How To Be A Global Warming Sceptic

[TrueSceptic]

B. The yet-unanswered question posed politely by mhaze to Truesceptic in response to this:

Originally Posted by TrueSceptic
This thread is about ... it is indeed about politics. GWS denial is not driven by science; it is driven by right-wing politics of the most despicable kind.
​

The simple question: Want to clue us in as to what "right wing politics" is of "the most despicable kind?"

Unanswered, but clearly, a preference for "left wing politics".

To the left of you, certainly.

No answer should be necessary as it is obvious that anti-AGW propaganda is almost entirely of right-wing origin. It is propaganda claiming to be scepticism.

What do I mean by "most despicable"? I mean the kind that supports its agenda of profits above all else, regardless of damage to human health or to the environment. We have seen this before with DDT and tobacco, as just 2 well-known examples.

 

[TrueSceptic]

Gullible warmers retreat to Tamino's blog to argue against published, peer reviewed articles by scientists taking objective and unbiased looks at climate, whose conclusions are not in sync with Warmlogy.

If that is your honest view then your delusions are even greater than I thought.

 

[Megalodon]

A WONDERFUL answer, thanks: Delightfully sciency, yet truthy.

Sciency? Hardly...

I wouldn't waste my time explaining science, again, to someone who finds it difficult to parse and understand simple phrases.

 

[CapelDodger]

Do you think just maybe the industrial revolution had a smidgen to do with it?

I don't. Not until antibiotics, anyway. The Industrial Revolution in itself didn't increase average life-spans; if anything it decreased them. Urbanisation always does that (cities have historically been population sinks, not sources) sans antibiotics. "Medicine" was essentially sophisticated bone-setting before they came along, seventy years or so ago.

 

[CapelDodger]

Tamino doesn't pretend to be any more than he is, a blogger on the internet.

Speaking for myself, Tamino is a damn' fine teacher. I only touched on Statistics in my maths education beyond probability theory; stats was an option, but I went for the calculus, trig, and algebra end of things. Tamino has not only explained stuff, he's sparked my interest in the whole subject.

I still think How to Lie With Statistics encapsulates the important truths, of course. I read it in my early teens, and it turned out to be life-shaping. Not that I wasn't already a cynic . After How to Lie I was a cynic with a gun.

 

[TrueSceptic]

I don't. Not until antibiotics, anyway. The Industrial Revolution in itself didn't increase average life-spans; if anything it decreased them. Urbanisation always does that (cities have historically been population sinks, not sources) sans antibiotics. "Medicine" was essentially sophisticated bone-setting before they came along, seventy years or so ago.

I'd have to look it up for confirmation but I think one of the biggest breakthroughs was the understanding of the importance of clean water. This preceded antibiotics by some decades.

 

[CapelDodger]

Alric is wise!

True. But then, quite a few of us are wise to a lot of things, aren't we?

The beauty of this thread is that any GWSceptics present are like rats volunteering for an experiment. They turn up here as examples of what TrueSceptic was talking about in the OP. Marvelous stuff.

I've been away in deepest England for a couple of days so I've missed this current surge of GWSeceptic inanity, swollen with personified demonisation.

In the meantime we wait for the coming Arctic summer (and Antarctic winter). Thankfully summer is at last in prospect around here as the Atlantic system reimposes itself. Less sunshine, but the air is a heck of a lot warmer.

 

[CapelDodger]

I'd have to look it up for confirmation but I think one of the biggest breakthroughs was the understanding of the importance of clean water. This preceded antibiotics by some decades.

The importance of hygiene was recognised in antiquity, but recognition doesn't in itself imply universal implementation. It might just mean the rich folk live up the hill, and piss in the water as it goes past.

The slums of today are no cleaner than the slums of Victorian Britain, and if they didn't have some access to antibiotics slum-dwellers would be dying even faster than they are. Even now the main driver of urban population increase is migration from the country, not endogenous growth.

 

[CapelDodger]

I see that you still have a problem understanding plain english. And I seem to have been wrong on my assessment of your sanity...

I think it's worth bearing in mind that mhaze might be a surreptitious attempt to pass the Turing Test. Which might well be indistinguishable from insanity.

Your post is perfectly disconnected from the one that you quoted.

I've noticed that a lot from mhaze. It's what makes me suspect "Turing Test".

 

[Megalodon]

I'd have to look it up for confirmation but I think one of the biggest breakthroughs was the understanding of the importance of clean water. This preceded antibiotics by some decades.

Also important was the development of vaccines. The huge slash in child mortality had its impact in the average life span.

 

[Megalodon]

I think it's worth bearing in mind that mhaze might be a surreptitious attempt to pass the Turing Test. Which might well be indistinguishable from insanity.

I've noticed that a lot from mhaze. It's what makes me suspect "Turing Test".

Maybe, maybe... but I'll put my money on insanity, coupled with a child-like fascination for the "free-market"... whatever that's supposed to mean...

 

[mhaze]

The opposite of groveling for grants and getting a small stipend?

Been there, done that.

 

[a_unique_person]

Speaking for myself, Tamino is a damn' fine teacher. I only touched on Statistics in my maths education beyond probability theory; stats was an option, but I went for the calculus, trig, and algebra end of things. Tamino has not only explained stuff, he's sparked my interest in the whole subject.

I still think How to Lie With Statistics encapsulates the important truths, of course. I read it in my early teens, and it turned out to be life-shaping. Not that I wasn't already a cynic . After How to Lie I was a cynic with a gun.

I read his blog from time to time, and watch the wars between him and McIntyre. It's interesting, and, as you say, you learn a lot. But it's just blog wars in the end.

 

[a_unique_person]

The opposite of groveling for grants and getting a small stipend?

Been there, done that.

I'm glad you moved on then. The people who tend to do this research seem to do it because they find it exciting and interesting work. Usually, they could get paid a lot more in the private sector.

 

[TrueSceptic]

Speaking for myself, Tamino is a damn' fine teacher. I only touched on Statistics in my maths education beyond probability theory; stats was an option, but I went for the calculus, trig, and algebra end of things. Tamino has not only explained stuff, he's sparked my interest in the whole subject.

Yes, he explains why some techniques are valid and others not. He explains this in stages so we can see that he is being transparent and not using any tricks.

I still think How to Lie With Statistics encapsulates the important truths, of course. I read it in my early teens, and it turned out to be life-shaping. Not that I wasn't already a cynic . After How to Lie I was a cynic with a gun.

As Mark Twain said, there are Lies, damn lies and statistics".

 

[TrueSceptic]

The importance of hygiene was recognised in antiquity, but recognition doesn't in itself imply universal implementation. It might just mean the rich folk live up the hill, and piss in the water as it goes past.

The slums of today are no cleaner than the slums of Victorian Britain, and if they didn't have some access to antibiotics slum-dwellers would be dying even faster than they are. Even now the main driver of urban population increase is migration from the country, not endogenous growth.

Clean water combined with sanitation. Most cities were transformed when sewage systems were installed. Joseph Bazalgette was responsible for building the London system. His ancestor, Peter, is responsible for giving us 'Big Brother' and I like Stephen Fry's quip that he was undoing his great-grandfather's works by "pumping **** back into our homes."

 

[CapelDodger]

Maybe, maybe... but I'll put my money on insanity, coupled with a child-like fascination for the "free-market"... whatever that's supposed to mean...

I don't think it's at all likely, but I'm covering myself just in case . My main hypothesis is the same as yours.

 

[a_unique_person]

Maybe, maybe... but I'll put my money on insanity, coupled with a child-like fascination for the "free-market"... whatever that's supposed to mean...

The thing that I find ironic is that AGW will mean all the 'free-market' defenders will find their brand indelibly tarnished, since they were the ones who resisted most of all any attempts to mitigate the effects. Come next century, "Free Market" will carry the same stain as Communism.

 

[mhaze]

And your yummy, delicious brand of totalitarianism is ???

 

[Alric]

The one that pays and builds the infrastructure you live on and the basic research that improves the quality of your life.