Category Archives: Political Commentary

Business, Economics, Mathematics, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Climate-Change Communications

8 Comments

…moving beyond certainty:

The strategy of hyping certainty and a scientific consensus and dismissing decadal variability is a bad move for communicating a very complex, wicked problem such as climate change. Apart from the ‘meaningful’ issue, its an issue of trust – hyping certainty and a premature consensus does not help the issue of public trust in the science.

This new paper is especially interesting in context of the Karl et al paper, that ‘disappears’ the hiatus. I suspect that the main take home message for the public (those paying attention, anyways) is that the data is really really uncertain and there is plenty of opportunity for scientists to ‘cherry pick’ methods to get desired results.

Apart from the issue of how IPCC leaders communicate the science to the public, this paper also has important implications for journalists. The paper has a vindication of sorts for David Rose, who asked hard hitting questions about the pause at the Stockholm press conference.

It’s a good, and necessary first step.

Business, Education, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Social Commentary

We’re In The Midst Of A College Revolution

1 Comment

…and the “liberals” are leading it:

At this point I have to ask: Where has Schlosser been the past year? He talks about the erosion of professors’ abilities to teach their students topics that may challenge their worldview. But how has he missed that liberal politicians have already adopted the position that an accusation is all the evidence one needs?

California passed “yes means yes” last year, a law that makes it far easier to accuse someone of sexual assault and provides no due process rights to those accused. States across the country have introduced similar bills. U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Claire McCaskill are pushing for a national law that also erodes due process rights.

And the same people pushing for trigger warnings and safe spaces are pushing the “terrifying” policy that accusations equal guilt.

It’s great that Schlosser and others have finally realized the problems on college campuses, but they still have a lot to learn.

Yes, they don’t realize that they created this monster.

[Update a few minutes later]

The lowest-paid and least secure in the system are adjuncts.

[Update a few minutes later]

Jonathan Chait: The liberal backlash against campus PC is in full swing.

Josh Marshall is unimpressed, too:

In other words, Kipnis wrote a sharp-tongued, one-dimensional caricature of university sexual assault and trigger warning activists at Northwestern. And they turned around and proved her one-dimensional caricature 100% right.

Yup.

Business, Political Commentary, Space, Technology and Society

The Power Of Instapundit

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His link to the Kickstarter today (plus his generous contribution) put me almost a third of the way to the goal.

OK, well, not sure that Jeff Garzik’s $1000 contribution was a result of that link, but thanks! I’ll try to give money’s worth.

[Friday-morning update]

Got my first $500 contributors overnight, and almost halfway to the goal.

[Afternoon update]

Past the halfway mark, with eleven days to go.

Media Criticism, Philosophy, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

“Skeptics”

10 Comments

Why they hate climate skeptics:

As described above there were a number of factors and incidents that brought the skeptics movement to where it is today. Under different circumstance skeptical heroes might have included Freeman Dyson, Michael Crichton, Matt Ridley, Bjorn Lomborg, and Michael Fumento instead of Carl Sagan, Michael Mann, Bill Nye, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

The forces for group cohesion can be powerful. Within the skeptic community voices that dissented in any way (or even just said “I don’t know”) tended to become more and more marginalized. Those who might dissent now have for the most part left, shut up or deferred to “science” and their places have been taken by those who believe. I once asked on a skeptical forum, why the group responded so harshly to any statements challenging climate fears, but no one ever commented or challenged any statements no matter how ridiculous exaggerating climate fears. I was told that false statements against the climate understandings represented real threats, but little harm could come from overstatements of climatic risk. No one on that forum took issue with that position and that’s when I figured I could not learn much more there. This is a group on a mission that is not accepting of distractions.

I subscribed to the Skeptical Inquirer back in the eighties, but I quit when Schermer took over, it started to veer left, and to a dogmatic atheism.

Health, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Treating The “Transgendered”

10 Comments

Are they different than LGBs? It does seem like a different situation, in that there is no “treatment” required for LGBs. And the treatment seems to be extreme, and in the long run, perhaps not helpful, or it makes things worse.

And no, it’s not “bigoted” or “phobic” to ask the question.

[Thursday-morning update]

A plea for insanity.

[Bumped]