How to tell the difference between a genuine skeptic and a simple denialist

F: Janet Johnson, who heads the Atmospheric Research Centre at London’s famous Prestigious University of England, concurs with the basic finding that the air is getting thicker. However, she argues that the thickness of Earth’s atmosphere has historically been cyclical. Furthermore, she argues that the UMU sample only looked at a five-year slice of data from the late 1980s and early 1990s and says that microwave technology has changed since then, with no noticeable effect on the UMU team’s thickening curve.

G: Albert is a frequent commenter on a wide variety of blogs. He makes liberal use of scripture asserting God’s dominion over the Earth and concludes that when the Lord next destroys the world it will be by fire, not air.

H: Americans United for Responsible Science is a well-funded grassroots organization that promotes a variety of research demonstrating that microwave technology doesn’t interact with airborne pollutants. They also distribute a series of white papers indicting the findings of thickening researchers.

I: Harry Harrison is a popular syndicated political talk radio host. He talks about the thickening debate regularly and points to all the conflicting research. He’s worried about the environment for his children and grandchildren, but doesn’t see how we can arbitrarily act against businesses without proof.

The answer? F. And perhaps B. Dr. Johnson acknowledges the overwhelming body of research pointing to the existence of thickening, but raises legitimate questions about the sufficiency of the data pointing to the microwave link. She doesn’t, at this stage, see enough evidence to either confirm or dismiss the hypothesis. Bob has devoted a lot of energy to understanding the question as a lay researcher, has used his own professional skills to examine the data, and continues to explore research that both supports and denies the microwave theory.

The others? Ray isn’t a skeptic – his mind is made up, a priori, and his purpose isn’t to seek knowledge, it’s to debunk and derail. Sen. Mike isn’t a skeptic, he’s an uninformed idiot, a species that isn’t hard to find in Congress. Sen. Diana is an enabler – the mass of evidence tilts toward thickening and the studies that dispute the theory are neither independent nor peer-reviewed. Take a close look at who her campaign contributors are – she’s getting significant money from microwave manufacturers, as are the perpetrators of the conflicting “research” she cites.

GADZO1979 has a lot of spare time and lots of “evidence.” Those of us working regular jobs don’t have this much in the way of time or resources. Odds are pretty good that GADZO is a paid sock puppet who operates under a number of false identities.

Albert is your basic nut. And Americans United for Responsible Science – a “well-funded grassroots” group? That isn’t grass, that’s astroturf. They’re a front for one or more microwave manufacturers and their “research” has been authored by the industry’s version of the Tobacco Institute.

And for Harry, the term you’re looking for is “concern troll.” His audience likes to think of themselves as informed and skeptical, when in fact they’re neither. Whatever Harry himself may believe, he knows which side of the bread is buttered.

The case here is hypothetical, but the dynamics are all too real. Each one of the people above would probably self-identify as a skeptic, but most are actually deniers with agendas – some paid, some motivated by other factors.

We have too many legitimate issues facing our society to allow noisemongers masquerading as skeptics to gum up the works using strategies like concern trolling, faux-debating, and Barking Lord Monckton’s favorite, the “’proof by verbosity,’ aka the ‘Gish Gallop’.”

Real skepticism is an essential part of the search for knowledge. But it only works if we call out those who would use our intellect and good faith as a weapon against us.

_____

* NOTE: I use terms like “truth” and “proof” in this piece advisedly. The scientific process steers well clear of such terms in most cases, and I use them here in a vernacular sense only.

xposted from Scholars & Rogues

Page 3 of 3 | Previous page