. They just live their lives at a slower pace, so you have to spend time observing them to know how they live.

    18. Re:Other way around by UpnAtom · · Score: 1

      And that comment followed one talking about mentally disabled people. Which was a class of people that were de-humanized and denied rights to

      Yeah. In the 30s perhaps LOL

      Even with the embryo question, there still is no evidence in his posts you responded to that he is "pretty anti-abortion".

      Already gave you it ... *sigh*

      His very first post above is saying an embryo is a human being, and then he specifically states that a human embryo is Homo sapiens sapiens.

      In his SECOND post. Clearly you're the kind of person referred to in the article too.

      And you say you don't realize he is making a species argument.

      Yes I assumed he was making a relevant point.

      You post a scientific argument as if it is your belief, and defend it as if it is your belief, dismiss people who dispute what is apparently your belief, and now claim it wasn't your belief all along.

      You are truly dumb.

      My first two words on this whole article: "Science says..."

      First sentence of my second comment: "We're not talking about my belief system, we're talking about "scientific doctrine""

      Yet you presuppose I'm lying. Can't you read? Did you check and really can't read? Did you read it and have it not make it through the filters the article talks about?

      Hilarious the irony of your behaviour in regards to this article.

      Have a nice evening.

    19. Re:Other way around by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Not at all - law has very little to do with science. Whether something is biologically human is largely irrelevant to whether it is a legal person with guaranteed rights.

      Contrast with corporations, which are unquestionably NOT human, but are regarded as legal persons in most jurisdictions.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    20. Re:Other way around by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Yes, it cant be that the science disagrees with your philosophy.

      Then present the scientific basis for your position, rather than solely attacking others while not stating your position.

    21. Re:Other way around by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Read http://science.slashdot.org/co... and tell me if you think he's said anything to indicate he's anti-abortion.

      He sounds like someone who is anti-abortion, but deliberately saying things to be able to deny it, while strongly suggesting it.

  25. Re:It's the politics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And that is why it is so difficult to have an intelligent conversation on the subject. The OP is right. Most of the AGW activists are pursuing political agendas that have a limited connection to AGW. Here are some questions to ask yourself - Why are AGW activists not actively pursuing increased hydroelectric power? Why are AGW activists not actively pursuing increased nuclear power? Why are AGW activists not pursuing geo-engineering solutions? I few might be, quietly, but I have yet to see a pro-nuke or pro-dams protest.

    The reason is that the AGWers have aligned themselves politically with traditional environmentalists. In fact, many of them ARE traditional environmentalists. The idea that building more dams to produce clean sustainable hydroelectric and save the planet at the cost of some obscure sub-species of minnow should be an easy trade, but it is heresy to their cause, as are nuclear power plants. As it stands, the AGW crowd are pursuing a political agenda and AGW is just a tool in the box.

    I've come to the conclusion that while AGW may be real, it isn't too bad or the experts would not be aligned with old school environmentalists who stand in the way of solutions. When I start to see AGW protesters holding up signs to keep nuclear power plants OPEN or protesting to keep dams open, then I will take them seriously.

  26. Re:It's the politics by overshoot · · Score: 1

    Most of the AGW activists are pursuing political agendas that have a limited connection to AGW. Here are some questions to ask yourself - Why are AGW activists not actively pursuing increased hydroelectric power? Why are AGW activists not actively pursuing increased nuclear power?

    Mostly because they're not interested in mandating specific aproaches. Instead of the old-fashioned approach of Nixon's EPA, they're going for market-based solutions: putting a price on carbon emissions, for instance. Or a conservative variant on that, George H. W. Bush's cap-and-trade mechanism updated by John McCain for carbon dioxide.

    Or the most recent study's proposal: just eliminating taxpayer subsidies for fossil fuels would get us halfway to the 2-degree target.

    --
    Lacking <sarcasm> tags, /. substitutes moderation as "Troll."
  27. Don't let politicians control the discussion then. by Karmashock · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The big mistake the AGW people made was letting politicians control the discussion.

    They allowed some politicians to use it as a weapon against other politicians which turned the issue into a partisan weapon.

    Around the time you saw Al Gore pushing an inconvient truth, that was when the AGW movement shifted from being about science to being a weapon.

    Seriously... Al Gore has personally done more damage to the AGW cause then anyone else in the world.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  28. Re:It's Okay by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From your point of view, that's quite possible. After all, for the Commies, everyone in the West was a fascist imperialist.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  29. Don't worry be happy by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    Our entire economic and political systems the world over are faith based. It is imperative that things remain as they are, or there will be chaos :-/

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  30. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by mark-t · · Score: 2

    But you can't. The Republicans won't have you.

    What...like they would supposedly go and tell them to vote for someone else?

  31. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

    its climate change now. didn't you get the memo?

    Ah yes, the old "they made a new name, therefore it must be wrong" argument (as if that makes any difference). I wonder why the same people who complain about this don't also come out to question why the denialists now claim that the warming has stopped since 1998 when they used to say that the climate had been cooling since that date. That change of wording seems to have gone unnoticed, and yet it is very telling that the original statement was incorrect and that the climate is still getting warmer.

    I'm sure that in years to come when the records continue to be broken with higher temperatures that the "proof" that global warming is wrong will be conveniently forgotten, as those self-proclaimed sceptics will find some other tiny detail to use to justify their desire to postpone any action regarding the climate as long as possible.

  32. Re:It's Okay by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    Selection bias.

  33. Re:It's Okay by rickb928 · · Score: 2

    In Europe the socialists can identify and admit their intentions with substantially less backlash Anna ostracization than in America. Here, they mostly must hide their intentions within liberalism.

    Mostly.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  34. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This is climate data, it's HARD to deal with. ... There are more moving parts to this data than you can possible conceive of.

    So, with all this complexity of it, how come you are so certain that there is only one way to look at it ?

    It doesn't. It's dead on.

    You are contradicting yourself. If its that complex it would be very difficult to make such a "dead on" match (when complexity increases any chance of a perfect fit should (at least) proportionally decrease).

    As a result of the above I do not think I can share your certainty in regard to this matter.

  35. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Rockoon · · Score: 1

    Ah yes, the old "they made a new name, therefore it must be wrong" argument (as if that makes any difference).

    Its not "global warming" or "climate change" ... its "climate disruption" now.

    Seems to me that if warming wasnt the best word to describe it, and change wasnt the best word to describe it either, then I have to start wondering what the hell "it" really is.

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  36. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by SuricouRaven · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've noticed that every time somewhere in the US or Europe experiences a bit of cold weather for the season, comments sections all around the internet are filled with people proclaiming this proves climate change is a fraud.

  37. Re: CAGW is a trojan horse by rickb928 · · Score: 1

    Seriously? Wow.

    Read this carefully, and with an open mind. At least this is an example of the sort is analysis that can lead a skeptic to distrust the scientists trying very hard to prove their hypothesis.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  38. Re:Creation v scientific literacy by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    I've seen many systems put forwards as proof of intelligent design. I've also seen them all explained as products of evolution. Though it doesn't matter: Even if a system were found which seems un-evolveable, at this point it still wouldn't disprove evolution to the point the whole theory gets thrown out. There's just too much evidence in favor - at most, it would suggest there is some small detail of the theory that remained incomplete.

  39. Yeah, so? by dubsnipe · · Score: 1

    Wasn't Richard Lewontin who said:

    "Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door."

    Now, call it what you want, but the quid of the matter here is that the denial of statements that may contradict our worldview is based on faith in the set of facts that we already believe in. Theists do it, non theists do it.

    1. Re:Yeah, so? by mark_reh · · Score: 2

      Whoever it was who said it was an idiot who does/did not understand the difference between science and religion.

      And science HAS fulfilled many of its promises of health and life (vaccines, for example) and continues to do so every day with new research.

      "... we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations"
      because those are the only explanations of real-world phenomena that don't require the act of a supernatural force for which there is ZERO material evidence.

      Theists do not base their beliefs on facts. They base their beliefs on "unsubstantiated just-so stories".
      Non theists believe in a system of reason (based on material fact) that has produced EVERY advancement in the human race's standard of living. Science works and nothing else comes close.

  40. Re:Religion by Barsteward · · Score: 1

    you were doing quite well until "All your science your religion"

    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  41. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

    Once again, this is an irrelevant argument designed to confuse the issue without having to actually make a claim that needs defending. It is the perfect strategy for the denialist movement. It can be stated in a single sentence, and people think that it is funny to do so. It is the same technique that advertisers use to create brand awareness. But have no doubt that it is a cynical ploy to capture people's imagination when facts can't be used.

    The reason why there are multiple names for this is that the average person doesn't understand the difference between global warming and local warming. It if is a cold winter then they think that the globe must be cooler, when it may just be a symptom of a more active climate moving air from the cooler parts of the world to where they are.

    It is not that warming was the wrong word to use, as you claim. Neither is the word change, because if it is warming then it must be changing. Climate disruption is not a common term for this, I don't think that it will catch on because it is stupid.

  42. Re:It's the politics by Sarius64 · · Score: 1

    Maybe you should broaden your horizons on that Germany claim.

    Germany's Energiewende Troubles Prove That Renewable Energy Has Failed. And Other Strange Ideas

    .

  43. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by Suffering+Bastard · · Score: 2

    Ignorance is a choice, just like belief. The real problem is to get people to reject ignorance. The difficulty in that is that ignorance, like belief, is easy. Rejecting ignorance requires effort. That is why there are so many people who choose ignorance and belief over reason and fact.

    Interesting belief you have there.

    I believe that belief is inherent to the human mind, necessary for operation in the world. I see belief in two general categories: rigid and fluid. When rigid, a belief is maintained even in the face of evidence to its contrary. When fluid, a belief can change in nuance and substance based on life experience and information.

    We all have beliefs and operate from biases that do not agree with others. I see this as natural and as it should be. Each person is their own subjective lens on reality, and no one person nor committee can determine what objective reality ultimately is. Once we think we have it, something comes along and blows away our vaunted conceptions. Life will never fully give away its secrets, we will always be left guessing. To me that's the beauty of the mystery. What we each make of it is our own journey, and we should not try too hard to fit our personal beliefs to any consensus.

    --
    "Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
    - Deep Thought
  44. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    You can vote republican even if you believe in anthropogenic global warming, and they'll be happy to have your vote. You just can't have anything to do with setting the group's policies/platform/agenda. No one in the Republican party's leadership can say they believe in anthropogenic global warming and remain in their leadership position.

  45. "on high profile beliefs" how about all by RichMan · · Score: 2

    Being religious and "accepting science" is just drawing the boundaries in a different place. There is still a science no-go zone so they really do not accept science they just define the boundaries differently.

    How about on all beliefs should be rejected and replaced with reality. A belief system that contradicts with the world we live in should be diagnosed as a phsycological disorder.

    Psychosis is a loss of contact with reality that usually includes: False beliefs about what is taking place or who one is (delusions) ; Seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations).

    Why does society accept the mass relgious psychosis yet reject other forms?

    Science is about changing our "belief" system to match what we know about the world we live in. Religion is about denying the world we live in for a belief system that is a mental fugue.

  46. Re:It's Okay by mi · · Score: 1, Insightful

    You must be an American if you equate liberal with socialist. In Europe, they tend to be the very opposite of each other.

    Yep. The European Liberals actually stand for liberty. The American users of the name are the opposite — their first solution to any problem is to create a government agency responsible for solving it, as well as simply banning the use of anything potentially dangerous — and thus the proper name for them is Illiberal.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  47. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    I believe rigid belief, as defined by you, is equivalent to ignorance.

  48. And that, in turn, is political. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    The percentages come from looking at all studies, papers, research, etc. and determining the number one one side or the /i?

    When the administrators of research funding withhold future grants from scientists who publish papers questioning some aspect of the current global warming scenario, while giving additional funding to scientists who publish papers supporting it (or claiming some global-warming tie-in to whatever phenomenon they're examining), the count becomes skewed. This is political action, not science.

    This happened in the '70s with research into medical effects of the popular "recreational" drugs - before such research was effectively banned. Among the resuts were a plethora of papers where the conclusions obviously didn't match the data presented and a two-decade delay in the discovery of medical effects and development of treatments. Only NOW are we finding evidence that PTSD might be aborted by adequate opate dosages in the weeks immediately following the injury, or that compounds in marijuana may be a specific treatment for it - as they are for some forms of epilepsy and may be for some cancers, late stage parkinsons, and so on.

    The same happens when the editors of a journal and their selection of reviewers systematically approve and publish only research supporting the current paradigms, to the point that scientists with contrary resuts must find, or create, other journals or distribution channels (which can then be smeared as non-authoritaive, creations of the fossil fuel industry, right-wing politicans, or conspiracy nuts - and their articles LEFT OUT OF THE COUNT). Again, this is politics, not science.

    Then there's the question of the methodology of the count itself. What is counted as "support for" versus "opposition to"? What does it count as a scientific paper? Were well-established research methods used? Was it reviewed? By whom? Was it done by scientists with no established position on the issue, by scientists supporting one side, by pollsters, by an advocacy group, by politicians? (Hell, was it done at all? Truth is the first casualty of politics, and fake polls are one of the commonest murder weapons.)

    For an instance: How would you interpret the study behind the Scientific American article that seems to indicate:
      - Planetary temperatures have tightly tracked a function of three orbital-mechanics effects on the earth's orbit and axial orientation - up to the time of human domestication of fire.
      - That occurred as the function was just starting to inflect downward into the next ice age.
      - The deviation amounted to holding the temperature stable as the function slowly curved downward. (Perhaps a feedback effect - more fires needed for comfort in colder winters?)
      - This essentially flat temperature held up to the industrial revolution, when the temperature began to curve upward, overcoming the gradually steepening decline of the function.
      - If this deviation is the result of burning fossil fuels, they are expected to run out in about 800 years - after which the temperature might crash toward the "Ice age already in progress" as the excess carbon is removed from the atomsphere by various processes, or simply be overwhelmed by the orbita

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  49. Re: CAGW is a trojan horse by andydread · · Score: 1

    It is a global consensus. Is there a dispute that CO2 traps heat? The runaway greenhouse that is venus is that fake too. Is this fake too?

  50. In other words..... by louic · · Score: 1

    In other words: There are far too many bad scientists.

  51. continuing... by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    (Stupid touchpad...)

      - If this deviation is the result of burning fossil fuels, they are expected to run out in about 800 years - after which the temperature might crash toward the "Ice age already in progress" as the excess carbon is removed from the atomsphere by various processes, or simply be overwhelmed by the orbital mechanical function if it remains.

    Does this scenario count as supporting or opposing anthropogenic global warming?

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  52. What are the selection effects Scientific Method by anwyn · · Score: 1
    What are the selection effects of the Scientific Method?

    If science were to admit that the scientific method itself had significant selection effects, when applied to certain questions, then science would have to admit that science can not resolve certain questions.

    One of those questions might be "Is the Universe a machine?" Or if one wants to take quantum into account "Is the Universe a machine with a gazillion true hardware random number generators attached?"

    If the Universe is a machine, then the scientific method preference for repeatable results is justified. If the Universe is a quantum machine, or statistically unbiased machine (i.e. a machine with a gazillion TRNGs attached), then the scientific method's preference for repeatable statistical results is justified.

    But what if the Universe is not any kind of machine? What if the Universe is a living being as Eastern religion and philosophy assert? What if the Universe is adjusting itself to the questions and presuppositions of science? What if the Universe is like a child being questioned by a biased investigator alleging sexual abuse? What if the Universe is giving the answers that it thinks the investigator wants to hear?

    It seems to me that the scientific method can not resolve such claims. In order to prove an answer, one would have to prove that the scientific method had no selection effects, which one could not prove with knowing the answer to the question a priori . In other words the question is hopelessly circular.

    This means that one of the key assumptions of scientism , can not to be proved by the scientific method.

  53. Re:It's Okay by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1, Funny

    No, in this case, we just laugh at you. You're too obnoxious to ignore.

    Nobody wins in this game.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  54. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

    You're giving me the impression that you think that any study not matching global warming is wrong. On what grounds ? Are they fudging their numbers ? How do you know ?

    I am not giving that impression, but just to be clear I categorically state that any study not matching current global warming theories is to be accepted with the same cautious scepticism as any paper that conveniently matches the theories. This is why we need to have lots of studies to act as checks and balances.

    I find that it is actually quite satisfying to point out the mistakes in a study which arrives at the same conclusion I have, because I know that I am being even handed and not guided by any bias.

    Scientific findings that are contrary to existing theories or even your own beliefs should not be feared, but instead should be a source of excitement as it means that we are collectively fine-tuning our knowledge of the universe. It also generates a lot more activity in the scientific community.

    As for my use of the word denialist, I stand by it even though I should use the correct term denier. The only people to bring up any negative connotations are the denialists themselves as they attempt to sound more reasonable and open minded. But why? It can't be because it sounds like holocaust deniers because I didn't use that term - I said denialist. I have no problem with true sceptics. The entire scientific principle is to be sceptical of everything and to test each other's works. If you have questions about the science then it is quite reasonable to ask them. But denialists are those who belittle scientists (they are only in it for the money) or science itself (it's a religion), and when provided with answers to their questions just keep asking the same questions again or instantly change to a different topic. A sceptic will have an open mind, while a denialist will never change their mind and will always disbelieve global warming despite all evidence presented.

    I have seen someone say here on /. "I'm not a denier, I just deny climate change". It's funny that people only have problems with the noun and not the verb.

  55. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by scamper_22 · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, that is not true.

    So many political opinions are viable within any party IF you frame it correctly.

    Somehow many anarchist/libertarians end up on the progressive/leftist portion of political because they are against corporation/banks/police/war.

    Similarly, many anarchist/libertarians end up on the 'right' because they are against corporations/banks/police/war/government excess..

    I'll give my own example.
    I grew up in pretty conservative Islam. Now, as I grew up, I was still a Muslim. I could sit around and interpret the texts any which way I want and I could have a decent conversation and be a part of *most* Muslim communities. I didn't pray, didn't really believe in any of the rules, barely fasted... yet I was still by in large welcomed in *most* Islamic communities.

    Eventually, I left Islam and would not be called a cultural Muslim or an ex-Muslim or whatever label you want. In practical things, I believe and act pretty much the same. Yet, by denying God and Mohamed was God's messenger/perfect man, suddenly I am shunned. I knew that going in. People suddenly stopped communicating.

    The point I am making here, is that whatever practical issues I had with Islam, I could deliberate and discuss with people as long as I didn't threaten the Islamic identity and Islamic power. The moment I did, my opinion becomes meaningless.

    The same is largely true of politics.

    People think Climate Change is merely science. It is not. By admitting the 'science' you are automatically subscribing to a whole host of political initiatives from carbon taxes, road tolls, increased government spending...

    But all that has nothing to do with the science. In some ideal world, climate change science could be independent of policy. But that is not the world we live in today.

    How many scientists say we must act on global warming and have more taxes, more government spending...

    Buying into climate change MEANS buying into the political policies of 'the other team'. Hence you are more likely to reject it the science.

    The same is true again of religion. Evolution is pretty convincing. I know many Muslims who believe in Evolution as well. Some kind of God guided evolution :P But much better than the creation story.

    In any case, however, if buying into evolution means rejecting god, siding with secularists... then they are likely to just ignore the science of evolution.

    I'd be willing to wager that if the climate science was presented to republications without any stipulation of Big government / Left political action, most would not fight it.

    And just to emphasize, there is no reason climate change should entail carbon taxes or anything of hte like. Those are all policy tools we choose. We could just as easily pay the oil companies extra money for them to deveolop green energy. We could just as easily reduce healthcare spending and entitlement spending, and use that money to build levies, green power....

  56. Re: It's Okay by kentfowl · · Score: 2

    "Liberals" in Europe are classical liberals who would be labeled libertarians in the US. This is classical definition of liberalism. These people are social liberals and econonomic liberals (free market). "Liberals" in the US are social liberals in the classical sense who generally have a lot of economic positions close to democratic socialists, such that the right wing conflates "liberalism" with socialism.

  57. Re:It's Okay by Nephandus · · Score: 1

    He won nothing. Pakistan still split off (as "Muslim India"), and Britain only left due to increasingly violent resistance, huge war debts and related internal issues, and too many military issues elsewhere due to the World Wars.

    --
    "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
  58. Re:Don't let politicians control the discussion th by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    Seriously... Al Gore has personally done more damage to the AGW cause then anyone else in the world.

    THIS. He massively increased the politicization of the issue and almost single-handedly created the incentive to turn climate denialism in the US from a fringe conspiracy theory to a mainstream belief. I don't think things would be massively different today if he had stayed out of climate issues, but the brakes wouldn't be dragging nearly so hard on the science train. I don't think climate policy would be more contentious than any other environmental policy issue.

    I'd say the biggest catastrophes in climate policy are:

    1. Al Gore, for contributing massively to the politicization of climate science

    2. Disinformation campaigns funded by fossil fuel companies and conservative think-tanks

    3. Michael Chrichton's State of Fear, the Book of Revelation for climate denialists.

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  59. Re:What are the selection effects Scientific Metho by Smallpond · · Score: 1

    Science already knows that it can't answer all questions.

  60. Democrats Should Feel Free to be Skeptical of GW by myfacelaunchd50ships · · Score: 1

    The media and liberals conflate the three issues of-- Is the world warming? Is it human induced? Can human countermeasures have any worthwhile effect?" into one hoping the public will be too dumb to see the difference so that any skepticism about countermeasures like onerous carbon taxes can be shouted down as flat-earth talk. Any intelligent observer of the issue will arrive at the conclusion that the high costs Americans will be asked to pay for certain quantity of carbon reduction will be quickly overwhelmed by India and China opening one new coal fired power plant per week. Americans should be told that the extra $500 per month they will be paying for energy is largely symbolic and designed more to shame the developing world into adopting green energy policies and burnish America's image as a green nation doing its part to combat GW.

  61. That is not true. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The study is wrong. I have always believed that the presentation of solid evidence will sway anyone's view, and I still do.

  62. It's a people problem by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    The problem is that many don't trust scientists and researchers to be objective. The details of scientific claims are too involved for the average person to dig into directly and compare and contrast such that they are relying on somebody's word.

    In the conservative world, people should be motivated by greed, and this means that paid scientists should say whatever makes their wallets fatter, and claiming there are climate problems allegedly increases the need for climate services.

    I'm at a loss for a way to fix this, though.

  63. It's the amygdala to blame by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    The amygdala assignes emotional weights to facts.

    For example, some poeple with a damaged amygdalas will head towards dangerous things because one part of the brain says, "Whoop! Something interesting there" and then the amygdala makes you fear it or like it, etc. Without the amygdala you only know it's interesting.

    Oddly, without the emotional weighting, other people with damaged amygdala's lose the ability to make logical decisions. Without the emotional weighting- they dither. Everything is equally important.

    So, when a person has a strong belief in something- the amygdala weights contrary facts as unimportant or even dangerous while supporting facts are weighted as important and good.

    You really need to find some other belief they have to get into their brain. For example, some religious people believe that making human beings suffer is bad. So if you can humanize another group and then show that some behavior the person is doing is making the other human suffer, then they can change their mind.

    A religious person has a fundamentally different axiom. They believe there is a real deity and usually also believe that their deity cares about the believer's existence and how they behave. Anything that doesn't agree with that axiom- or worse- is perceived to threaten it- is downweighted or even made fearful/dangerous by the amygdala.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    1. Re:It's the amygdala to blame by mark_reh · · Score: 1

      So you're saying the religion = brain-damage?

      Interesting...

    2. Re:It's the amygdala to blame by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      ha ha.. I see what you did there.

      But seriously, no.

      Religious belief is a personal and cultural survival trait under many circumstances.

      The amygdala of an atheist- faced with "interesting" evidence of the supernatural or a flat out deity would weight the facts accordingly.

      0) "This isn't be real. You are mis-observing reality in some way"

      And the rest of the brain kicks in ideas why...
      1) it can't be real so what else is it?
      2) I'm probably dreaming.
      3) It's much more likely that I'm having a psychotic break or hallucinating.
      4) Someone is playing a prank on me.
      5) etc.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    3. Re:It's the amygdala to blame by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      And I should say..

      The amygdala of an atheist who disbelieves would put much more "alarm! Danger! Something weird is going on! You are probably being tricked!" than the brain of an atheist who simply lacked belief.

      If the lack of a deity was extremely important to the atheist, they'd do or think just about anything to avoid logically concluding that the evidence of a deity was correct.

      We mostly see this in religious people right now... you know.. "the face in my tortilla is a miracle created by my god" or "I survived out of 213 people when the airplane crashed because of my god". I matter and the world isn't just random chaos. That baby in aisle 7 died for a reason.

      The irony being that many people are literally saved from death by their religion. For example, some religions are really strict about how you bath before meals, others are really strict about burning tainted bedding. Or when people of religion X go apeshit on everybody- other people of religion X are left alive.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  64. YOU are the problem by AnontheDestroyer · · Score: 1

    And herein we find one massive problem with the idea that we shouldn't make things political - some people will find something political about anything.

    97% is scientific, not political. That's why AGW should get 97% "pro-" coverage, and at most 3% "anti-" coverage, but people like this Spazmania will cry when their anti-AGW coverage doesn't get 50%.

  65. Re:You see your enemies through your own reality by AnontheDestroyer · · Score: 1

    Except that you just said you think you and people like you will be killed. That's real psychopathy. The rest of what you said is ginned up nonsense. Not, "hate speech," just insanely stupid.

  66. here's the rub... by meglon · · Score: 1

    "But we also need to reduce the incentives for elites to spread misinformation to their followers in the first place. Once people’s cultural and political views get tied up in their factual beliefs, it’s very difficult to undo regardless of the messaging that is used."

    As long as the few can remain in power or make money by lying, they will.

    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  67. Re:Don't let politicians control the discussion th by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    1. Al weaponized the issue and made it something that had to be met in ideological battle.

    2. The disinformation is more broadly based then I think you realize. The oil companies don't have to do much. The reality is that the situation is primed for them there is an existing resistance to the whole thing due to the weaponization.

    If the oil companies didn't throw anything at the issue the resistance would still be pretty strong.

    3. State of fear was in large part a response to the climate change evangelism. That was a huge mistake.

    The whole "your ideology is wrong and will be crushed and I have science behind me... and the science is settled" thing was a big mistake.

    As you're doubtless aware a defense is made in depth. You don't just have one line of defense. You have many layers. To resist the whole thing you set up many points where it is slowed or stopped or confused.

    Because the theory was weaponized the whole basis of the theory had to be undermined.

    I think a good example would be Eugenics... lets say someone wanted to implement a eugenics program in the US.

    Now the scientific basis for such a program might be strong. The underlying reason for doing it might make biological/genetic sense. But politically you can see how it would be a problem.

    Consider what the political groups would do if you tried to push a eugenics program? I can tell you the conservatives would probably undermine evolution, DNA, and the very science of genetics itself.

    Now is that scientifically valid? Obviously not. But it would help to stop a eugenics program.

    Likewise, the issue with AGW is the solutions to it are basically "your political faction gets nothing it wants, our political faction gets lots of stuff it wants including power, and ultimately your whole society gets controlled to some extent by our programs."... People are going to fight that.

    It was a big mistake to try and force people to comply to programs while at the same time putting rival political powers in charge of the whole thing.

    Both nationally and internationally.

    The whole thing needs to be run akin to the way that we are getting the chinese to comply with AGW. You ask nicely, talk to them respectfully, and accept the compromises they're willing to make right now as what you're going to get. If you want change beyond that you change yourself but you don't impose your will on anyone else.

    So for example, in the US you could break down the environmental policy on a state by state basis without imposing a federal AGW guild line. Then you could set up environmental rules between the states that cause some states to do less business with states that create a lot of CO2 and more business with states that have better environmental policy.

    In that way, states could choose and make those choices on sound business practices without being compelled by federal fiat or having a portion of their income taken as taxes to go in many cases directly to political rivals.

    Its the forcing that has to stop. Maybe you could have forced people IF you had avoided letting the likes of Al Gore weaponize the issue.

    But that happened... and there is a price for that. The price is that the forcing stops or the resistance won't stop.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  68. Re:Too many scientists use science... by AnontheDestroyer · · Score: 1

    That's why there are peer reviews in science, and the need for reproducibility. When there is a 97% consensus, it's well-past the point where we should be arguing with them.

    Consider there is an ample amount of agenda-driven motivation to deny that AGW is happening, but very, very few scientists are apt to do so. Your sword swings both ways.

  69. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    They aren't "fudging" numbers. This is climate data, it's HARD to deal with.

    Then perhaps you can explain why they're adjusting historical temperature data, while claiming that it's "functionally bad or maladjusted" even though those same instruments are in use today, and are considered the gold standard for measurements.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  70. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    I've noticed that every time somewhere in the US or Europe experiences a bit of cold weather for the season, comments sections all around the internet are filled with people proclaiming this proves climate change is a fraud.

    Media and various "scientific literates: "
    Weather was warm - global warming
    Weather cold - global warming
    We had tornado's - global warming
    A hurricane hit the NE coast - global warming
    Drought in central US - global warming
    Forest fires in Canada - global warming
    Unseasonably warm spring - global warming
    Unseasonably wet spring - global warming
    Unseasonably cold spring - global warming
    Regular spring - global warming
    Snowfall in October - global warming
    Blizzard in December - global warming
    Water in reservoirs low - global warming
    Water high in reservoirs - global warming
    Higher than average cloud cover - global warming
    War in the middle east - global warming
    War in Balkans - global warming

    In the end, global warming causes everything.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  71. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

    One of the main impacts of climate change would be an increase in extreme weather, so not entirely surprising such things would be claimed.

  72. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    One of the main impacts of climate change would be an increase in extreme weather, so not entirely surprising such things would be claimed.

    Except I didn't say extreme, nor do they generally in the media. In fact they were screaming "extreme weather" when we had the cold-snap here in Canada. On the other hand, that was normal winter weather according to the historical data. So...which is it?

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  73. Re:Factual beliefs? by hey! · · Score: 1

    Telling people who collect stamps they're idiots could be a hobby.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  74. Another garbage study... by hey! · · Score: 2

    God made humans rational beings.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  75. Brain Science by oldCoder · · Score: 1

    People who disagree with Yale professors have brain damage. This finding makes it easier for Yalies to hold on to their prejudices without considering ideas that make them uncomfortable.

    --

    I18N == Intergalacticization
  76. Re:It's Okay by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

    From your point of view, that's quite possible. After all, for the Commies, everyone in the West was a fascist imperialist.

    Awww... just when I got used to capitalist dog...

    And I would never support the Empire*
    (* Arrival of a Death Star may cause me to change my vote)

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  77. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Jay+Maynard · · Score: 1

    I'm an atheist.

    --
    Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
  78. Re: CAGW is a trojan horse by Jay+Maynard · · Score: 1

    Science isn't decided by consensus. It's decided by predictive power and explanatory power. Nothing else. CAGW has neither.

    --
    Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
  79. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Jay+Maynard · · Score: 1

    And I note the standard Slashdot moderation is in full effect: "I disagree with it, therefore it must be trolling."

    --
    Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
  80. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    and when they can explain why the warming has stopped for the last couple of decades.

    It hasn't, at all.

    According to the various data-sets, there has been no statistically significant surface warming for 17 years. How can we have an honest discussion if you won't admit to plain facts?

  81. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by ComputersKai · · Score: 1

    Not all Republicans are fanatics that deny global-warming.

    The problem is that the actual fanatic radicals in the party end up becoming the defining image of that group in the face of public mass media. (Same goes for the Democratic and other parties)

  82. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

    Not that "climate change" is homogeneous and 10 years does not centuries make, but currently from a notorious yellow rag: NOAA's most accurate, up-to-date temperature data confirm the United States has been cooling for at least the past decade. "Temperatures in North Dakota falling for the past 10yrs is not relevant. " But this is NA, a slightly larger land area than ND.

    I think the GP is arguing about extrapolation of the data to fill in missing gaps. And while I completely agree that "dumping crap into our atmosphere is a bad thing", the devil is in the details.

    They think that a million smokestacks is enough, I think that a thousand of them is enough, you think that only one is enough. So how many are built? What point on the gradient is right?

    Oh, and I like and believe in science too. But at a certain point you seem to have made up your mind (quote: Contradictions? No, "It's dead on."), blame the dumb and evil groups trying to stop you and come across as these guys. They were 100% convinced too, you know, with a literal evil guy trying to stop them.

    Not that they're not bad and misleading groups out there. And to slightly mis-quote you: "climate data is HARD to deal with." So how do you know that you (they) have gotten it right? After all: men won't live through the high 15mph speeds of trains, bumblebees and men can't fly, and man will never go to the moon.

    Models are wanna-be theory implementations, but this one is slightly wrong.

    Quoting from elsewhere in this thread: "That is why there are so many people who choose ignorance and belief over reason and fact." And I'm sure the End of the World people above used those exact words too.

    Down here in the bible belt (sigh) there's a saying; "God did it; I believe it; That settles it." As opposed to the other funnier saying: "My mind's made up, don't confuse me with the facts." Those match this current discussion When Beliefs and Facts Collide.

    Finally, to end this rambling, no matter which side of of the fence you're on (fences only have 2 sides, right -- black and white, right and wrong, "yer with me or agin me"), this is just wrong: forced to step down after subjected to 'Mc-Carthy'-style pressure from scientists around the world.

    Just because you want to present a debunked theory doesn't mean you should be shouted down -- it ought to be easy to refute their (new?) arguments. And if not -- why, that's even better! Science works by correcting incorrect "facts" no matter how widespread they're known.

    --
    If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
  83. Re:The X Rays Too Bad by ComputersKai · · Score: 1

    ...the Republican and Democrat Parties apparently now act as if maintaining their pride and party-loyalty is more important than actually carrying out change and doing their jobs...

  84. Cynicism and Scientific Malpractice by anorlunda · · Score: 1

    We've been trained to "follow the money" in all circumstances of public advocacy and to be highly suspicious of those who would befit financially. Scientists who say "increase funding for my field", or "I deserve a prize", or "better agree with this or you'll lose tenure and not get your grants approved." undermine the credibility of the whole profession.

    Malpractice is what I call it when Scientists mask politics under the cloak of science. Science can speak about climate change, and perhaps about the cause. On the other hand, what to do about it (if anything) is a question of values, not science. It sounds immoral to spoil the world for our grandchildren, but that's not science. So when scientists get on the media and try to dictate what we must do about it (such as renewable energy), that's malpractice because it is a political issue not a scientific issue. When they threaten to label you as a denier if you disagree, that's even worse. When they tell the politicians to obey scientific edits or else, that's an attempt to create an uber ruling class.

    My point is that much (not all but much) of the blame for cynicism goes to the scientists.

  85. Australia - an example for study by bussdriver · · Score: 1

    Australia's industry hired PR (aka propagandists) to attack climate change science. The publicly stated plan by the company they hired was right out in the open for people to read-- they would base their campaign around what worked in the USA. To redefine large demographics (like conservatives) so that the issue became part of their identity of who they are. That is how Australia which had high numbers of acceptance (and 1st hand experience with crazy weather) but went quickly to a high "skeptic" nation almost as bad as the USA.

    Clearly the PR people know how to hack human brains better than the academics who are way way behind the curve (proving things and discovering truth is much harder than just using whatever seems to work without needing to know why it works.)

    Identity psychology is extremely powerful stuff and a deep subject.

    Searching for truth (science) may have some flaws due to the fact humans are involved, but it is still the best we've got. The elite scientists are the people who logically should be authoritative on their topics. You can dismiss them all you wish and go have the shit doctor or dentist or nuclear engineer, but me, I want elite expert advice and facts. Not mere opinions. If you are not a psychologist then they should feel superior to you when you spout baseless made-up psychology.

    Academics may be greatly undermined today than in the past, but they still have plenty of freely exploring intellectuals without external controlling forces biasing their results. Government laboratories are a less free variation but are also in decline. Those two are the best we've got; there is nothing else. Think tanks are merely propaganda organizations which spew out whatever technobabble you pay them to do; with heavy agendas being their sole purpose for existing (as opposed to the pure actual research the other two aspire to.) Corporations have different agendas with their own strengths and weaknesses. As far as not liking what science is saying... well, "reality has a liberal bias" is simplistic but a generally correct assessment. Reality sucks, that is why people work so hard to escape or blind themselves from it.

    1. Re:Australia - an example for study by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      "Searching for truth (science) may have some flaws due to the fact humans are involved, but it is still the best we've got. The elite scientists are the people who logically should be authoritative on their topics."

      If the "elite scientists" are so genuine, why so many shenanigans?

      Baconian (i.e. inductive) science died a long time ago. If it ever existed.

      As soon as I see someone take the mantle of "elite" it looks like they are uncomfortable standing on their own, naked opinion.

  86. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by oldCoder · · Score: 2

    Curious about this:

    ...companies that make profits off of fossil fuels have armies of people scouring their data

    I hear all sorts of stories but never see these sorts of accusations verified. Do you have evidence of armies?

    It reminds me of the study that showed the Koches et cetera were spending billions on blogs and propaganda. Sounds reasonable. Until I realized there would have to be some newly rich people on the receiving end of all this dough. I haven't seen them. Got data?

    --

    I18N == Intergalacticization
  87. Re:Factual beliefs? by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

    Classic piece of Completely Wrong.

    Atheism SHOULD be the absence of religion, but as a group they go out and try to force other to believe as they do. They are behaving the same as a religion.

    In practice Agnostic has become the true absence of religion.

    Bzzt. Wrong. I'm not sure who this "they" and what "group" it is that you're talking about. As an atheist, I do no subscribe to any "theist" (get it? a-theist, as in not theist.) philosophies. That's me. You go and believe whatever you want. If you believe in something I don't, more power to you. Have at it and since I don't share those beliefs, there's more for you!

    However, don't expect to me agree with you or not call you out if you espouse demonstrably false ideas and/or concepts.

    Just because I disagree with you and don't mind telling you *why* I disagree with you, doesn't mean I'm forcing anything on you.

    Feel free to ignore me or argue with me. Who knows, if your argument is good enough, maybe I'll be convinced. I'm open minded like that -- if you can make a rational argument and back it up with empirical data to support your argument, I will accept it, even if it contradicts my current beliefs.

    Enjoy your beliefs, whatever they may be and enjoy your day, friend.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  88. Re:It's the politics by NotSanguine · · Score: 1

    The whole idea of (whatever they're calling it now) global warming is inextricably bound up with centralized economic planning or, at the very least, extensive economic regulation; and in many cases it goes beyond that with the advocating of international boards that threaten national sovereignty. Furthermore, many of these proposed treaties are seen by their opponents—and not without good cause—as a way of stifling rich, developed countries while favoring un-developed or developing countries. They're seen as a political punishing of the "Great Satan." This is what people can't get past.

    You've done a piss-poor job of saying anything that even vaguely approximates reality. I'm not sure whose talking points you're mangling here, but if I were them, I'd shut up and then sue you for making me look even worse.

    Global warming and Centralized Economic planning? Cite please. Look hard, but you won't find anything -- because it doesn't exist.

    Threats to national sovereignty? In what fantasy world?

    Last I checked, the rich, developed countries were gaming the system in their favor. Show me where that's changed? You can't, because it ain't so.

    Sigh.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  89. Re:Not surprising. (97% ?) by oldCoder · · Score: 2

    You exaggerate here: "readily observable and incontrovertible". The study of abstracts of assorted scientific papers was done very subjectively. Some authors said they were counted as on one side when they were aren't on any side. And so on.

    That said, it's clearly a majority of climate science.

    Climate science finds itself in the unusual position of making quantitative predictions of chaotic systems based on numerical digital simulations, which in turn are based on limited data. Compare that to, oh say, evolutionary biologists, who spent a 100 years proving their theories about the past were correct, but don't dare try to predict the future course of evolution.

    --

    I18N == Intergalacticization
  90. Re:Factual beliefs? by Your.Master · · Score: 1

    Saying that agnostic has in practice become the true absence of religion (as opposed to atheism which is "supposed to be") is not a sensible statement. It's like saying that sometimes people dye their hair, so in practice blue eyed people are the true brunettes.

    One thing that's interesting is that nobody sits around talking about the absence of things. It doesn't make sense to sit in a circle and talk about how there are no robot showbusinessmen on Uranus that are re-enacting Earth's transmissions and rebroadcasting them with Faster-Than-Light technology to their home galaxy. Likewise, atheists don't sit around and talk about how there's no god.

    So if you see atheists talking on the Internet, or go to atheist forums, then it's almost by definition that they are talking about religions (usually the dominant religion in their area, which in English-language forums is usually Christianity). And just like most informal groups of people, some of them are total jackasses about it.

    Even so, a statement like this seems starkly opposed to reality:

    as a group they go out and try to force other to believe as they do.

    I've seen an atheist argue that a condition of political office should be atheism, on the basis that admitting that you are influenced by things that aren't real means you are mentally incompetent in the worst way*, and I can see how that is like "forcing" others to believe as they do -- but this is not a common stance, even among the vitriolic internet atheists.

    *I also know deeply religious people who got extremely uncomfortable with George Bush's "god talks to me" speech, because they might not agree with the atheist I just mentioned, but they follow his argument as far as thinking that it's really not a good sign if a powerful political leader claims to be hearing the voice of god in his head.

  91. Campaign? Where is it? by bussdriver · · Score: 1

    Where is the Democrat campaign to define liberal as believing in global warming???

    We KNOW PR corps are being paid to conflate the issue with conservatism. That is a fact. But where is the other side? Some tiny non-profits who might be trying it as a strategy? Maybe. Somehow I would think any that do would be going with SCIENCE instead of beliefs. When you can use science.... you do... when you can't, you resort to emotions and beliefs.

    Politicians like science when they can exploit it; but they never praise science too highly because they know that it is going to backfire upon them sooner or later. Governing people isn't a game of reason or logic; today (with money) it is a science of human manipulation --- which means if your voters think Obama has no birth certificate, you appease their idiocy by acting the fool before the election.

    1. Re:Campaign? Where is it? by bussdriver · · Score: 1

      Wow, I didn't realize there was a vast conspiracy of local and international organizations working for the DNC to sucker the planet into moving away from old technology upon which the US dollar gets much of it's strength...
      Thank you for informing me, I'll rush right out and make a tinfoil hat!

      YOU are the one claiming all the experts are wrong; the burden of proof is on you to disprove the science. If you can't find the science, then you have little hope.

      I'm just fine to trust the majority of the worlds scientists; I don't have time to learn it all on my own to gain enough expertise to rebut the majority of them (especially when I achieve that level of skill I will most likely agree with them, unless I'm big fool -- who somehow managed to learn the topic while still being a fool. )

      Sheeple don't follow expert opinion; they are herded by whatever barks at them or feeds them. Mr. Dittohead, you are the one bleating out buzzwords from the propagandists, not me.

      The two party thing is a false dialemma to distract slow people/ A billion a year in propaganda sure goes a long way to make people think two themes of the same vote are two choices!

  92. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    It's amazing how much you know about Republicans, given that you obviously are not a Republican.

  93. Truth is relative by mtthwbrnd · · Score: 1

    In the modern world truth is relative.

    Give you an example.

    The US *used to* Fluoridate to level x.

    At the time many people complained and said it was not a safe level. Not unlike that from most slash-dotters, the general arrogant response from idiots who think they know everything and claim "scientific consensus" based on poorly designed highly biased and well selected studies, and a few pay-walled papers which are written by authors whose careers are on the line should they go against the trend, was that these people were crazy conspiracy theorists.

    Well, low and f*cking behold, eventually the US lowered the "safe" level of Fluoride and now claim that y is the safe maximum fluoride concentration where y is less than x! Well that means that x was an UNSAFE level of Fluoridation and they were in fact POISONING US! Suddenly all of the morons who claimed to know everything now have to walk around saying exactly what the people they ridiculed before were saying. But alas, they still claim that this poison should be added to the water supply, but at level y instead of x, and that it is compatible with a free society to enforce mass medication on an entire population even though they have already had to admit that they were adding UNSAFE levels to the water previously. NO! If I want Fluoride, I WILL ADD IT MYSELF THANKS.

    Real truth is not relative. It is an absolute - but in this f*cked up world that we have created where black is white and 1+1=3, torture is "enhanced interrogation", a Jewish State for the Jewish People is not a racist state, truth is very relative.

    Another one. Let's look at the Big Bang Theory and the expanding universe. A few years ago, it was complete heresy to even think that perhaps we actually don't know what happened billions of years ago. Anybody who dared to say that the universe might not be expanding was cut down immediately. In the Physics departments there was a lot of political shenanigans regarding the enforcement of belief in the Big Bang Theory. It literally became, and to some extent remains, a religiously held belief.

    But, low and f*cking behold, now there are some papers coming out which say that the universe is not expanding. But before they said that we live in an expanding universe. Yes there are caveats and details but one cannot ignore the dogmatism that pervades our universities.

    My point is that all of the idiot morons who appeal to "scientific consensus" think that they are so open minded and well informed and that they know everything (although they will claim that they are humble and do not) keep closing down the debates and the discussions on a variety of topics, but then they get egg all over their faces. They are the most religiously dogmatic of people. They pick up on a scientific theory and make it their dogma and woe betide anybody who looks at the data and arrives at a different conclusion. So-called "Climate Science" is the best example of this to date. As the planet continues to not warm for two decades in a row now, as the Antarctic Ice increases and they tell us it is increasing because the planet is warming (even though the data shows that the planet is not currently warming), we are likely about to see another massive debacle of the dogmatically incorrect "scientific community".

    Well I've got my pop-corn all stocked up and ready for that one.

    And don't get me started on Vaccines. Please, just don't.

  94. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by williamhb · · Score: 2

    They aren't "fudging" numbers. This is climate data, it's HARD to deal with. You're talking about millions, even billions of measurements over periods of centuries. There are more moving parts to this data than you can possible conceive of.

    Indeed, and this is a problem when science tangles up with politics. Here we ware saying it's hard to deal with and requires quite a lot of corrections and processing, while the left of politics runs a coercive campaign that you should be called a pariah if you are not convinced by our data and therefore their policies. In science, our credibility is dragged under far more by agreeing politicians trying to co-opt us than by political opponents disagreeing with us. (Disagreement is part of the process; but being dragged into a sharp tongued campaign about why you must vote for higher taxes on big business or otherwise you're a horrible person is not a part of science, and makes us look like a bunch of corrupt fudgers trying to raise our grant funding by cosying up to the left). To a great deal of the public, environmental movement is not the rebel alliance, but Moff Tarkin trying to tighten his grip.

    And companies that make profits off of fossil fuels have armies of people scouring their data for the tiniest errors. Surprise surprise they find some on occasion.

    This is essentially irrelevant. I work in a less controversial discipline, but if someone finds a flaw in one of my papers, "but you were paid by someone to look for it" would not remove the flaw or change how I should address it. Fossil fuel companies are paying people to scour science for errors -- excellent, good on them, it will help us improve the quality of our publications. So far as the public discussion is concerned, however, it is not the fossil fuel companies whose reputations are in questioned (everyone already thinks Big Oil is a bunch of rotters) so pointing accusing fingers at them does us much more harm than good.

    when they can explain historical data that contradicts the theory...

    It doesn't. It's dead on.

    That's a rhetorical dodge. The models are based on historical data, and are a moving target, so just stating that the historical data concurs with our latest models is hardly surprising. The question, which is not answered so simplistically, is whether our computer models are overfitted or properly predictive. (Hopefully the latter, but we seem never to make that clear in these sorts of discussions.)

    As it is, he fudging is so blatant that "climate science" is nothing of the sort...it's a Trojan horse for the same lod tired leftist government takeoff of economies. That trick never works.

    Plenty of scientists are republicans or even further right. Yet, less than 10 (that's ten0 out of hundreds of thousands, disagree with the simple finding that humans are altering the average global temperature of the planet.

    You're misreporting that rather badly. A small proportion of climate scientists disagree, but plenty of other scientists do. Vastly more than 10 (no I'm not going to "out" my colleagues, but yes I do personally know plenty). It's very important not to misrepresent the views of the field as being the views of everyone in every other field too. Otherwise it seems like we're dishonestly trying to gloss over the selection factor (if you've taken up a career in that part of science over any other, you probably think it's important).

    Either all the wind turbine makers and solar panel manufacturers have a hell of a lot more money than we thought and are using it to bribe the scientific community on a scale unprecedented in human history, or we really do have a problem.

    The problem we have, particularly as scientists, is that the political left has tried to co-opt us. Academics are naturally a little left-leaning (more of the free marketeers among

  95. Re:It's Okay by jc42 · · Score: 1

    Over here in the US, the fascist conservatives equate anything not as fascist as them to be socialists.

    Actually, here in the US not one person in a million can tell you anything at all about what fascism stood for. The term is now just one of a growing list of political insult terms with no actual content.

    Of course, the fraction of Americans who can actually define socialism or liberalism or any other -ism isn't much larger than one in a million. Such terms are really just the modern equivalent of tribal names. You're expected to hate anyone with a label different from yours, but you're not expected to actually know the meaning of any of the labels. Once you understand this situation, American political rhetoric becomes much more comprehensible.

    --
    Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  96. Research grants are biased toward the competent by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    Much of your complaint seems to be equivalent to complaining that They are giving more research grants to people who appear to be competent, while denying grants to people seen as incompetent, corrupt, or unethical. Sure, this means that occasionally someone will be unfairly denied, and there will be a bias against unpopular things, but surely it's a good thing overall.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  97. Politicians lie by penguinoid · · Score: 2

    for instance, by making clear that you can believe in human-induced climate change and still be a conservative Republican."

    When it comes to politicians, the question is not what they believe, but what they say they believe. Politicians are not as dumb as they pretend to be, and would stop pretending the day we start treating continuous incompetence the same as malice.

    For example, there already are lots of Republican politicians who believe in global warming -- they just know better than to admit it. It would weaken their position, both during elections and during negotiations (since they intend to vote against any spending on curbing CO2). For what benefit? Honesty? They gave that up when they decided to win elections.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  98. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    "But you can't. The Republicans won't have you."

    I believe in human induced climate change, and I'm a Republican - in fact, I''ve been a delegate to the last 3 conventions.

    What was your point again?

    I'd be curious to hear/meet any Democratic delegates who DIDN'T believe in anthropogenic climate change?

    --
    -Styopa
  99. Re:It's Okay by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

    Well, over there you are all socialists so the political label doesn't matter much anyway.

    You really haven't been paying attention have you.

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  100. Re:It's Okay by meglon · · Score: 1

    Certainly can't argue with that, although i imagine there's more than 1 in a million that does know, the numbers of the ignorant are disproportionally large compared to those that do. But downplaying the meaning and actions of those "groups" is hardly the answer.

    While some of these quite a ways out there in the way they use the data, many of them put forward a pretty simple analysis of what's going on...such as: http://www.activistpost.com/20...

    Make no mistake, the militarism, anti-intellectualism, religious fervor, party "purity," along with the other traits justifies the radical rights admission into the roster of fascist groups, even though they've substituted total obedience to their party for the total obedience to the state that the European fascists of the 1920's-1940's pushed. That list of traits is like a checklist for the radical right.

    So no, this isn't just a political insult... it's the way things are happening in the US. My statement above, that's already been modded down by someone who disagrees, is accurate.

    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  101. Re:It's Okay by floobedy · · Score: 1

    You must be an American if you equate liberal with socialist. In Europe, they tend to be the very opposite of each other.

    In the USA, the left appropriated the term liberal and started using it to refer to itself in the early 20th century. It stuck. As a result, the word liberal now has almost the opposite meaning in the USA as everywhere else.

  102. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    Congratulations. It is obvious from the Republican party's platform and statements made by leadership to news media on a daily basis that believing in AGW is NOT a Republican thing to do. You're an outlier, not a mainstream Republican.

    I find it interesting that you ask about democrats who don't believe in AGW. It's as if the existence of AGW is a matter of opinion. You're in a group that denies science - not just AGW, but also evolution, and probably other things- i.e. the group you are in chooses ignorance over reason. To equate that position with believing AGW and evolution is ridiculous. AGW and evolution are based on science. It isn't a matter of belief. If there is a democrat who denies the science behind AGW they, too, are ignorant.

    Your implication is like the ID advocates who equate their position with the position of scientists who study evolution. The positions are NOT equivalent. ID advocacy is based on nothing but poorly camouflaged religious ideology, evolution is based on 100+ years of research.

    In US politics, the opinions of stupid/ignorant people are as valuable as those of intelligent people- everyone gets one vote. In real life, stupid/ignorant people can't accomplish much. But politicians don't care about what people can accomplish- they just want the votes and they know that there are a LOT of stupid/ignorant people out there waiting to be told what to do, so the message gets crafted to appeal to the hordes of the stupid and ignorant. You should be proud of yourself for being an integral part of that process.

  103. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    What I know is what I hear them saying on the news every day. If you think my knowledge is wrong, tell your party leadership to quit saying the things they keep saying in front of cameras.

  104. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by blindseer · · Score: 1

    After 17 years of cold weather it's pretty much proven that global warming is a fraud. I seem to recall that weather patterns averaged over 20 years is what defines a climate. Doing that and we compare the climate of today to that of 20 years ago and we don't see a change, or if we do we see a slight cooling.

    AGW is a fraud because global warming has not happened.

    Let's assume that AGW is true, what has been the response of the UN, US federal government, or anyone in any government? Their solution is to raise taxes, reduce freedom, and give money to their friends. If they were really concerned about AGW then I would expend them to build some nuclear power plants. More like lots of nuclear power plants. But they don't. The federal buildings in DC are still heated and lit by coal. If not nuclear power then at least put some windmills off the Maryland coast to light up DC. Our elected officials don't seem concerned about AGW so therefore I am not.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  105. Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly by nsmutz · · Score: 1

    Without education, we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.' G.K. Chesterton

  106. Re: It's Okay by weilawei · · Score: 1

    emacs or via

    Well, I do believe that Emacs has C-x M-c M-fixcat, but if you're looking for veterinary software specifically, instead of a PUSS (Primordial Universal Sapience Simulator), VIA appears to come highly recommended--at least by their marketing materials.

    Change, no matter what it is, can be difficult. Contributing to the level of difficulty, Dr. Eigner was traveling almost two weeks per month. But to stay on top of things she was able to use remote access capabilities to log on to VIA from wherever in the world she was. Nevertheless, Dr. Eigner decided to go paperless using VIA’s SOAP note generator over the course of a weekend.

    On the other hand, you might want to drop the SOAP.

    It's late. I should probably sleep.

  107. The battle over "faith" by jandersen · · Score: 1

    I think the issue here is more about the public perception of what "faith" is. The word as such has meanings like "trust" and "confidence in ..." - and the sciences spring very much from a positive faith in reality being the work of God. While the belief in a supernatural being is no longer part of science, it is still driven by the same, fundamental faith in the existence of an ultimate truth, that we can never fully know, perhaps, but which we can get closer to, little by little, by applying logic and scientific method to observable facts.

    It is almost incomprehensible that "faith" is now generally accepted to mean, not a deep trust in God as the reason behind reality, but a fundamental distrust in everything that conflicts with one's view, even to extent of ignoring or misrepresenting simple, observable facts. It is also a relatively new phenomenon; there has always been wild-eyed fundamentalists, who would deny what was clearly visible, but they were not regarded as representatives of mainstream views - I think that came about mostly as a reaction to the hippie-movement.

    Whatever the cause may be - in my view, what is needed is that we as scientists take back the claim on faith. As a scientist, you are willing to sacrifice your view of the world every day; each time you perform an experiment, you know that all your dearest theories may be proven wrong. Is that not faith? A trust in the ultimate good of knowing the truth a little better? Even the most atheistic, anti-religious scientist has more faith in their little finger than all the world's bone-headed fundamentlists together.

  108. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    Curious that you rant about stupid/ignorant people, yet ignore the direct refutation of your own statement. Et tu, Democrat?

    You said: "The Republican Party won't have you."
    I illustrated that not only am I in the party, I'm an active and positive participant.
    But please, don't let facts get in the way of your quasi-religious beliefs.

    FWIW, the Left cheerfully ignores science when it wants to as well. Shall we talk about GM foods? Nuclear power?

    But I understand. The world is much, much simpler when you can just castigate people who disagree with you as "stupid", right?

    --
    -Styopa
  109. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Then perhaps you can explain why they're adjusting historical temperature data, while claiming that it's "functionally bad or maladjusted" even though those same instruments are in use today, and are considered the gold standard for measurements.

    If you don't know why the data is adjusted, that is really your problem, not anybody elses. Nobody is responsible for you ignorance but yourself.

    If you think something is wrong with adjusting the data, then by all means, explain in detail what the problem is and how it should be done. Remember it's YOUR job to convince us that the science is wrong.

  110. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Is it a problem if there is no statistical warming for 17 years? Which 17 years are you referring to? Which datasets are you referring to? Remember it's YOUR job to convince us that the science is wrong.

  111. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    According to what measure was this winter colder than any other since 1912? Does a cold winter pose some sort of problem for climate change? If so, why? Explain in detail: Remember it's YOUR job to convince us that the science is wrong.

  112. The problem doesn't come from identity by John+Jorsett · · Score: 1

    The problem does't come from, "If I'm in group A, then I must have beliefs X," it comes from the recognition that an issue will be seized upon by a faction and used to pump their wider agenda. Use climate change, since the OP brought it up: Rather than a rational discussion of whether it's really happening, whether it's human-caused if so, and what to do about it if anything, we've got one side using it to justify all manner of intrusive measures, while the other wants to ignore the issue entirely. The same thing happens with any talk about WMD, terrorism, abortion, etc. The issue itself is the carrier wave for a lot of additional modulation that's usually far off the topic but important to one side or the other. It's the, "Never let a crisis go to waste" mentality. I don't know how you fix that.

  113. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    I'll believe in CAGW when the scientists quit fudging the numbers and it still shows it.

    Nobody owes you an explanation, will offer you an explanation or seek to resolve your ignorance for you. Nobody cares if you don't "believe In" climate change.

    ..when they can explain historical data that contradicts the theory.

    I have a theory - which says you can't produce any instances of historical data that contradict the consensus theory on the causes of the present warming. Prove me wrong.

    .and when they can explain why the warming has stopped for the last couple of decades.

    I have a theory - which says that you can't produce data to back your assertion that there has been no warming since 1994. Prove me wrong.

  114. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Jay+Maynard · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but the burden of proof lies with CAGW advocates, not skeptics. You're seeking to overturn the world's economic system and replace it with government control. That extreme a change requires strong proof, and it's just not there.

    --
    Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
  115. Re: It's kommi-dayz by mornin+Moon · · Score: 1

    Short and sweet. "I'll take my sorrow straight"

  116. Re:It's Okay by iamhassi · · Score: 3, Informative

    You must be an American if you equate liberal with socialist. In Europe, they tend to be the very opposite of each other.

    Yep. The European Liberals actually stand for liberty. The American users of the name are the opposite — their first solution to any problem is to create a government agency responsible for solving it, as well as simply banning the use of anything potentially dangerous — and thus the proper name for them is Illiberal.

    You're right: Liberalism in Europe
    "In general, liberalism in Europe is a political movement that supports a broad tradition of individual liberties and constitutionally-limited and democratically accountable government. This usually encompasses the belief that government should act to alleviate poverty and other social problems, but not through radical changes to the structure of society."

    A "liberal" in Europe wants smaller govt like conservatives do in America, while liberals in America want a bigger govt that has more control and attempts to eliminate poverty by equalizing income like a socialist would, like doubling minimum wage to the same wage most college graduates receive.

    --
    my karma will be here long after I'm gone
  117. Re:What are the selection effects Scientific Metho by Xaedalus · · Score: 1

    But there's a lot of people, especially on /., who refuse to acknowledge that, because it threatens their beliefs.

    --
    Here's to hot beer, cold women, and Glaswegian kisses for all.
  118. Global Warming by phorm · · Score: 1

    Because "global warming" was a fairly terrible name for it versus "climate change"

    Some places will get hotter, yes, but it also disrupts the flow of air/clouds/etc so that - as we've experienced locally - we get some extremely hot days coupled with an usual amount of wetter/colder days as well. I'm in what's considered a semi-desert climate, but it's greener than ever because we're getting a *lot* more precipitation than I've ever seen before.
    For me, it's a positive thing since I'm not on a flood plain and the plants like it. The only drawback is the increased mosquitoes.
    On the other hand, other people are suffering from floods, pests/pestilence (increased bugs and/or bacterium that prefer heat+humidity), and a change in biodiversity that is having both beneficial and detrimental effects on the local wildlife.

  119. Reality vs Perception of Reality by servant · · Score: 1
    I am a conservative, republican at times, libertarian at times, I have been known to vote for a Democratic Party candidate on occasion.

    I don't think that, given your chosen example of climate change, is separated along 'party lines', or even conservative vs liberal. it comes down to more big gov't solutions and being 'forced' into one reality while not seeing the corresponding benefit and expansion of related individuals rights. The 'rights' of the majority does not trump the rights of the minority.

    I don't believe the problem is selling climate change. I think the problem is selling the solutions. You want me to not burn coal, don't tax it into oblivion, build thorium reactors (like the US Gov ran at Oak Ridge for over 10 years), or other similar solutions. Solar and wind are good, but they can't cover the entire energy deficit. Want to have more electric vehicles, give incentives for more of them (give the incentives to the customers, not to the manufacturers). Restart industrial metals production in the US (one day we will no be able to import strategic metals if we step on someones political toes. Russia has the US over a barrel with no access for man in space since we ticked them off recently, so we need to get on the stick to get US based transport to space!)

    Conservatives tend to be for less central government, more for individuals and even states rights, and more conservative economically than socially.

    I plan on collecting social security. But I planned so that my wife and I will be OK if Social Security is NOT there, but I find it totally unfair to tax me so that I must pay for others poor personal preparation. I am not against Social Security, I am against putting so many additional programs under it and using the SS Trust Fund to pay for them. Social Security was actuarially (mathematically) based for many years, but as it has been 'touched' for additional social programs, the mathematical / actuarial basis was removed. SS is now 'just a tax', and we are not taxing enough if we want to keep SS alive as the program we now know it. ... You can't pull more out of a tow-sack than you put into it, and that is what we are trying to do. -- I did like the proposal to keep SS for those on it and within 10 years of retirement or 50 or pick some number. Pay out or endow a commercial style trust fund for the ones not currently taking social security. For those under 50 (for example) take the 'pay out' amounts and put them in 'ROTH' style IRA's, and require current percentage levels of contributions to be put 60% of the current 'SS Contributions' be put into a traditional IRA, and 40% into a 'ROTH'. This over and above currently allowed contribution levels for IRA/401K/etc contributions.

    The idea is to eventually (in 65 or so years) to get the Government out of Social Security, and for retirees to have enough money to pay for their own retirements effectively. Those who get non-contributory social security benefits needs to come from the general fund (helping the young, blind, bereavement benefits, etc)

    For any social tax or social program, the government does not pay for ANYTHING. Only tax payers do. Taxing tax payers beyond their ability to to support the programs is the government being a 'poor parasite'. Even in biology parasites live WITH their host. If the host gets sick or dies, the parasite dies too. A good parasite makes it a symbiotic relationship, where the host and the parasite both gain from the relationship, making the whole greater than the corresponding parts. But it requires first for the host to survive.

    Enough for now, but I think you get the idea. -- I think we all want the US to be strong and looked up to in the world. We all want a good environment, education for our kids, and to treat everyone right. The only difference is in the road we think we need to take to get there.

    I am trying to vote for politicians that are reasonable, will look for was to SOLVE issues, and not be idealogs on a

    --
    ... "When you pry the source from my cold dead hands."
  120. People don't practice reasoning and debate by bbsalem · · Score: 1

    I have seen this seeming contradiction up close and personal and it has nothing to do with knowledge or training, it has to do with untested ideas and the lack of a challenge to form consistent sets of value. That is a failing of our culture, of many cultures, and of the educational system. The propaganda in media doesn't help nor does the numbness it creates to informal fallacies. If you spent your time discovering all the flaws in reasoning that get pitched at you in a day, you would have no time for anything else. This is a side-effect of "free speech" that depends on the size of the megaphone and what it costs to use. Citizenship requires time to reason and to think and the drivers of mass media do not want individuals to take time to think.So the barrage is a kind of mind control where the intent is to flood and discourage reflection. It is no wonder that people have such unconsidered views and that there are whole sections of their opinions that are inconsistent and viral. That is how the political machines and the corprorate controllers want it. They want a population of consumers driven by impulse and who are maleiable and easily manipulated.

    A couple of days ago there was a post about a study in which the test subjects would rather give themselves electric shocks than have to spend fifteen minutes alone with just their thoughts. Not only is that classical conditioning but it may reveal that many people are afraid of the thoughts that come up when they are quiet and alone. Not only is it not in the interest of the power structure that people have the time to reflect but it is also in their interest, particularly of business people that people do not have any practice debating, discovering formal logical errors, or understanding the informal fallacies. Surely logic is important for many important pursuits in society, such as in mathematics, but a tiny elite knows about formal proofs and logic and can follow that kind of reasoning. It isn't that people are unintelligent, it is that they are unpracticed and untrained and there are powerful forces in society that want them to remain that way.

    I believe that Social Media is actually a case in point, and that the blog is an impediment to people using the Internet to reason if they want. Social Media is about the propaganda va;ue of marketing in business, nothing more, and the blog restricts control of the discussion by ownership of topics. It isn't that you can't hold a reasoned conversation in a blog; it is that the structure of blogs and Social Media do not help you communicate and actually gets in the way. That is intentional by the comercal interests who drive Social Media, and makes the point that the power structure in society is not at all interested in helping us communicate and reason in the way that enables our citizenship in a society that pays lip service to democratic institutions.

    What would change this is to restore some of the structure in discussion groups to the web and do away with blogs. Mark Zuckerberg's "Simple" criterion is just the wrong model and shows that Facebook is about manipulating its users.

    We hear "Shhh, USENET" because it has become the avenue for pirated content and porn, but in the text-only groups beginning in 1984, there were some lively debates in which it was possible to practice your reasoning, debating, and writing skills. We need to bring some of that back and the Internet is a good place to do that, too bad that opportunity is being wasted on Social Media and Blogs. USENET discussion groups and their message structure contains the tools needed to rescue public discourse in the world, despite what Zuckerberg claims, If you want a demonstration compare what is in the DejaVu archive of USENET that Google owns with Google Groups and Google+, There is no comparison, and the fact that Google preserved the archive of old USENET posts is very telling WRT the above and as compared with the communication style they have set in their products.

    Slashdot has some of the things needed, but the p

  121. Re:There's belief, there's facts and there's polit by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

    "Objective reality" is just a cloak people wear to make their own concoctions look bigger than they are.

    See Nietchze, Kierkegaard, etc.

  122. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

    "They aren't "fudging" numbers."

    Where have you been?

    Can you tell me whether or not the hockey stick graph is accurate or not?

  123. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    The "pause" is real. In this nature article they characterize the pause as mysterious, and describe the various explanations scientists are piecing together to try to explain it. I find it interesting that they don't consider the simplest explanation - that the climate models grossly exaggerated "climate sensitivity", especially since the latest climate sensitivity estimates are much lower than the ones used in the models. (Climate sensitivity is the hypothesis that the earth is hyper-reactive to CO2, that a little extra heat from CO2 causes a major chain reaction, amplifying that heat by 3-4 times. Climate sensitivity is a key issue in the debate, at least among the scientifically literate.)

    In 2009, Phil Jones suggested 15 years of no warming would be cause for concern. Judith Curry said more recently: "Climate model simulations find that the probability of a hiatus as long as 20 years is vanishingly small." At what point is this theory falsifiable? How long do we have to wait? 15 years? 20 years? 50 years? 100 years of no warming before we can say the global warming scare was grossly exaggerated?

    If you are still not convinced that the "pause" is real, you can look at the datasets for yourself. Here's the HADCRUT 4 dataset, and here's the RSS dataset. You can play with the app and the various datasets, although it's not very granular.

  124. Scientists are trained to be skeptical by carbonates · · Score: 2

    The study makes a fallacious conclusion. It ignores the fact that people with scientific training are trained to be skeptics. Once you can find the holes in "proven research" and realize that expressions like "97% of all climate scientists" are bullshit because they do not define who climate scientists actually are- it is easy to dismiss many scientific conclusions and continue to hold beliefs that one knows are simply beliefs and not facts. As an example, a large number of scientists until very recently believed that oil and gas production in the United States had passed its peak production and the science supported that conclusion. At the same time a smaller number of skeptical scientists who were willing to accept a new geologic paradigm regarding oil and gas expulsion were working hard to find the oil that has now put the US in the top ranking spot for world oil production. Science is often wrong and those who change scientific belief are generally in the minority at the beginning of the change. Good scientists know that. Politicians, and those who are more inclined to spread their own agenda, either don't understand that, or ignore it. Science thrives on falsification of the proven. If there is a generally accepted norm that I do not agree with....it does not mean my political or religious bias is the reason.....it simply means that I do not consider the evidence conclusive based on my scientific knowledge and experience. If that happens to mean I agree with Republicans or Democrats, that is only a coincidence. Correlation is not causation.

  125. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    I actually don't know if there is anything wrong with the adjustments. But they do look a little high - a degree or more of warming can be attributed to adjustments in some places. I'd like to know more, but it's up to the NOAA to explain what adjustments were made, why they were made, and what algorithms they used. So far they have not been forthcoming. I would like to be able to scrutinize their work, but I can't. I would like to try to repeat their work, but I can't. Reproducibility is one of the main principles of the scientific method. I'd like to think warmists and skeptics could agree on matters of scientific principle, but so far I have been sorely disappointed. It seems both sides only stand up for scientific principles when it suits them.

  126. Re:Don't let politicians control the discussion th by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    I'm afraid the UN, Kyoto, the laws, the regulations, the taxes, etc are not ignorable.

    The AGW people gave those things justification and therefore linked themselves to them.

    As such the whole thing has to be fought as a single entity.

    As I said, if you were pushing a Eugenics program, we'd be trying to discredit DNA, genetics, and evolution if only because it would make justifying a eugenics program more difficult.

    By pushing for a massive nationalization of global industry, massively increasing taxes, attempting to put unelected international bodies in charge of domestic energy policy, and various other things you've created a situation where we cannot afford to have AGW be secure. It has to be undermined and discredited until such time as the "solutions" to the problem become more reasonable or the people running the whole thing are not merely our political enemies empowered to do whatever they please with no limits.

    It cannot be borne.

    If you want cooperation on the issue you have to take the weapon away from the socialists. They've gone power mad with it. They see the whole issue as a blank check to settle scores, punish enemies, reward friends, and do other slimy things. Its not acceptable that they do that. And they have ONLY been slowed down by denying AGW itself. We couldn't do it any other way.

    We tried. We tried arguing the merits of these systems. We tried getting things to work in a bipartisan fashion.

    We tried lots of stuff. We were bypassed, shut out, shouted down, sidelined...

    And so we had no choice. So we went to DEFCON 1 and nuked AGW itself.

    I'm sorry but we had no choice. Back off the above issues and give us an EQUAL seat at the table. Until that happens AGW will remain under just enough of an attack to keep it neutralized as a weapon against us.

    Keep in mind... we are half of your society. You cannot just do whatever you please indifferent to our wishes. We live with you. We're all around you. To the left to the right in front of you behind you. We're right here.

    And so are you. Cut a deal or you're challenging us to an arm wrestling contest.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  127. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    I actually don't know if there is anything wrong with the adjustments.

    This is probably something you should have decided upon before implying there was a problem with the adjustments.

    I'd like to know more, but it's up to the NOAA to explain what adjustments were made, why they were made, and what algorithms they used.

    No it isn't. They don't owe you an explanation, you owe us an explanation. You implied there was something wrong with the adjustments made, now you think because you say there is a problem, NOAA should hop to it and consolidate the methodologies used into a pamphlet for you to read and satisfy yourself that all is above board. That is, to be frank, moronic. NOAA is not there to answer the every whim of ignoramuses. Do your research, find out what the correct method of adjustment should be, and if the existing results are wrong publish a paper on it.

    Otherwise "I don't know" is not an argument that will convince anyone that that there is a problem with the methodology.

  128. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
    You don't get to decide where the burden of proof lies. Nobody cares if you don't "believe In" climate change.

    You're seeking to overturn the world's economic system and replace it with government control. That extreme a change requires strong proof, and it's just not there.

    Your moronic ignorance and bizarre paranoia is not impressive and is not a convincing argument.

  129. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    So you are saying science should be done in secret. That's not science, dude. Being able to reproduce and verify results is important.

  130. Who loves misery? by volmtech · · Score: 1

    Actually stopping climate change means going back to an 1800's lifestyle for 99% of the worlds population. The few who live that now desperately want out and the rest of aren't going back unless we have to.

    Even people who sincerely believe their lifestyle is killing the planet only make token changes. Only a world wide authoritarian government with firing squads for those who resist has any chance of working. Better make a lot of pop corn, it's going to be quite a show.

  131. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
    Sorry, you immediately drifted off topic :

    Is it a problem if there is no statistical warming for 17 years? Why is that a problem?

    Which 17 years are you referring to? Which datasets are you referring to?

    At what point is this theory falsifiable? How long do we have to wait?

    Why are you asking me? It's your assertion, you prove it

    Should models be falsifiable?

    Remember it's YOUR job to convince us that the science is wrong.

  132. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    So you are saying science should be done in secret.

    Comprehension fail on your part - your problem.

    Being able to reproduce and verify results is important.

    We wait with bated breath for you to justify your assertions with something reproducible.

  133. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Again, I am not making any claims about the temperature adjustments. The NOAA is the one claiming their adjustments are sound and justified. That may well be true, but I am curious how they got their results and would like to see the evidence that supports their assertions. Thus far they have not released that evidence, so I am not able to verify their results. I see no reason why I should just take their word for it. Science is about letting other people check your work. This is science 101 stuff and should be dead obvious to anyone with any scientific literacy at all.

    Can you imagine an oil funded think-tank making claims about global warming but refusing to release their data or their methodology? I bet you would be all over the lack of verifiability and reproducibility in that case. Like I said, people only seem to care about scientific principles when it suits them.

  134. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Are you saying that scientific claims should be assumed correct until proven wrong? If I say pink bunnies fly out of my ass at night, and you disagree, it's up to you to prove me wrong? The fact is, the models made predictions, and those predictions have failed. I don't need to prove the models wrong. They have proven themselves wrong. I'm just pointing it out. It matters because the model predictions are the basis for much of the global warming scare. I gave you the data-sets; I showed you the article from the journal Nature; I backed up my claims with evidence. And yet you are apparently unable to figure out which 17 years I am talking about? Wouldn't an informed person on this issue already know it hasn't warmed in the last 17 years? You would think that 17 years of no statistically significant surface warming would be an important fact to be aware of, but apparently you are not well informed.

    You ask "Should models be falsifiable"? Isn't it blatantly obvious that climate models should be falsifiable? That we should have specific criteria by which we can judge a models reliability in predicting future results? Instead, in climate science, we get constantly shifting goal posts. "We'll know the models are wrong if there is no warming for a period of 15 years or more." 15 years later: "We'll know the models are wrong if there is no warming for a period of 20 years or more". A few years later and still no warming: "We'll know the models are wrong if there is no warming for a period of 50 years or more." That's not science.

  135. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Ah, good news. It appears the methodology and code has now been made available. (Or maybe not? I haven't read through the whole thing yet.) See? Science in action! Now I can check for myself.

  136. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Err... Congratulations?

  137. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Oh thanks. It's nice to see reason prevail once in a while.

  138. Re:It's Okay by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Oh for fuck's sake, what does liberal have to do with communism? Are you trying to convince anyone that Stalin was a liberal?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  139. Re:It's Okay by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Mostly because what's considered "the left" in the US is considered "the moderate right" in most of the rest of the world.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  140. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by Mashiki · · Score: 1

    If you don't know why the data is adjusted, that is really your problem, not anybody elses. Nobody is responsible for you ignorance but yourself.

    So you're saying that it's up to me to prove why their methodology is incorrect, when they have yet to provide the proof or proofs as to why the altering of methodology is correct. But I'm apparently the ignorant one.

    If you think something is wrong with adjusting the data, then by all means, explain in detail what the problem is and how it should be done. Remember it's YOUR job to convince us that the science is wrong.

    Wrong, it's not my place to convince you that the science is wrong. It's up to them to prove that the adjustments are justified with proofs, along with this they're required to give an indepth explanation as to why they believed that such adjustments were necessary, as well as plotting out trends over the period sample.

    --
    Om, nomnomnom...
  141. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    So you're saying that it's up to me to prove why their methodology is incorrect,

    That's right.

    when they have yet to provide the proof or proofs as to why the altering of methodology is correct.

    They don't need to justify their methodology to every ignorant moron who thinks they are qualified because they edit a blog, any more than I need to prove the existence of owls to owl deniers.

    But I'm apparently the ignorant one.

    It's very apparent, yes.

    Wrong, it's not my place to convince you that the science is wrong.

    Very well then - I, and the vast majority of the scientific community, and humanity with us, will continue to accept the 150 odd years of climate research behind AGW, and push for mitigation until governments are forced into action. And you can sit quietly, or continue to scream about conspiracies and other delusion rantings like a homeless guy off his meds.

    It's up to them to prove that the adjustments are justified with proofs, along with this they're required to give an indepth explanation as to why they believed that such adjustments were necessary, as well as plotting out trends over the period sample.

    Nobody cares about your unproven (and obviously unprovable) assertions, anymore than we care about people who have doubts about the relative size of 15 versus 5, or the existence of owls. Your delusions are your problem.

  142. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Again, I am not making any claims about the temperature adjustments.

    Righto then. You can't - or won't - explain what is supposedly wrong with their methodology, then what are you expecting to achieve?

    Do you have a feeling that something isn't right with it?

    Let me be clear we don't care. Unless you can prove that there is a problem with the methodology you might as well be claiming that there are no owls. Your allegations amount to nonsensical babbling. Go away, do some research, and only come back when you have something non-ludicrous to say about climate change.

  143. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Are you saying that scientific claims should be assumed correct until proven wrong?

    No, you haven't convinced me that your claim ("climate change is a time travelling zombie conspiracy!") is correct. I won't be convinced until you provide your evidence.

    The fact is, the models made predictions, and those predictions have failed.

    Baseless assertion.

    I don't need to prove the models wrong.

    Yes you do. You claimed they ("the models") have failed - in other thread where this claim was discussed in detail you showed a remarkable propensity for avoiding any verifiable, workable definition of failure, can't name the models you claim have failed, can't reference a published paper detailing the failure, can't elaborate on whether you mean a suite of models or a class of models, constantly demonstrate clear ignorance of the purpose of models, their usage, bounds.

    If you are the expert on model that you claim to be, then by all means, produce a model that is more accurate and publish it. If sensitivity is lower than the climate record shows, then by all means, publish a paper that better defines the sensitivity and matches the climate record. If you are not prepared and not skilled or intelligent enough to do that, then too bad. You don't get to tell us whether the models are successful or not.

    I gave you the data-sets; I showed you the article from the journal Nature; I backed up my claims with evidence.

    You're delusional. Here's what you actually gave me:

    1. A link to a nature article which contradicts your central claims

    2. A link to the blog of a conspiracy theorist

    3. A link to Phil Jone's biography on wikipedia.

    With these links you plan to overturn 150 years of climate research.

    Call me skeptical, but I'm struggling to believe a word of it.

  144. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Yes, on your part, since you claimed there was no published methodology, and have now - apparently - found it.

  145. Re:Don't let politicians control the discussion th by Karmashock · · Score: 1

    Totally wrong. The denialist thing didn't start until after "an inconvenient truth", Kyoto, and the push for international carbon caps.

    That's just a fact. You are entitled to your own opinions.

    You are not entitled to your own facts.

    I'm sorry, but AGW was pushed... we took issue with some of the ideas... we were shut out of the process and given no recourse besides undermining AGW itself.

    So... that happened.

    If you want it to stop you need to back off and give us an equal voice at the table. Its our right as much as it is yours.

    Because you denied the obvious above I'm going to assume you're not willing to accept opposition input...

    The consequence of that is that the games continue.

    We only need to work hard enough to stalemate you. We've already pretty much won. Your whole push is more sound and fury signifying nothing at this point. The international efforts are mostly for show. Many countries that initially had aggressive programs have either canceled them or included so many loopholes that they don't matter. Etc Etc Etc.

    We're not stupid and we're not powerless.

    I am not bragging when I say we have enough power to stop these political factions unless they cooperate with us. So those are the terms. Take it or leave it.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
  146. Hence by NewYork · · Score: 1
  147. Re:It's Okay by thecatt · · Score: 1

    "Liberals" in the US believe in liberal government spending on programs designed to remove individual liberty. Of course, so do "conservatives" in the US these days.

  148. Re:It's Okay by mi · · Score: 1

    Oh for fuck's sake, what does liberal have to do with communism?

    Modern American Illiberals advocate bigger government role in the citizenry's every day lives. The bigger government needs higher taxes to support it, so, of course, taxes go up and up. Socialism/Communism aren't a binary (yes or no), they are gradual and can be measured — the measure is the percentage of GDP, that comes from spending by the government. Between Federal, State, and local governments nation-wide today, our percentage already exceeds 50%. Which means, the fate of over half of the monies spent by Americans is decided not by themselves, but by the politicians they elect.

    That is Socialism creeping up, which I refer to as Communism-lite and its proponents, who defile the proud name of Liberals by their invalid claims to the name — commies-lite. But the differences between Socialism and Communism are slight — indeed, per Karl Marx himself, the former leads to the latter — they are both Collectivist regimes, emphasizing the (Glorious) Collective over a (greedy) Individual. "It takes a village" — right?

    Are you trying to convince anyone that Stalin was a liberal?

    Oh, it all changes, once the "liberal" gets to actual power. As Lenin was explaining in his writing, for example, "we use bourgeois's freedom of press to further our cause, but, once we prevail, the freedom should be curtailed". Look at Obama — NSA's roles expanding, TSA ever more obnoxious, IRS is used to suppress opposition, while Capitalism is being sabotaged by regulations and politically-motivated prosecutions. That he is not using the outright violence of Stalin, is because his country — and its traditions — aren't Russia-like...

    But let's not get hung-up on Stalin, who (along with Hitler — another Collectivist), got so much negative press, that speaking fondly of them arouses nothing by (well-deserved) ridicule. How about Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez? Both are idols to American Illiberals — even though they turned their respective countries into shitholes. And Che Guevara — every Illiberal has a T-shirt with his likeness in their closet.

    Here is a quiz for you — can your recognize the person behind each quote?

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  149. Re:It's Okay by mi · · Score: 1

    Of course, so do "conservatives" in the US these days.

    Other than abortions, I can't think of a freedom, Conservatives are try to remove. And even that one comes from a (mistaken but sincere) belief, that fetus is a human being no less worthy of the State's protection from killing than any other citizen — a respectable opinion, even if you disagree with it.

    And even if Conservatives prevail and manage to outlaw abortions, I'll be able to pay for a trip to Canada, should my daughter ever needs the procedure. But, if obamas are allowed to continue ravaging the country, in 10 more years we'll all be so poor, having a free abortion clinic next door will be of little consolation.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  150. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    I never made any allegations. I don't know if there is anything wrong with their methodology. How could I know either way if they were not making their methodology public? That was the entire point, which you fail to understand. Do you seriously support keeping scientific data and methodology secret?

  151. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Lol. I said there was no global warming for the past 17 years and that scientists were trying to figure out why. The Nature article says: "Sixteen years into the mysterious ‘global-warming hiatus’, scientists are piecing together an explanation." That's direct, concrete evidence that backs up what I'm saying. I gave you a link where you can see the various data sets for yourself. I have no idea who hosts that app, but if you think they are using fake data, go download the datasets for yourself, or keep your head in the sand. I know for a fact they are accurate because I've checked, and besides nobody is disputing there has been no warming for 17 years anymore except global warming devotees who are in denial. If you dispute that no warming has taken place, maybe you should write to Nature and ask THEM why they say there has been a "hiatus" for 16 years (at the time). I don't need to "publish a paper" that shows climate sensitivity is much lower than the IPCC estimates. Others have already done this for me. If you were well informed on this subject, you would already know this and I wouldn't have to keep spoon feeding you information. I don't know what other thread you are talking about, but obviously I am talking about the IPCC climate models. They have failed to predict the 17 year pause, which explains why scientists must now "piece together an explanation", according to the science journal Nature. If you won't accept the journal Nature or the actual climate data, then there is nothing you will accept. That's religion, not science.

  152. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Wrong yet again. They published it because of the media attention generated over this issue. But good for them. They did the right thing.

  153. Re: CAGW is a trojan horse by IIJamesII · · Score: 1

    Overwhelming scientific support? That's a myth that is repeated over and over and over...

    If the global warming scare is based largely on model predictions which have failed, and scientists are scrambling to try to explain why they failed... I really don't understand how you can say my skepticism is unwarranted. Yes, CO2 is a greenhouse gas and is likely contributing some heat to the climate. But a climate sensitivity of 3-4 degrees? That's preposterous. There is no evidence for it, it's simply assumed in the models. The latest climate sensitivity "estimates" are far lower, the latest being around 1.3 degrees. Low climate sensitivity translates directly to no dangerous global warming. That would explain why there has been no global warming for the past 17 years. Everyone's time would be better spent focusing on innovative nuclear projects, where everybody wins. Fossil fuels are dirty, finite and expensive. But no, the oceans are not going to boil if we are stuck using fossil fuels for the next decade or two. Sorry to disappoint you.

    Ironically it's this misguided fixation on CO2 that is delaying our transition to new energy sources.

  154. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by cbeaudry · · Score: 1

    The facts are out about the "billions in funding".

    Its actually a little over 900 million.

    1. No where near the "BILLIONS"
    2. That amount was the total for ALL investments against AGW (not just Koch Bros)
    3. THAT WAS OVER A 10 year period. 10 FRAKKING YEARS.
    4. In comparison the USA alone spent approx. 22 Billion on Global Warming in 2013

    Now, tell me that the big bad oil industry is the problem. Go ahead.

  155. Jane is Lonny Eachus by khayman80 · · Score: 1

    Do you still repeat O'Sullivan's "PSI" misinformation about CO2 emissions now that you know he "forgot" to show the winter fluxes? Will you retract your comment, or do you still think it was honest, true and correct?

    You have mentioned this to me. I don't "know" it because I haven't seen any evidence. But it could be true. I'd have to see the evidence before I made up my mind. ... [Jane Q. Public, 2014-07-07]

    I already did: "John O’Sullivan showed the part of Figure 3 with the net fluxes in July 2009 but “forgot” to show the fluxes for the rest of the year."

    Click on "Figure 3" then scroll down to Figure 3 to verify, but this shouldn't be necessary because a comment by truegoogle on your original "PSI" link already made that point.

    You can call it "pedantry" if you want, but I call it "taking your words at face value, and refusing to assume you meant something else when you wrote them". That is a pretty obvious difference between you and me. [Jane Q. Public, 2014-07-09]

    Can we agree that our carbon emissions are ~200% as large as the rise in atmospheric CO2?

    1. Re:Jane is Lonny Eachus by khayman80 · · Score: 2

      Can we agree that our carbon emissions are ~200% as large as the rise in atmospheric CO2?

      That doesn't seem like an unreasonable thing to assert. But that is very different from what you wrote before. [Jane Q. Public]

      Then maybe it isn't unreasonable to assert that all the "PSI" misinformation from Lord Monckton, Dr. Salby, Prof. Humlum, and John O'Sullivan is... misinformation. If you notice someone repeating those claims, please consider pointing out that they're ignoring simple accounting, decreasing oxygen, calculus, the seasons, increasing CO2 in the oceans, isotope ratios, etc.

  156. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    I never made any allegations. I don't know if there is anything wrong with their methodology.

    Safe then for me to assume that there is no problem with their methodology since nobody, to my knowledge, has described any problems with it.

  157. "Evidence" for evolution? by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    Almost all the "evidence" for evolution is post-facto interpretation of data to conform to the model. The usual evidence for evolution that is trotted out doesn't actually demonstrate EVOLUTION; it tends to demonstrate natural selection as a mechanism for explaining the prevalence of certain variations in species over others. There is no observation of speciation in, for example, viruses or bacteria where generations are extremely short. Evolution is a powerful story. It provides a justification for being an atheist - so is not adopted neutrally, but part of a wider ideological package.

    1. Re:"Evidence" for evolution? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Species is something of a meaningless concept in asexual organisms. They only get classified for the sake of convenience.

  158. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
    (a) Did you, or did you not say "I'd like to know more, but it's up to the NOAA to explain what adjustments were made, why they were made, and what algorithms they used. So far they have not been forthcoming. "

    (b) Did you, or did you not, say: "It appears the methodology and code have [...] been made available"

    (c) Did you, or did you not, say (a), and then (b), thus retracting statement (a) by statement (b).

    Answers parts a,b AND c.

  159. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    Answer to b): No I did not say that. I do find it interesting how you could fail to accurately reproduce what I actually wrote only a few posts up. It almost looks like you are deliberately misquoting me.

  160. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    Again, do you support keeping data and methodology "private" so nobody can examine it?

  161. Re:Falsifiability is not optional for science by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    If you'd like to assert that falsifiability isn't required

    You're the one doing the asserting that a falsifiable statement *is* required for science. I'm not required to prove a negative.

    It is not and never has been a requirement for science. It's a belief of the philosopher Karl Popper, and nothing more.

  162. Why /. may not be the solution to all the worlds p by fuzzy2k · · Score: 1

    The problem with posting any sort of article about facts vs. beliefs in todays society and, especially, on the intarwebz, is that you then get a long chain of things like this. (See above) (Go ahead, scroll. I'll wait.)

    --
    --- Say something clever. Pretend it was me. Thanks.
  163. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
    Are you the same poster I was just interrogating?

    Do you use 2 or more accounts to game Slashdot's moderation system?

  164. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Looks to me like you accidently logged in using one of your other fake accounts. Are you paid to shill for just oil companies or are you generally for hire?

  165. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    How many of the people (denialists) who post in climate change related articles is actually you? You accidently logged in using a different account, I'm wondering - how many accounts would you manage for a slip up like that to occur? How many posts per day?

  166. Re:No. Ideology and political positions *are* link by theNAM666 · · Score: 1

    Ah, it seems we have someone who thinks there's a -1 "disagree" option.

  167. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    Funny. No, I created a new account to match my blog name. I'm not using the old account anymore, although I should have continued using it here for continuities sake I suppose.

  168. Re:Falsifiability is not optional for science by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    So, according to you

    Nope, I never said anything of the kind.

    Still waiting for you to provide evidence that falsifiability is a necessary part of science, and not just a proposal by the philosopher Karl Popper.

    You can't of course.

    You're wasting your time with youtube links by the way. I'm not going to waste the time it takes to watch them. You're not worth it.

  169. Re:Falsifiability is not optional for science by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    So you still have no evidence for your claim falsifiability s a necessary part of science. Let's face it, you know full well your claim was wrong.

    Falsifiability is quite obviously the answer to the demarcation problem

    That's Karl Popper's angle. Which does precisely zero to make it a part of the scientific method.

  170. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1
    Well, be sure to record on your blog your most recent discoveries

    (a) That there is in fact a methodology underpinning the collation of of temperature data (contrary to your previous statements)

    (b) That you cannot describe any issue with NOAAs climate methodologies , but you are angry that NOAA did not see fit to share their methodology with you personally so that you wouldn't be forced to google for it. Perhaps if you speak eloquently concerning your anger, a helpful poster will give you some hints on better ways to channel your anger.

    (c) Be sure also to include your theory on how the scientific community actually thinks that warming ceased 17 years ago, based on a single word you plucked from a single article in nature, and in contrast to what the actual temperature data tells us. I'm sure that the scorn expressed by various parties is really just respect (in disguise) at your undoubted brilliance,

  171. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    Reading comprehension is important.
    a) I never said there wasn't a methodology, just that they hadn't released it at the time. You seem to be deluding yourself into believing that the code was always publicly available.
    b) I was not angry, but I disagreed with their decision to keep the information private. Good for them for changing their tune. You apparently see nothing wrong with keeping scientific data hidden away from prying eyes.
    c) Interesting that you still deny the recent lack of warming. The HADCRUT4 warming trend since 1997 is a statistically insignificant 5 one-hundredths of a degree per decade. I find it interesting how people react when confronted with plain facts that challenge their views. Maybe you should contact the Journal Nature and explain to them how they made a big, amateur blunder when they said there was a 16 year "hiatus" in global warming.

  172. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Reading comprehension is important.

    You seem to be pinning your hopes on your readers not exercising any reading comprehension. Your hope is vain.

    a) I never said there wasn't a methodology, just that they hadn't released it at the time. You seem to be deluding yourself into believing that the code was always publicly available.

    Tut Tut Tut. Naughty naughty!

    You said:I'd like to know more, but it's up to the NOAA to explain what adjustments were made, why they were made, and what algorithms they used. So far they have not been forthcoming. I would like to be able to scrutinize their work, but I can't. I would like to try to repeat their work, but I can't. You said that here. Don't lie, and especially don't tell stupid lies. It's very unbecoming and makes us doubt all of your OTHER unevidenced assertions.

    b) I was not angry,

    You seem angry.

    but I disagreed with their [NOAA's] decision to keep the information private.

    You blame others for your own ignorance. In fact, your ignorance of the function and efficacy of climate models, and the methodology behind them, is entirely your fault, and your affair. You assertion that NOAA kept some methodology (for what? when? why?) private is entirely unevidenced.

    You apparently see nothing wrong with keeping scientific data hidden away from prying eyes.

    I've repeatedly noted that the "science" in question, which is the science behind your assertions, is unevidenced and therefore not science. Your allegation is frankly bizarre.

    c) Interesting that you still deny the recent lack of warming. The HADCRUT4 warming trend since 1997 is a statistically insignificant 5 one-hundredths of a degree per decade.

    Tut Tut Tut.

    Naughty Naughty!

    You said there has been no warming for the last 17 years.

    I suspect you don't even know what HADCRUT4 is. Unfortunately for you, I do. And unfortunately for your argument, the actual temperature data is readily available, and your argument, such as it is, has already been repeatedly debunked - heck, I've debunked it myself.

    Please indicate on this graph of temperatures how there has been no warming from 1996-2014 (compared to the previous 14 years 1982-1996).

  173. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    a) Readiing comprehension. They released the code on July 8th in response to all the controversy. I've pointed that out to you at least twice now.
    b) You seem intellectually dishonest and childish, who cares so much about "winning" a meaningless debate you can't admit when you're clearly wrong. But that's a personal statement, and why start getting personal? If you think I am "angry", you are projecting.
    Again, the code was kept private until July 8th. Why would they go to the trouble of releasing code that was already available (according to you - which you have not substantiated). If you have evidence that the code was released prior to July, I'm all ears.
    You are saying the reason that I couldn't find the unreleased code is because of my own ignorance. It should be easy for you to substantiate that accusation. You won't because you can't. Instead you will continue to insist that I prove a negative. Logic 101... Maybe you can answer this: What evidence could I provide that would prove that the code hadn't been released prior to July?
    c) Clearly you do not know what "statistical significance" means. Why do you show me a graph purporting to debunk my claim of no trend for the last 17 years that uses a trend-line that starts in 1950? Pretty sloppy. Here is what the trend looks like from 1997, using various datasets, including your GISS temps. The average temperature increase from the five models is about 4 one-hundredths of a degree per decade. That is not a statistically significant amount. Ie: it is well within the margin of uncertainty. In other words: there is no discernable trend. Or to put it another way: the planet has not warmed in 17 years. If you believe otherwise you should point it out to the Journal Nature. They say there has been a 16 year plateau. I'm sure they will be embarrassed by their amateur error once you point it out to them.

  174. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    a) Readiing comprehension. They released the code on July 8th in response to all the controversy. I've pointed that out to you at least twice now.

    So, let's be clear. You are saying that if I look, I will not find a methodology for the homogenisation of longitudinal temperature data (i.e. USHCN v2.0 or v2.5 and GHCN) published prior to July 8th 2014?

    My time is important. What should be my motivation for spending the time to look: Let's say, if I find a methodology, you will issue the following statement: I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false.

    Deal?

    Also, I hate to speak out of school but there is no such controversy. There is chatter on the usual blogs, but this doesn't amount to controversy - bloggers don't get a seat at the science table. To do that, you need to use science, which, I have to say, I see is sorely lacking in both your arguments and the arguments of your peers and betters. Like as not, the scientific community probably didn't even notice these paranoid rantings.

    You blame others for your own ignorance. In fact, your ignorance of the function and efficacy of climate models, and the methodology behind them, is entirely your fault, and your affair. You assertion that NOAA kept some methodology (for what? when? why?) private is entirely unevidenced.

    b) You seem intellectually dishonest and childish, who cares so much about "winning" a meaningless debate you can't admit when you're clearly wrong. But that's a personal statement, and why start getting personal? If you think I am "angry", you are projecting.

    This is not a debate. You are trying to convince me that your science (as yet unreferenced) is correct, and the 150 years of climate research which contradicts your assertions is wrong (for reasons, somehow, you have yet to begin explaining). Of course I know a deal about climate science (who would enter a discussion such as this if they were ignorant? Only a moron would do that!) , but I'm not under any obligation to dissemble the things I know or correct your ignorance should it raise it's head. Your ignorance it's your concern, not mine.

    Again, the code was kept private until July 8th.

    Let's test this assertion directly:

    What model code NOAA publish on July 8th 2014?

    Where did they publish this code?

    Which climate model was the code written for?

    You are saying the reason that I couldn't find the unreleased code is because of my own ignorance. It should be easy for you to substantiate that accusation. You won't because you can't.

    Your feelings about my motivations are of no consequence.

    Maybe you can answer this: What evidence could I provide that would prove that the code hadn't been released prior to July?

    This is your problem. You made the assertion, you prove it.

    c) Clearly you do not know what "statistical significance" means.

    Not for you to judge, I'm afraid.

    Why do you show me a graph purporting to debunk my claim of no trend for the last 17 years that uses a trend-line that starts in 1950?

    You can't read a graph, even when the graph includes all of the timeline you need? I guess that answers my question. You can't explain the continued warming post 1996, nor the fact that the period 1997-2013 was warmer than the period 1982-1996.

    Here is what the trend looks like from 1997, using various datasets, including your GISS temps. [woodfortrees.org]

    Why does this dataset start at 1997?

    Do you even know how to formulate the required data to justify your assertion there has been no warming for 17 years?

    The average temperature increas

  175. Re:Falsifiability is not optional for science by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

    Do you not understand the demarcation problem?
    Do you not understand that without the requirement of falsifiability, you allow things like astrology and intelligent design to be considered "science"?

    I'm afraid your problem is that you are having to try and argue your opinion that falsifiability should be an essential part of the scientific method, because it isn't. If it was, you could supply the evidence that is was. And you can't.

    And since it isn't an essential part of the scientific method, your one and only objection to AGW is worthless.

  176. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    Do you even know what statistical significance means? The temperature is always fluctuating. Four hundredths of a single degree over a 10 year period is next to nothing, and is well within the margin of uncertainty. But your logic I could claim it has been cooling since 2001. The models predicted 2 tenths of a degree warming per decade.

    The IPCC report says that AGW is repsonsible for 50%+ of warming since 1950, at 95% certainty. I don't know why Stocker is misrepresenting it, maybe you should ask him. Go read the report for yourself. It's easy to try to change history after predictions fail.

    Have fun looking for that code.

  177. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    So, let's be clear. You are saying that if I look, I will not find a methodology for the homogenisation of longitudinal temperature data (i.e. USHCN v2.0 or v2.5 and GHCN) published prior to July 8th 2014?

    My time is important. What should be my motivation for spending the time to look: Let's say, if I find a methodology, you will issue the following statement: I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false.

    Deal?

    Have fun looking for that code.

    I take that as a yes.

    USHCN methodology Last updated Oct 2013

    GHCN methodologyLast updated 2009

    Total time less than 5 minutes.

    Now, where would be an appropriate place for your retraction? I suggest:

    (1) On your blog

    (2) That if you ever choose to post here again on a climate related topic, your remarks should start with this disclaimer.

    The temperature is always fluctuating. Four hundredths of a single degree over a 10 year period is next to nothing, and is well within the margin of uncertainty. But your logic I could claim it has been cooling since 2001. The models predicted 2 tenths of a degree warming per decade.

    Well, thanks for just making stuff up. Are you actually going to attempt to justify your statement There has been no warming for 17 years? Not that I should have to tell you what to do, but you might progress along this path if you cite a scientific paper which says this. (i.e 1996-2013) Don't imagine that you can bedazzle me with figures that you plucked out of your arse, mixed together with flawed methodology and then shaped into a cake for consumption, I'm not eating it. I don't accept assertions and distortions as proof. Cite.

    The IPCC report says that AGW is repsonsible for 50%+ of warming since 1950, at 95% certainty. I don't know why Stocker is misrepresenting it, maybe you should ask him. Go read the report for yourself. It's easy to try to change history after predictions fail.

    So to summarise: the source you relied upon for your statement: there has been no warming for 17 years is in fact misrepresenting the facts. Got it.

    You seem angry btw.

  178. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    You are flailing around without a clue. You have no shame and will just say anything, no matter how baseless, no matter how nonsensical. It would be fun to watch if it wasn't so embarrassing.

    Here the link to the code they released. They made it available to Zeke Hausfather who made it available to everyone else.

    Regarding the 17 year "plateau" that you deny, apparently you can't interpret a graph, don't know what 'statistical significance' means, and Nature isn't good enough for you either. Right off the top of my head, here's a paper that tries to explain the "hiatus". According to your insightful analysis there is nothing to explain.

    I've provided links directly to the temperature data, yet you accuse me of making it up and plucking those figures out of my ass. It is obvious that you are in a state of denial. How ironic that a global warming supporter denies what the data says and denies the scientific journals (when it suits him). Your behaviour here contributes to my thesis. Thank you for your time.

  179. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    You are flailing around without a clue. You have no shame and will just say anything, no matter how baseless, no matter how nonsensical. It would be fun to watch if it wasn't so embarrassing.

    Well, you are right about one thing - you ought to be embarrassed. You b rought that embarrassment upon yourself. Please post a link to your blog so that we can check that you have posted the disclaimer: I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false per our agreement.

    Here the link to the code they released. [dropbox.com] They made it available to Zeke Hausfather [yaleclimat...ctions.org] who made it available to everyone else.

    Well, my time - even 5 minutes of it, is important, so let's make a deal: If I check your sources and find (a) That the citation your allege is NOAA's GHCN homogenization code is NOT in fact NOAA's code, and/or (b) NOAA's actual homogenization code is available from their ftp site, and was there prior to July 7th 2014, that you will amend the above statement as such:

    I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false. Further, I made remarks concerning the work of Zeke Hausfather which might have impugned Mr Hausfather's motivation's, for which I apologize to him, and further, implied that NOAA had not released their homogenization code for GCHN 2.5 prior to July 2014 - a remark, which upon investigation, turned out to be false. I admit that I was wrong concerning these statements. You will post this statement at the beginning of any remarks you make on Slashdot on any climate related topic, and also on your blog, and cite that blog so that we can satisfy ourselves that you have acted as agreed.

    Do we have a deal?

    Regarding the 17 year "plateau" that you deny, apparently you can't interpret a graph [woodfortrees.org], don't know what 'statistical significance' means, and Nature [nature.com] isn't good enough for you either.

    So, you agree with the following quotation from the nature article you cite as a source: Overall, the report cites more than 9,200 scientific papers, two-thirds of which have been published since 2007. There is now an overwhelming body of evidence, says Stocker, that the 1 C or so of global warming since the mid-nineteenth century is the result of human activity.

    Well, thanks for just making stuff up. Are you actually going to attempt to justify your statement There has been no warming for 17 years? Not that I should have to tell you what to do, but you might progress along this path if you cite a scientific paper which says this. (i.e 1996-2013)

    Right off the top of my head, here's a paper [that details and proves a 17 year period (1996-2013) of no warming]

    To quote from said paper:

    The 2000s are by far the warmest decade on record (Figure 1). Before then the 1990s were the warmest decade on record.

    and:

    Deniers of climate change often cherry-pick points on time series and seize on the El Niño warm year of 1998 as the start of the 'hiatus' in global mean temperature rise (Figure 6). Cherry picking.... that would be what YOU are doing, would it not?

    Is seems the paper you cite says in fact the opposite of what you assert, and is, in fact, saying exactly what I thought when this conversation started! How about that! You've made no ground in your efforts to convince me that global warming is a scam, and if anything, the links provided confirm the consensus position.

    You're a failure.

    I've provided links directly to the temperature data

    Cite yourself providing links directly to the temperature data.

    yet you bzzzzt

    Nope, don't care what you think.

  180. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    If you can show me previously released code and procedures that shows why the temperatures for 1936 fluctuate up and down by as much as a degree from month to month, and I can run accurately back test it, then I will happily admit I was wrong, and that the NOAA has been open with their procedures all along, just that some implications of those procedures weren't made clear. I will also say "thank you" for clearing that little detail up for me. And what will you do if you discover I am correct? And what will you do when you admit I am correct about the temperature trends for the last 17 years?

    Note I have been using 1997, BEFORE the El Nino warm year. And of course you wouldn't notice that because then you wouldn't be able to accuse me of cherry picking. See my point about 'flailing' above. I am genuinely curious though: did you notice that I used 1997, then decide to ignore it? Or did you honestly not notice at all?

    Much of my effort here has been observing how you deny plain facts. The paper you cite is trying to explain the pause. You are denying the pause even exists.

    SkepticalScience.com, one of the most fervent pro-warming sites around, describes the woodfortrees app as "excellent". You can click on the "raw data" link beneath the graph. But since the graphs appear to support my position, they must be faking the temperature data, right? You will say anything that you think strengthens your position, and deny the blatantly obvious when it appears to weaken your position. You are now suggesting the Journal Nature is not trustworthy. It is interesting to watch the "pro-science" side throw scientific journals under the bus when the facts don't support their positions.

  181. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Please post a link to your blog so that we can check that you have posted the disclaimer: I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false per our agreement.

    I note that you did not provide the link. If you lack the intellectual honesty necessary to do as you agreed and suffer the consequences of making assertions that you can't prove (and are in fact, trivially disproved) - if you lack that intellectual honesty, then further discussion is likely to be unproductive.

    Well, my time - even 5 minutes of it, is important, so let's make a deal: If I check your sources and find (a) That the citation your allege is NOAA's GHCN homogenization code is NOT in fact NOAA's code, and/or (b) NOAA's actual homogenization code is available from their ftp site, and was there prior to July 7th 2014, that you will amend the above statement as such:

    I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false. Further, I made remarks concerning the work of Zeke Hausfather which might have impugned Mr Hausfather's motivation's, for which I apologize to him, and further, implied that NOAA had not released their homogenization code for GCHN 2.5 prior to July 2014 - a remark, which upon investigation, turned out to be false. I admit that I was wrong concerning these statements.

    You will post this statement at the beginning of any remarks you make on Slashdot on any climate related topic, and also on your blog, and cite that blog so that we can satisfy ourselves that you have acted as agreed.

    A "yes" (please test my assertion) or "no" (don't test my assertion, I withdraw it) will suffice. There isn't any negotiation. You have nothing I want.

    So, you agree with the following quotation from the nature article you cite as a source: Overall, the report cites more than 9,200 scientific papers, two-thirds of which have been published since 2007. There is now an overwhelming body of evidence, says Stocker, that the 1 C or so of global warming since the mid-nineteenth century is the result of human activity.

    [no answer]

    Do you agree with this remark from your cited source, or not (i.e you repudiate your source)?

    To quote from said paper [cited by you]:

    The 2000s are by far the warmest decade on record (Figure 1). Before then the 1990s were the warmest decade on record.

    and:

    Deniers of climate change often cherry-pick points on time series and seize on the El Niño warm year of 1998 as the start of the 'hiatus' in global mean temperature rise (Figure 6).

    The paper you cite is trying to explain the pause.

    This is the paper you cited. This is the paper you cited, directly contradicting your claim that there has been no warming for 17 years. It is not trying to explain the pause, it debunks the notion of a 17 year pause. *facepalm*

    SkepticalScience.com, one of the most fervent pro-warming sites around, describes the woodfortrees app as "excellent". You can click on the "raw data" link beneath the graph. But since the graphs appear to support my position, they must be faking the temperature data, right? You will say anything that you think strengthens your position, and deny the blatantly obvious when it appears to weaken your position. You are now suggesting the Journal Nature is not trustworthy. It is interesting to watch the "pro-science" side throw scientific journals under the bus when the facts don't support their positions.

    This is the link you are referring to, correct?

  182. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by GiordyS · · Score: 1

    I cite and you cite back. That's not obvious? Do whatever you like. I'm pretty sure you are looking at two different articles. I understand Stocker has misrepresented the actual report, but maybe because he was looking at the report for policy makers? It's a bit more "informal". Why don't you find out what the official report says and find out for yourself? (You don't know what the report says, do you?) Yeah, I know. It's up to me to provide a web page, and a page line, and a direct quote. IPCC reports are not easy for my grandparents to find either. Just goes to show you don't know WTF you are talking about. Apparently it's my job to educate you about what YOUR SIDE ACTUALLY SAYS, and then I have to defend against your RANDOM accusations, often against your own 'sides' position. I'm looking forward to witnessing more of your ridiculous grandstanding. It suits my purpose. Just in case we are unclear: I have no respect for your abilities what-so-ever. (At least, if this is all you have to offer.) BTW, this SkS page describes WFT as excellent: http://www.skepticalscience.com/temperature_trend_calculator.html. And yes, I hate myself a little bit for having to reference a SkS page.

  183. Re:CAGW is a trojan horse by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

    Please post a link to your blog so that we can check that you have posted the disclaimer: I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false per our agreement.

    I note that you did not provide the link. If you lack the intellectual honesty necessary to do as you agreed and suffer the consequences of making assertions that you can't prove (and are in fact, trivially disproved) - if you lack that intellectual honesty, then further discussion is likely to be unproductive.

    [no response]

    Provide the citation as agreed.

    Well, my time - even 5 minutes of it, is important, so let's make a deal: If I check your sources and find (a) That the citation your allege is NOAA's GHCN homogenization code is NOT in fact NOAA's code, and/or (b) NOAA's actual homogenization code is available from their ftp site, and was there prior to July 7th 2014, that you will amend the above statement as such:

    I made remarks impugning the scientific methodology underpinning datasets published by NOAA which, upon investigation, turned out to be false. Further, I made remarks concerning the work of Zeke Hausfather which might have impugned Mr Hausfather's motivation's, for which I apologize to him, and further, implied that NOAA had not released their homogenization code for GCHN 2.5 prior to July 2014 - a remark, which upon investigation, turned out to be false. I admit that I was wrong concerning these statements.

    You will post this statement at the beginning of any remarks you make on Slashdot on any climate related topic, and also on your blog, and cite that blog so that we can satisfy ourselves that you have acted as agreed.

    A "yes" (please test my assertion) or "no" (don't test my assertion, I withdraw it) will suffice. There isn't any negotiation. You have nothing I want.

    [no response]

    Provide the response as specified

    So, you agree with the following quotation from the nature article you cite as a source: Overall, the report cites more than 9,200 scientific papers, two-thirds of which have been published since 2007. There is now an overwhelming body of evidence, says Stocker, that the 1 C or so of global warming since the mid-nineteenth century is the result of human activity.

    [no answer]

    Do you agree with this remark from your cited source, or not (i.e you repudiate your source)?

    [no response]

    Provide the response as specified

    To quote from said paper [cited by you]:

    The 2000s are by far the warmest decade on record (Figure 1). Before then the 1990s were the warmest decade on record.

    and:

    Deniers of climate change often cherry-pick points on time series and seize on the El Niño warm year of 1998 as the start of the 'hiatus' in global mean temperature rise (Figure 6).

    The paper you cite is trying to explain the pause.

    This is the paper you cited. This is the paper you cited, directly contradicting your claim that there has been no warming for 17 years. It is not trying to explain the pause, it debunks the notion of a 17 year pause. *facepalm*

    [no response]

    Provide the explanation to this inconsistency.

    SkepticalScience.com, one of the most fervent pro-warming sites around, describes the woodfortrees app as "excellent". You can click on the "raw data" link beneath the graph. But since the graphs appear to support my position, they must be faking the temp

  184. Re:It's Okay by DrXym · · Score: 1

    Liberal in most sane countries refers to a centrist who promotes progressive ideas usually taken from both the left and right. In the US it seems to be a bizarre insult almost equal to calling someone a commie / socialist.

  185. Re:It's Okay by DrXym · · Score: 1

    Perhaps you should be asking your doctor which medication is right for you.

  186. Re: It's Okay by DrXym · · Score: 1

    Libertarians don't really have an obvious counterpart in Europe. It sure as hell isn't liberals who are centrist parties who tend to balance ideas which they cherry pick from left and right.