-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 steve smith wrote: >> One of the necessary steps toward a useful dialect about anthropogenic >> climate change is: stop abusing English. > > I think you lead with your chin on this one... someone deliberately > spoofing or lampooning you couldn't have picked a better mischoice of > words in this context.
I always lead with my chin. It encourages criticism. And criticism is the path to truth. > Unless you are using the term "dialect" in a sense radically different > than I am familiar with, I assume you meant "dialog". No. I meant _dialect_, a.k.a. a particular form of speech unique to a clique. The embedded joke is that the words "dialectic" and "dialect" come from different uses but dialectic is really a particular dialect. I.e. using rhetoric in the search for truth is a method of speech. Dialectic is the dialect of critical rationalists. (For the modelers out there, it's a synonym for "cross-model validation".) And I'm _very_ glad to (interpret what I) hear that my use of language would be difficult to spoof. [grin] > I think Roger's original comment still holds: > > To paraphrase Roger: > Both the global economy and ecology are complex dynamical systems > which are likely to have unpredictable (and presumably unpleasant) > responses to small perturbations. The same arguements often used by > so-called "conservatives" to protect the economy from the perturbation > of environmental regulations (interference) can as readily be applied in > the protection of the ecology from the perturbation by continued > profligate release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the > name of "industry, commerce and progress". No, the intent of his comment still stands. But the language used (here and in Roger's original) does not. The willful propagation of the term "conservative" to refer to these wasteful and irresponsible people is an abuse of English. Worse yet, it exacerbates the artificial dichotomy foisted upon us by our two-party system. Those who wish to preserve the status quo are NOT conservative. In many ways, those who wish to preserve the status quo are very liberal. Liberal with their own and other peoples money (opm). And in many ways, the people we commonly call "liberal" are not liberal at all! The stereotypical vision of a hippie recycling his own waste, growing native edible plants, re-using old clothing, living in a commune, etc. is an image of an extremely _conservative_ person. Every time a "liberal" blames "conservatism" for the nation's woes, they're propagating a _false_ and willfully ignorant point of view on their audience. Every time a "conservative" blames "liberals" for the nation's woes, they're propagating a _false_ and willfully ignorant point of view on their audience. - -- glen e. p. ropella, 971-219-3846, http://tempusdictum.com But what no person has a right to, is to delude others into the belief that faith is something of no great significance, or that it is an easy matter, whereas it is the greatest and most difficult of all things. -- Sören Kierkegaard -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGwfUkZeB+vOTnLkoRAl3QAKCPuqF0KDoi0Kvf7NIzqsCcliOcKQCgiNYn eeW9gQ28QlhcqAp1gcefT5M= =YXRK -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
