There was a exchange between how taking things on faith distorts one’s reality and (suggested by one side) is ‘bad’ for the person and society. I see a lot of similarities between religion and AGW (as opposed to natural global climatic change), and I’m not the first one to make this link.
Usually the claim is made that if you deeply look into the issue you will find that it is true - this claim is made by both people of faith in religion and of advanced study of it and scientist who have deeply studied AGW.
I propose that most people have taken AGW totally on faith, which is a new religion of sorts, one that patterns itself very closely to some long standing religious practices.
Utter nonsense given the overwhelming scientific evidence of and consensus for AGW. And don’t scream ‘cite’ either. You’ve participated in enough of these threads to be as familiar with the evidence as I.
There are no scientists who take Global Warming on faith. There are a lot of people who simply trust the scientists but the science is pretty much beyond dispute. The comparison to religion is inane.
If faith merely means “believing in something for which I don’t have immediate, first-person evidence” then there are lots of things I take on faith. The existence of planets orbiting other stars for example. Scientists CLAIM that they’ve seen them through powerful telescopes but I’ve never observed one personally. Maybe all those scientists are deluded or lying.
I propose that belief in the existence of planets outside our solar system is a new religion of sorts, one that patterns itself very closely to some long standing religious practices.
I propose that most people have taken electrons totally on faith, which is a new religion of sorts, one that patterns itself very closely to some long standing religious practices. How many of you have ever actually seen an electron, first-hand?
There’s absolutely no actual evidence for the A in AGW. Lots of models but no actual evidence. The recent discussion between Intention, Jshore, and Kimstu has recently demonstrated this vastly better than I ever could.
Certainly…I’ve made this point myself several times in the past. I doubt whether there are a handful of folks on this board who REALLY understand GW, understand how the models really work and what they are saying, understand all the various forcings, etc. Including me of course…my grasp on GW/AGW is tenuous at best beyond the basic theory. Everything beyond that is moving into deep waters.
However, the same is true of Quantum Physics and (to a lesser extent around here at least) Evolutionary Theory. Hell, most people take how their TV works on faith…as I do my car (I’m not particularly mechanically inclined, and while I know the theory very well I would be lost if I actually tried to DO anything save put in oil and gas and take it to Jiffy Lube every 3000 miles).
So, while I think many (even most) non-scientists take various scientific theories on a kind of faith (i.e. they lack a deeper understanding of the theory), this doesn’t mean that the THEORY is flawed…simply that its popular enough that a lot of people not in the field accept the scientific communities assertions that the theory is valid.
AGW is a case in point. Its simply too complicated for the average layman to understand. It spans multiple fields in science, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are very few SCIENTISTS who understand the entire scope of the theory…let alone us poor shlubs scrambling for the scraps.
And other quotes about other scientific theories, and planets orbiting other stars is that AGW is a faith based lifestyle change, believing in electrons or extrasolar planets is not.
This is total nonsense unless you misspelt the words ‘true Scotsman’ as scientist.
And even so there is just no way you can work on such research unless you have faith in the data collection and previous data. It’s jsut too big for you to verify everything, and even if you do you are putting faith in your ability to obtain accurate readings, the manufactures of the instruments etc.
And these are the scientists, My OP refered to the general public.
I wash my hands to protect myself from germs whose existence I have never directly observed. Is that not also a “faith-based lifestyle change”? :rolleyes:
I gave up smoking on the understanding that I might live a bit longer, even though there was no immediate indication of my impending death. Is that a faith-based lifestyle change?
Personally, I think the scientists are trying to spread the myth so property values in coastal areas will go down, letting them buy up cheap beachfront property and ogle the girls in bikinis, just as they used to watch unapproachable cheerleader babes from a distance when the scientists were nerdy taped-glasses geeks in high school.
You may have noticed a relationship between cleanliness and better health in general, it works for you so you do it.
This is getting off topic, but suppression of the middle class to lower classes, lowering the standard of living so only the rich can live a comfortable live, in short it’s about concentrating control to the few who can afford it.