Environment & Energy

hatrack

(64,909 posts)

9. Terrible question;"Do you believe in ghosts?" "Do you believe in magic?" "Do you believe in love?"

Fri Mar 23, 2012, 01:36 PM

Mar 2012

Its not about "belief".

The questions that need to be asked are:

"What is the empirical evidence in this matter?"

"Is that evidence valid?"

"Can that evidence be reproduced?"

"Do the conclusions drawn from this evidence have predictive value?"

We already know the answers to these four questions, and there are mountains of evidence to support those answers.

Why in BLUE FUCK are we even talking about what we "believe"? As this election season has shown, Americans, or at least a substantial minority of them, will believe any Goddamned idiotic bullshit they want to if they find it emotionally satisfying to do so.

Alien abduction afficionados, birthers, Trilateral Commission nuts, 9/11 truthers and the Tea Party all have their own sweaty, paranoid beliefs, to which they cling with the clawed and spitting fury of a cat gutting a catnip mouse. They believe with all their hearts, and it doesn't matter a damn what they believe.

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Do you believe in climate change? [View all] xchrom Mar 2012 OP

yes cindyperry2010 Mar 2012 #1

How could anyone not believe in climate change life long demo Mar 2012 #2

Climate change over time has been the norm for the entire history of the Earth slackmaster Mar 2012 #3

Human activity as a contributing factor is new. lastlib Mar 2012 #5

Anthropogenic climate change is real - and supported by the peer reviewed science jpak Mar 2012 #13

I don't deny anthropogenic climate change, but I think I see it a little differently than some slackmaster Mar 2012 #22

I believe it's happening, as predicted by the military decades ago and that we must prepare for it. freshwest Mar 2012 #4

The question is: RobertEarl Mar 2012 #6

I don�t want to be too pedantic but I feel the phrases� OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #7

Above 350 it causes change RobertEarl Mar 2012 #11

I�m sorry, but you�re wrong OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #14

I'm not wrong RobertEarl Mar 2012 #15

Yes, I am claiming otherwise OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #16

I give up with you RobertEarl Mar 2012 #17

It�s not because you�re new OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #18

Hundreds of thousands of Scientist's Rain Mcloud Mar 2012 #8

Terrible question;"Do you believe in ghosts?" "Do you believe in magic?" "Do you believe in love?" hatrack Mar 2012 #9

You don't believe in love? XemaSab Mar 2012 #10

Huey Lewis himself couldn't have phrased it better! hatrack Mar 2012 #12

This is (of course) exactly what the author was saying� OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #20

CO2 RobertEarl Mar 2012 #19

What on Earth does �Dry Ice� have to do with it? OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #21

Stop and think RobertEarl Mar 2012 #23

Because global scale changes take time, and the greenhouse effect is relatively subtle OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #24

Right there in your own post RobertEarl Mar 2012 #26

Um, what? XemaSab Mar 2012 #25

Like OK wrote RobertEarl Mar 2012 #27

Welcome to the neighborhood, but OKIsItJustMe Mar 2012 #28