Monday
Mar022015
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Quote of the day, chutzpah edition
As a social scientist and policy researcher with a particular interest and involvement in the media I’ve long been frustrated by the predominant tactics aimed at mobilising public concern. Phrases like “the science is finished” and “the greatest challenge facing humanity” have sought to enrol the public and politicians in a grand cause. But these approaches may alienate as many as they attract.
This comes from Joe Smith, in an article at the Conversation. Smith's career to date involves trying to get just these kind of messages on the BBC airwaves, preferably by stealth.
Reader Comments (55)
It doesn't add up:
I think he/she/it is one of the Duddleston protesters. They claim to be anti-fracking, but the application is for exploratory coal-bed methane extraction.
" 4/8 IPCC 1990 SPM “On a decadal timescale solar variability & changes in
GHG concentration could give changes of similar magnitude”
"
I assume that GHG concentration hasn‘t varied in it's growth so is the IPCC saying that it is solar variability that is responsible for the lack of temperature growth??
" One of the biggest problems in defects diagnosis, is the lengths people will
go to, to protect their own feelings/professionalism/reputations."
Really, any competent scientist/engineer/ analyst will throw out there theory if it doesn‘t fit the facts. I don't see any difference between scientists and engineers, they both have theories data and logic applied to them.
I came to Meteorology from a Geophysics background whereas most of the students came from a Maths or Mathematical Physics background. It probably explains my problems with the subject when I ended up doing a really Mathsy project because someone else ended up doing the Paleoclimate project I was actually interested in.
I do think there is a gap between Mathematicians and scientists/engineers though as though Physics relies on Maths some Mathematicians make terrible scientists. Commonsense is a very important part of science too.
Golden goose, politicians, killed.
More naive yet cynical academics trying to figure out how to evangelize their latest religious obsession.