I’m sensitive to the issue of monopolizing the Pit, so I will comment on more than 1 poster at once.
First, GIGOBuster. I no longer engage with this poster because he refused to answer a simple, reasonable question which would have helped me to understand his position.
Here is a link to the thread, in case anyone is interested:
Of course, this doesn’t mean that GIGOBuster is a bad person. I simply prefer not to debate with people who will not answer simple, reasonable questions.
I will note, however, that I do have a lot of contempt for GIGOBuster. For example, in the same thread there was an exchange between me and chronos in which chronos made a claim about the rate of increase of temperature. I responded to that claim. GIGOBuster responded to my response but completely missed the point. He doesn’t seem to understand that chronos and I were talking about rates of increase and not the amounts of increase.
I’m not sure if GIGOBuster actually stupid or just doesn’t read or write English very well, but he really manifests a lot of arrogant stupidity.
Next, Sage Rat. I don’t engage with Sage Rat because of his past weaseling and strawmanning.
In a discussion about global warming, Sage Rat made the claim that the actions/statements of a representative democracy or organization ALWAYS represent either the will of the constituents or are wiser and saner policy (so long as the actions concern something “major”).
Just so that nobody thinks I am misrepresenting this person, I will quote part of our exchange:
Me:
You now concede that that the statements or policies of an organization do not necessarily reflect the view of a majority of the members, but, as long as (1) the organization is democratic; and (2) the statement or policy concerns something which is not “minor,” you maintain that such a statement or policy is always more accurate and superior compared to the view of the majority of the organization’s members.
Do I have you right?
Him:
A) “Representative Democracy” and “Democracy” are not interchangeable terms for the purpose of this particular discussion. I’m talking about representative democracy.
B) You are correct. Representative democracies are set up to at worst represent the view of the majority or at best to represent a more accurate and superior viewpoint. This is their “reason for being” and I personally do believe that they achieve this goal in regards to the major issues. If you think that they fail at this, then that’s fine, but again general surveys of climate scientists agree strongly that the evidence is strong and that global climate change is in majority anthropogenic, so whether scientific bodies do or don’t represent the democratic view of their members is irrelevant. I beleve that scientific bodies do represent it or are in fact superior, and so to me this is very good evidence.
Later, this poster tried to weasel out of his “always” position by sneaking in the phrase “most commonly,” without acknowledging the change. Not only that, but he misrepresented (or proposed to misrepresent) my position as follows:
brazil84 believes that a representative government (like the United States government) most often acts without any sort of relationship to sane methodology or the will of the people. Most of their actions are mere pork barrels and self-serving legislation.
Of course, I had made no such claim, expressed or implied When called out, Sage Rat was unable to substantiate his strawmanning and weaseling and failed to acknowledge the same.
I will try to find a link if anyone is curious.
Again, the above exchange does not imply that Sage Rat is a terrible or stupid person. Actually I think he is pretty smart (compared to GIGOBuster who seems pretty stupid). I just have no interest in debating with people who (apparently) think it’s ok to misrepresent my position or their own position. Especially after I have pointed it out to them.
As with my thread about The Tao’s Revenge, I have little or no interest in discussing (in this thread) the merits of the underlying debate or my general smartness, honesty, or worthiness as a poster.
