Showing posts with label confronting GOP war on science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label confronting GOP war on science. Show all posts

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Considering the most fundamental Cosmic Truth


There is Physical Reality following the Arrow of Time.

We can clearly see that expressed in Evolution’s pageant upon this most unique planet.

Earth's Evolution has, when taken as a whole, been an unrelenting drive towards ever greater cognition and manipulatory abilities, it has crawled back from every setback, adapted, thrived till conditions radically changed again.

This Evolutionary drive created humans during this particularly benign Era in Earth’s ever evolving biosphere.

Emergence is Inherent in Evolution

Four limbs forced the creation of new areas of the brain and new awarenesses.  All the way up to a brain that could observe, learn, remember, reflect and mull over observations combined with memories.  Then communicate those personal thoughts to other brains, then pass those memories onto generations long after it dies and goes away.

In humans, evolution found its most spectacular emergent property yet, the crown jewel of Life’s long striving.  That is, our Mindscape.  

Our mind’s increasing ability to focus on observations: watching, cataloguing, listening to that something inside, that's constantly chattering away to whatever part of our brain is hearing it.  All the while striving to make sense of itself, it’s own inevitable death, its place in the world, and the world in general.

This emergent something in our brain created a self-aware mind, or more accurately, Our Mindscape.  The home of all our thoughts and feelings, fears and convictions.  Something unique in Earth’s Evolution.

Ergo, we can break down human reality to two fundamentals:

The realm of "Physical Reality", and the realm of our "Human Mindscape."

I also believe, none of us can really understand the rest of our world without first coming to terms with and absorbing that simple fundamental “Truth” in one way or other.

      
Reaching back to my essay:

…  Science was so successful that today all too many people believe we are the masters of our world and too many have fallen into the hubristic trap of believing our ever fertile mindscape is reality itself.  Thus the endless reams of fruitless dialogue, where learning is the last thing too many care about.

Which brings me back to Gould’s missing key.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Considering John Kerry’s Failure to Communicate with GOP’s T. Massie 4/9/2019

Kerry’s Failure to Communicate with and Confront GOP.

I made these remarks after finishing a review of some deceptive opining by Mike Hulme.  
It occurs to me I'd like to share the same message over here
since I seriously am looking for someone to work for.
citizenschallenge - at - gmail com

Watching GOP Rep. Thomas Massie April 9th questioning of John Kerry I was struck by how much Massie’s questioning and attitude resembled a smug entitled middle schooler, gotcha games and all.  It was laughable.  If not for the societal tragedy of having such a know-nothing in such a position of power.

That’s why I vowed to give his little theater a closer look when I could.  Now I can and of course it turns out more convoluted and time consuming than expected.  Instead of the single post I had originally envisioned, I’m going to have to go with installments.  

My first post was a closer look at the person who was at the heart of Massie's “pseudoscience” word play.  Namely, Trump’s climate “brain trust” the infamous William Happer a man who’s a firm believer in taxes being more important than truthfully understanding climate science.  A one time physicist who in old age hires himself out to attack active scientists.  

William Happer is motivated by extreme right wing political passions and a paycheck.  He is the poster boy of a Professional Pseudoscientist if there ever was one. 

That collection serves as supporting information for this second installment where I’ll focus on Rep Massie’s bizarre and basically unhinged insinuation that climate science is pseudoscience.  

Thursday, April 25, 2019

The Happer files - What a Kangaroo Judge looks like.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. William Happer, one time scientist 
and current  master of the art of 
Science by Rhetoric and Malicious Slander.

A closer look, with links and selected quotes from a dozen articles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that I’m back home, I’ve been working on catch up, starting with the Kerry, Representative Massie exchange during the 4/9/19 House Oversight hearing.  
I learned that Kerry's allusion to Kangaroo Court was inspired by rumors that the infamous cold-warrior William Happer has been elevated to run Trump's climate science review board or whatever it is.  I’ve also found out that Kangaroo Court is an actual legal term.  Check it out,
  1. A bogus court, the intention of which is to provide the illusion of a fair justice system where none exists.  (https://legaldictionary.net/kangaroo-court/)
I’m familiar with William Harper’s long history of misrepresenting well understood climate science.  He misleads by way of an amoral disregard for honesty.  
Instead he’s mastered Science by Rhetoric and irrelevant distractions, rather than science by constructively assessing all the known facts in a good-faith learning process.  It’s crazy making and confusion that Happer has dedicated his dotage to.
If a Kangaroo Court is mission focused in complete disregard for reality, then referring to Dr. William Happer as a Kangaroo Judge is a stone sober descriptive, plain and simple. 
To support this contention I offer the following collection of quotes and links from,
          By Graham Readfearn • February 20, 2019
              Posted on February 16, 2017 by ...and Then There's Physics
             John Abraham | May 2, 2016
             By John Mashey • June 7, 2016
              Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent | December 8, 2015
             By Lawrence Carter and Maeve McClenaghan | December 8, 2015 
              September 21st, 2011 |  Global Warming Denial Machine
              Michael C. MacCracken, Ph.D. |  September 2011
             Gavin Schmidt @ 9 February 2017
             BEN DIMIERO ››› December 15, 2010
             by Jeremiah Tattersall  |  April 28, 2011
Skeptical Science Blog Posts regarding Dr William Happer
             John Abraham  |  January 20, 2016 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Physicist William Happer, the 'Unmoored' Climate Science Denier Heading a White House Climate Probe
By Graham Readfearn • February 20, 2019