I guess reality has a scientific bias

by Sara Björk

“ClimateGate” Continues to Expose Anti-Science Tendencies on the Right Wing
[Via The Intersection]

It’s pretty unfair to call somebody “anti-science.” I mean, everybody likes science, right?

That’s what I always thought–at least until fairly recently. That Daniel Henninger Wall Street Journal article got me thinking otherwise, a bit–but only a bit.

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All one has to do is read the denialist comments to see this anti-science view from people who can only be described as conservative in the classic sense. Like with creationists, they keep making the same points that have been previously debunked. They continue to use rhetoric that has shown to be wrong and to rely on facts that have been misrepresented. Pointing this out to them simply does not satisfy their needs.

These people have some important internal reason to be totally lost to facts and rational explanations. But the key is to find the group of people who seem to masquerade as denialists but who are still amenable to rational discussion and whose view can still be changed.

I like this anecdote related by Gaythia:

For example, I spent a recent day largely grounded at the San Jose airport, because, as my airline representative chose to tell us, “silly environmental rules in California prevent them from purchasing and using the deicing equipment necessary” to get the planes off the ground that frosty morning. A pilot, seeing the science title on the book I was reading, launched into an attack of slimebag, lying scientists. He seemed to have some support among our fellow travelers since, as several people could tell by the weather that morning, the whole global warming thing was a farce. However, in response to my question: “Fly any polar routes lately?” there was a transformation. All the sudden climate change wasn’t something done by pointy head intellectual scientists in laboratories, he, himself, Mr. Airline Pilot, was an expert. It turns out he has quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that, as he put it, “something is up”.

Now we just need to figure out an easily identifiable way to separate out the true denialist from those who might still respond to rational arguments based on facts, not innuendo. Those are the people we need to focus on. Any suggestions?

[Listening to: The Real Me from the album "Quadrophenia [Disc 1]” by The Who]

xkcd rules

It’s like he was reading the comments on my blog…

[Via Deltoid]

See xkcd.

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Substitute evolution for special relativity and you have my world. Generally, the times when something like this happened were when people had not carefully examined the relationship of the theory to reality. These are often so called ‘common sense’ ideas that are not really vetted because everyone just accepts them.

I think of ulcers being caused by bacteria of such an example.. everyone ‘knew’ that stress caused them and the treatments attacked these symptoms. The idea that the ulcers were caused by a bacterial infection was simply not seriously examined until Marshall and Warren. Read the timeline and you can get some small idea of where the field was and how resistant it was to these new ideas. Marshall’s consumption of the disease-causing bacteria and subsequent curing by antibiotics is one of the greatest self-experiments of the last 50 years. That revolution resulted in a Nobel Prize.

But theories like special relativity, evolution and climate change have been highly vetted, by thousands of people, each knowing that if they can overthrow the theory in any significant way, they too will get a Nobel Prize.I f a theory can stand up to decades of that sort of scrutiny, the chances of a naive amateur accomplishing that revolution is greatly diminished.

Good for him

Revkin accepting buy-out, heading for Pace University

[Via CEJournal]

Andrew Revkin, the New York Times reporter who probably has done more than any other journalist to raise public awareness about the issue of climate change, is accepting a buy-out. He will leave the Times after returning from covering the climate talks in Copenhagen.

Andy will be heading for a position as a senior fellow for environmental understanding at Pace University’s Academy for Applied Environmental Studies in White Plains, New York. He’ll do some teaching, continue writing, and develop some new exciting initiatives.

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I think this will be a good thing in the long run. The needs of the Gray Lady, or any paper, can often be at cross purposes to effective science journalism. Selling papers is the bottom line and most times a Tiger Woods story will overshadow climate reporting, even if that is “the most important issue humanity has ever faced.”

Of course, by joining academia, Revkin now reveals himself to be part of the all-encompassing global conspiracy regarding climate change. I am waiting for the first denialist posts detailing how we now know he was in the tank for the conspiracy and how he is now being rewarded for his good work. </snark>

The octopus and the coconut

by lecates

Octopus snatches coconut and runs
[Via BBC News | Science/Nature | World Edition]

Scientists have been surprised to observe octopuses picking up coconuts and “running” away with them.

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The octopus is a pretty amazing creature, with a dexterity we find hard to believe. And very intelligent also, These particular types are really good at finding alternative modes to move along the sea floor. All to either use a piece of found flotsam or to impersonate the same.

I wrote several years ago about a research paper that discussed some of these modes. The same species was filmed walking around making itself look like a floating coconut.

Now they are actually using coconut shells for protection. Clever creatures.

[Listening to: Somebody To Love from the album "Surrealistic Pillow" by Jefferson Airplane]