10 MAR 2017 by ideonexus
Argonauts: Charter on Scientific Responsibility
CHARTER ON SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBILITY
Abuse of science and technology is a major threat to the existence of humankind. Our era has seen destructive climate change, tactical use of nuclear weapons, famine, public health crises, and now, the militarization of space. Our corporate stakeholders and the governments representing them have made inhuman, unwise decisions, and show little sign of changing their behavior.
Scientists, technologists, and mathematicians can be an effective voice for resp...
1 08 JUL 2016 by ideonexus
Exploiting Conservative Cognitive Bias
Conservative ideology, as Perlstein persuasively argues, is particularly vulnerable to grifters because of its faith in the goodness of business and its concomitant hostility toward regulation—which makes it easy for true believers to buy into the notion that some modern Edison has a miraculous new invention that the Washington elite is conniving to suppress. In Perlstein’s words, “The strategic alliance of snake-oil vendors and conservative true believers points up evidence of another ...09 NOV 2015 by ideonexus
Closed-Information Circle of Far-Right Media
In her coming history of conservative media, Hemmer writes, “In the 1950s, conservative media outlets were neither numerous nor powerful enough to create an entirely alternate media ecosystem” for like-minded Americans.[125] Sixty years later, apparently they are. And the Republican Party is grappling with the implications.
In 2010, libertarian scholar Julian Sanchez at the Cato Institute provoked a lively debate among conservative intellectuals when he wrote that the expansion and succe...Folksonomies: rhetoric cognitive bias
Folksonomies: rhetoric cognitive bias
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notes09 AUG 2014 by ideonexus
Collapse is a Recurrent Phenomenon in Societies
The Roman Empire's dramatic collapse (followed by many centuries of population decline, economic deterioration, intellectual regression, and the disappearance of literacy) is well known, but it was not the rst rise-and-collapse cycle in Europe. Prior to the rise of Classical Greco- Roman civilization, both the Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations had each risen, reached very advanced levels of civilization, and then collapsed virtually completely [Morris, 2006; Redman, 1999]. The history of Mes... 1 notes
notes21 JUL 2014 by ideonexus
Climate Forecasts vs Projections
"Projections are essential for giving us information on long-term trends, but the timescale is beyond what many policy makers (and the public) consider to be relevant to their decision-making processes. Climate forecasts seek to address this issue by providing information on a shorter term (decadal) that can be used directly to inform policy," he said.
"As climate forecasts improve, they will become more and more important in providing reliable information on what is likely to happen to the c...Forecasts are short-term predictions intended to inform policymakers because projections, which predict the long-term trend, are beyond political scope.
21 APR 2014 by ideonexus
Consensual VS Dissension Approach to Science
The debate surrounding the consensus on climate change is complicated by the complexity of both the scientific and the associated sociopolitical issues. Underlying this debate is a fundamental tension between two competing conceptions of scientific inquiry: the consensual view of science versus the dissension view [24]. Under the consensual approach, the goal of science is a consensus of rational opinion over the widest possible field [25]. The opposing view of science is that of dissensi...Consensus VS debate as it applies to climate change science.
21 APR 2014 by ideonexus
The Culture of Climate Change Science and Skepticism
While the IPCC’s consensus approach acknowledges uncertainties, defenders of the IPCC consensus have expended considerable efforts in the ‘boundary work’ of distinguishing those qualified to contribute to the climate change consensus from those who are not [4]. These efforts have characterized skeptics as small in number [13], extreme [50], and scientifically suspect [14]. These efforts create temptations to make illegitimate attacks on scientists whose views do not align with the co...The effort on consensus-building in climate change science causes people to over-react to criticisms.
21 APR 2014 by ideonexus
The Extended Peer Community
The perspective of Funtowicz and Ravetz on post normal science [59] – characterized by conflicting values and deep uncertainties – is useful in moving forward on messes and wicked problems. When the stakes are high and uncertainties are large, Funtowicz and Ravetz point out that there is demand by the public to participate and assess quality, which they refer to as the extended peer community. The extended peer community consists not only of those with traditional institutional accreditat... 1 notes
notesAn argument for open science that we should bring climate change science to the public to appeal on science not consensus.
26 SEP 2013 by ideonexus
Skepticism in Science has Grown
In 1982, polls showed that 44 percent of Americans believed God had created human beings in their present form. Thirty years later, the fraction of the population who are creationists is 46 percent.
In 1989, when “climate change” had just entered the public lexicon, 63 percent of Americans understood it was a problem. Almost 25 years later, that proportion is actually a bit lower, at 58 percent.
The timeline of these polls defines my career in science. In 1982 I was an undergraduate phy... 1 notes
notesOver time people are growing more skeptical of scientific truth.
07 AUG 2013 by ideonexus
Does the Universe have a Purpose?
Anyone who expresses a more definitive response to the question is claiming access to knowledge not based on empirical foundations. This remarkably persistent way of thinking, common to most religions and some branches of philosophy, has failed badly in past efforts to understand, and thereby predict the operations of the universe and our place within it.
To assert that the universe has a purpose implies the universe has intent. And intent implies a desired outcome. But who would do the desi... 1 notes
notesIf it does, it's difficult to see what that purpose would be in light of what we see around us.
