Glen, I want to make a distinction between the discussion at Clark university (which seems more and more to be directed toward moral chest beating by Global Warming Enthusiasts, and a discussion that I want to have with you, and others, about when we (i.e., you, me, and others like us) are led to deny a scientific consensus. My observation is that while "we" probably all agree about global warming, more or less, that one or more of us will peel off from the scientific consensus on one or of the following issues.
Diet and Heart Disease Chronic Lyme Disease Fibromyalgia Diet and Cancer Vaccination and autism ???? and Alzheimer's Chronic fatigue syndrome Environmental sensitivity syndrome First of all, I would like to recruit this list to identify other issues where at least one of us Global Warming Believers departs from some other equally strong scientific consensus. AND then, I would like to have a discussion concerning why and when we feel qualified to depart from a scientific consensus. Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ -----Original Message----- From: Friam [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of glen Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 12:19 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Good climate change skeptics Y'all do a good job of highlighting the importance of the context for such a forum. Here's another time-wasting anecdote: I spend way too much time trying to make peace with the local atheists. When I go to their meetings and the topics of faith or the supernatural or mystical come up, I have to be very careful about the sheer pleasure I get out of stories about occult beliefs, conspiracy theories, and alternatives to accepted scientific theories. I have to be careful, I think, because most of these people (atheists who need the social support of other atheists) are ex-theists. It's like a support group for alcoholics or cancer caregivers. I kinda have to treat it like a "sacred space". That means _not_ defending concepts like faith, either in the Kierkegaard conception or Nick's (faith the floor is there when I get out of bed), the former of which I've tried and failed miserably. Defending a subtle concept of faith to this crowd is like arguing for moderation instead of abstinence at an AA meeting. //* So, if I were a climate scientist, regardless of what I believed about AGW, I would avoid this forum. By contrast, if I were a climate activist, I'd want to be there. On 09/23/2015 07:52 AM, Gillian Densmore wrote: > yeah I don't know that a person can stay sane and constantly question what > they do. I think it's easier than we might think. I think the key doesn't lie in questioning (everything) one does. The key lies (as you point out) in how seriously you take things, especially your own actions. Actually, "seriousness" is the wrong concept. The right concept is "commitment", how committed you are to your actions, including your beliefs. If you're committed (convinced, convicted, with conviction), then you're doomed. Skepticism depends on the ability to retract previous (tentative) commitments when it's appropriate to do so. And that includes physical actions as well as thoughts. A good fighter can tweak her strike at any point along its path. Competent strikes, like assertions of belief, should never be "fire and forget". As you bring your foot to the floor in the morning, if the floor doesn't push back as expected, _don't_ get out of bed, just yet. 8^) > On Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 8:27 AM, Steve Smith <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > In a century (if there is anyone there to reflect on it) we will > laugh at some of our strongest beliefs I strongly hold that laughability and strongly held beliefs are correlated. -- ⇔ glen ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
