I was trying to preserve my sanity by avoiding the endless hyperbolic news stories on cringeworthy science-based policy. But, despite my best efforts, the tale of the Dutch farmers came to my attention. Those poor folks have their backs against the wall because their government has declared war on nitrogen! They might lose their land and livelihoods over this war, not to mention creating needless hunger in the world. Now Canada aims to do something of the same ilk … [Read more...]
Can Computer Models Predict Climate?
Editor’s note: This article builds on ideas Dr. Essex discussed with Dr. David Legates and me on From the Stacks, our livestream program, on March 15, 2022 (view here). Parts of it address highly technical issues of advanced mathematics, physics, and modeling that many readers will find difficult to grasp. Nonetheless, we encourage a thorough reading. Even without grasping the highly technical points, you’ll find its main points reasonably clear and persuasive and its conclusions both sound … [Read more...]
Should we trust science?
Naomi Oreskes’s book Why Trust Science? (2019) has been described as a defense of science, but it is nothing of the sort. The cornerstone of her thinking is total consensus determining truth in the natural world. Her approach is a scorched earth epistemology. 1. Science and the Oscars I write this while my wife is watching the Oscars. The music of professional musicians and overwrought thank-yous drift to me along with the dependably-boring, routinely inappropriate political … [Read more...]
