Buy

Books
Click images for more details

Twitter
Support

 

Recent comments
Recent posts
Currently discussing
Links

A few sites I've stumbled across recently....

Powered by Squarespace

Discussion > Bristol pub meet or Lew seat

Thanks Ian. It's looking pretty hopeful for me but depends on something tomorrow. Will be clear either way then.

Jun 16, 2014 at 7:38 PM | Registered CommenterRichard Drake

Really sorry I can't make it C & I. Do let us know how Lew is.

Jun 17, 2014 at 5:29 PM | Registered CommenterRichard Drake

sorry to hear that, Richard. will report back as best as I can

Jun 18, 2014 at 9:07 AM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K

Righto Richard, will try best to get some report back. See you 11.15 Caroline!

Jun 18, 2014 at 12:40 PM | Unregistered CommenterIan Woolley

we seem to have missed one another - i was a bit late at the bar as the little pedestrian bridge was not open so had to walk round to it, which might be the problem. i tried to show my calendar in a not too ostentatious fashion at the arnolfini, but didn't see you there (not knowing what we looked like probably didn't help! i was the one who asked (penultimate q) whether he had actually talked to a sceptic, or did he only know they on blogosphere; followed by a quick (non microphone) follow up of 'so, you talk at rather than to them?' perhaps you were one of those who asked him qs after the session; i didn't trust myself to go any nearer to him!

Jun 18, 2014 at 2:39 PM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K

Reflections on the Lewandowsky lecture
There were about 40 or 50 people there, hard to categorize.
He has improved his talking techniques from those scary monotonous, unexpressive videos we first saw of him. His accent is still a curious blend of ameri/aus/uk. His slide technique was good.

But the content! All the usual mish mash of conspiracy theories going back to hiv/aids denial, big tobacco, anti vaccine, anti GM foods and anti science. There was nothing new in it to Bishop Hillers; only a couple of updated smears; including Monckton (with obligatory unflattering photo) and a Delingpole bit of hyperbole out of context so it looked as though he wanted death sentence for Mann and Monbiot (and I remember reading the article which of course emphatically denied that after the first attention grabbing sentence. He also displayed amusing ‘conspiracy’ blog quotes by tinyco2 and Scottish sceptic as though they were serious! And the usual references to the 97% and Oreskes. The questions after were really disappointing – they seemed to come from believers, or people who accepted what he was saying. I think mine was the only non-compliant one – and it was hardly provocative, asking merely if he had actually spoken to any sceptics, or did his knowledge of them only come from the blogosphere. When he answered this by saying that he had, but there wasn’t much point in it because they wouldn’t accept what he said, I said, ‘so you talk at rather than to them?’ I think at that point he realised I was a dreaded denier and he went on to the next q pretty quickly.

He really doesn’t seem to get the irony of making these conspiracy theories allegations against sceptics, while sounding very much like the pot calling the kettle black!

So, overall, 1/10 , the one point for his actually turning up.

One further snippet of news: he said that Michael Mann is coming to talk in Bristol in September (?23rd – not sure), and also, George Monbiot will be at next year’s Big Green Festival.

sorry that i'm such a luddite that i had no fancy cameras etc to capture him in action or his slides.

Jun 18, 2014 at 3:14 PM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K

Ooh, ooh, what did I write? I have to say I was upset to miss out on Lew's previous works, as if I wasn't annoying enough. I'm proud to have reached notoriety :-)

Jun 18, 2014 at 3:29 PM | Unregistered CommenterTinyCO2

Any mention of his "Fury" problems?

Jun 18, 2014 at 3:30 PM | Unregistered Commenterclivere

tiny co2:
I can't remember exactly, but something like: I think there is a conspiracy that Lewandowski is a denier in the pay of big oil, to make climate science look bad, and Scottish Sceptic made a further conspiracy statement obviously jokingly over the top (it looked as though the 2 comments may have been in the same thread, but don't know where - they were isolated)

Jun 18, 2014 at 3:42 PM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K

clivere:

he seemed to allude to the fury paper's 'findings' (I hesitate to say the word research) without actually mentioning it specifically as far as I remember. But Ian would probably have more knowledge than me who am only a layperson in these matters

Jun 18, 2014 at 3:46 PM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K

Caroline - thanks - the faq put out by UWA in May is all about the hoax paper and does not mention the fury paper. I suspect that both UWA and the authors still have a lot of trouble behind the scenes with Fury but the Hoax paper has not yet been pulled back into any ethics review leaving SL free to discuss it.

Jun 18, 2014 at 4:02 PM | Unregistered Commenterclivere

Nice one! It's a suggestion I make whenever a warmist makes a complete tit of themselves. I think the first time was during Splattergate. I couldn't quite believe anyone could score that big an own goal and not know it. Of couse in reality people do stupid things all the time and it can be the source of endless amusement in a cringeworthy way.

I did wonder if the comment I'd made might embarass me, we all write tosh at one time or another or daily in my case, but I'll happily hold my hand up to that one. I'd only be upset if he really was in the pay of Big Oil.

Thanks Caroline for braving the event. How did you stop yourself from running out screaming 'they're all maaaaaad!'?

Jun 18, 2014 at 4:03 PM | Unregistered CommenterTinyCO2

tinyco2:

Well I did vent at one of the stewards, saying how furious I felt to be treated as a subhuman and as though i couldn't think for myself, and that I thought it was a disgrace to Bristol Uni that he'd been welcomed there. She seemed to sympathise, and said that 2 people had walked out of it. I didn't dare go too near him afterwards; it wouldn't have been good for my blood pressure. I also put something like this on my feedback form.

Jun 18, 2014 at 4:16 PM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K

Caroline - Thank you for the report!

Jun 18, 2014 at 6:06 PM | Unregistered Commenternot banned yet

Great report - well done asking your question.

Jun 18, 2014 at 8:06 PM | Registered CommenterRuth Dixon

Bristol's Cabot Institute promises Michael Mann and Naomi Oreskes in September.
(See the Bristol alumni mag which features Lew, former Friends of the Earther Tony Juniper (now with 2 honorary Doctorates) in the feature "Climate of Opinion".)
Skeptics have free market views which causes them to get their information from misleading media. Non-free market people also get their information from media but this is the correct, right (left?) thinking media, Lewandowsky's research shows.

http://www.alumni.bris.ac.uk/publications/nonesuch/2014/nonesuch_spring_2014.pdf

Consensus thinking at Cabot Institute blog is frightening. The root cause of power blackouts are the rich. We need to burn them.
" Dr Bell explained that inequality in society leads to greater consumption, as the people with the least want to have the same things are those in higher income households, leading to more consumption, more waste, and increases in behaviours such as the consumption of meat and flying around the world. By redistributing wealth within society, perhaps consumption would decrease as people may feel that they ‘need’ fewer material things when they compare themselves to others, more people would be able to afford adequate fuel to achieve a reasonable standard of living and it would even benefit the environment."

http://cabot-institute.blogspot.ca/2013/06/poverty-energy-and-social-justice.html

Jun 18, 2014 at 8:28 PM | Unregistered Commenterbetapug

Ruth Dixon: My thoughts entirely. Very well done for the question and the complaint to the organisers afterwards Caroline. There is no 'layperson' in climate. None of us have a clue!

Jun 18, 2014 at 8:42 PM | Registered CommenterRichard Drake

Why on earth was it in my mind that this was on Sunday? Was it changed at some point? Really sorry Caroline, should've checked, but like I say a couple of months ago it had lodged that it was on the 22nd. Shit.

Jun 19, 2014 at 12:27 AM | Unregistered CommenterIan Woolley

Thanks for your write up, Caroline. I'm furious with myself for messing the dates up. And well done for single handedly representing the sceptical cause. Well, anyone up for Mann in September then?

Jun 19, 2014 at 12:39 AM | Unregistered CommenterIan Woolley

if only Drake had been there no give the viewpoint from the inventor of the internet, who spoke to lady caroline lamb on her thway to mass this morning just before drake doffed his cap to george bush 4

Jun 19, 2014 at 1:37 AM | Unregistered Commenterdiogenes

One of the key things about Lewandowsky is his desire to denigrate and dehumanise people he doesn't remotely know. That's why I woke up this morning thinking of Caroline 'asking merely if he had actually spoken to any sceptics, or did his knowledge of them only come from the blogosphere' and its corollary ‘so you talk at rather than to them?’ and thinking 'That's enough.' In some deep way this was what was needed and was all that was needed. That's why I came back to this thread. It's strange to find the contribution of 1:37 AM therefore. You too have no idea about me or any of us. And this thread is too important to be polluted by your off-topic problems with me.

Jun 19, 2014 at 5:18 AM | Registered CommenterRichard Drake

Thanks to the brave and masochistic Caroline for the report!

Jun 19, 2014 at 10:51 AM | Registered CommenterPaul Matthews

Thank you everyone for your kind words and encouragement.
I felt better once I'd written my 'report' which helped to calm me down in a cathartic sort of way.
I suggest that if we go in for further masochism to hear Mann, that maybe we can communicate by phone, to find out where we are. I'm not such a Luddite as not to have a mobile!

Jun 19, 2014 at 11:03 AM | Unregistered CommenterCaroline K