We’re living in the Golden Age of Stupid. Rather than spend any more time discussing politics in the Golden Age of Stupid, I thought I’d rather deploy my classic blend of uninformed speculation and blind rage towards the trend of science/ reality denialism. Today’s example comes from the world of climate science.
Lest we forget, noted heterodox Andrew Wakefield was published in the Lancet, one of the premier medical journals. I have to read medical lit for work, so I know a little about a decent medical study looks like.
Wakefield's was utter garbage. Yet he is still celebrated by the antivax crowd. And it seems to work similarly with climate change denialism.
The corrupt and their easily corruptible followers see corruption everywhere it's not. These hallucinations give them permission to live free of integrity themselves, because as far as they're concerned, everybody's doing it, and the most corrupt among us are receiving all the rewards (which itself is not necessarily untrue). They believe corruption is how you win the game -- er, "simulation" -- so it's effectively become a self-perpetuating race to the bottom. "Stupid," while accurate, barely begins to describe it. It's an epidemic of sociopathy.
This is a great summation. What's so maddening about it, to me, is corruption and conspiracies are pretty easy to find. In corporate board rooms. In law enforcement. In politics. And so forth. Yet these people don't seem to be concerned with actual malicious and harmful corruption/conspiracies...just nonsense about lizard people and globalists and space lasers and weather machines and chem trails and and and...
As a former meteorologist (not disgraced, just moved into an IT career), I always liked using the Barry Bonds analogy for weather events and climate change. Barry Bonds used steroids-- we all know this. However, we also know that he was capable of hitting homeruns "before" he was on gas. We can't attribute any single one of his later-career homers to juicing, but we can definitely state that he hit more as a whole.
So yeah, can we specifically say that Beryl's unseasonable intensity is a result of man-made climate change? Technically no. Do we have enough climatology backing us up to point at it and say "SEE?!?!"? I think that's fairly reasonable.
Wait, you're saying Beryl is on steroids? Is that going to impact it's chances of getting into the Hurricane Hall of Fame? Or will there just be an asterisk after it's name?
Yeah, Beryl (the hurricane) is now category-5, as of one hour past midnight (EDT) July 2nd. So, yeah, it was cat-1 on Sunday morning, and it jumped to category 4 in just a few hours. And it's on a path for an almost direct hit on Jamaica on Wednesday. This is shaping up like a very busy hurricane season for you, and for all of us. Can we still say that we have bigger fish to fry this year? Fuck, if I know.
Oh, and please take that video down. Let people at least make an effort to find it. Better yet, don't even mention any of that. God, it's fucking hopeless. I'm starting to think that we're getting close to finding an actual proof that we're completely doomed. Anyway, stay sane and keep up the good work.
I mean, there's still millions of people in this country who don't "believe in" evolution, despite 200 years of indisputable proof to the contrary. OF COURSE many of those same people will deny climate change.
You know I work in physical therapy and I’m not an expert, but I did go to school for this. And people will come in and ask me a question and I will give them an answer and then they will argue with me about it. That never used to happen. It’s a newer thing.
A patient asked my coworker today why she didn’t believe in the Covid shot and my coworker said “because I don’t know what’s in it”. The patient said why don’t you ask a pharmacist? And my coworker said “you believe when they say?”. And I think that pretty much sums up how people are feeling about experts these days.
The majority of people aren’t looking for the truth, they are looking for validation of what they already believe.
I'm a pharmacist and I'd wager I know a bit better than your coworker. Also, if they really want to know, they can look up the package insert on the FDA's website. It has all of the ingredients.
You all know where they got that tracking idea from? Apparently in Bill Gates plan to eradicate disease with vaccinations, someone floated the idea of putting some sort of permanent dye that is seeable, under blacklight I think, into the vaccine itself. The idea was that it would be an easy way to see if someone had already been vaccinated, in an area that may have poor record keeping.
Also, do these people realize how big a needle is needed to put a microchip for tracking in a dog?
I can't help but wonder how folks who sincerely believe that there are microchips in vaccines also neglect to turn off location services on their phones...
Great piece. We live amongst a titanic collection of muppets. And for the record I’m certain the earth is flat.
Lest we forget, noted heterodox Andrew Wakefield was published in the Lancet, one of the premier medical journals. I have to read medical lit for work, so I know a little about a decent medical study looks like.
Wakefield's was utter garbage. Yet he is still celebrated by the antivax crowd. And it seems to work similarly with climate change denialism.
The corrupt and their easily corruptible followers see corruption everywhere it's not. These hallucinations give them permission to live free of integrity themselves, because as far as they're concerned, everybody's doing it, and the most corrupt among us are receiving all the rewards (which itself is not necessarily untrue). They believe corruption is how you win the game -- er, "simulation" -- so it's effectively become a self-perpetuating race to the bottom. "Stupid," while accurate, barely begins to describe it. It's an epidemic of sociopathy.
This is a great summation. What's so maddening about it, to me, is corruption and conspiracies are pretty easy to find. In corporate board rooms. In law enforcement. In politics. And so forth. Yet these people don't seem to be concerned with actual malicious and harmful corruption/conspiracies...just nonsense about lizard people and globalists and space lasers and weather machines and chem trails and and and...
As a former meteorologist (not disgraced, just moved into an IT career), I always liked using the Barry Bonds analogy for weather events and climate change. Barry Bonds used steroids-- we all know this. However, we also know that he was capable of hitting homeruns "before" he was on gas. We can't attribute any single one of his later-career homers to juicing, but we can definitely state that he hit more as a whole.
So yeah, can we specifically say that Beryl's unseasonable intensity is a result of man-made climate change? Technically no. Do we have enough climatology backing us up to point at it and say "SEE?!?!"? I think that's fairly reasonable.
tl;dr: Barry Bonds caused the hurricane.
Wait, you're saying Beryl is on steroids? Is that going to impact it's chances of getting into the Hurricane Hall of Fame? Or will there just be an asterisk after it's name?
I knew Barry Bonds was somehow to blame for all of this.
Indisputably handsome. Tesla told me so. (The car, not the dead guy.)
Yeah, Beryl (the hurricane) is now category-5, as of one hour past midnight (EDT) July 2nd. So, yeah, it was cat-1 on Sunday morning, and it jumped to category 4 in just a few hours. And it's on a path for an almost direct hit on Jamaica on Wednesday. This is shaping up like a very busy hurricane season for you, and for all of us. Can we still say that we have bigger fish to fry this year? Fuck, if I know.
Oh, and please take that video down. Let people at least make an effort to find it. Better yet, don't even mention any of that. God, it's fucking hopeless. I'm starting to think that we're getting close to finding an actual proof that we're completely doomed. Anyway, stay sane and keep up the good work.
I subscribed, for the orphans. It's like Nancy Pelosi was saying about being able to throw a punch in politics:
"I do it for the children. It's for the children."
Thanks for throwing a punch in the name of science, for the orphans. Looks like science itself is a fucking orphan now.
I gotta go to the basement now and punch a wall, and then do more math and physics, except harder.
I mean, there's still millions of people in this country who don't "believe in" evolution, despite 200 years of indisputable proof to the contrary. OF COURSE many of those same people will deny climate change.
And some of those evolution and climate change deniers are in Congress and likely on the Supreme Court too.
Finally, some sense-making, sciency wise!
I go to the tooth fairy to get a root canal.
You know I work in physical therapy and I’m not an expert, but I did go to school for this. And people will come in and ask me a question and I will give them an answer and then they will argue with me about it. That never used to happen. It’s a newer thing.
A patient asked my coworker today why she didn’t believe in the Covid shot and my coworker said “because I don’t know what’s in it”. The patient said why don’t you ask a pharmacist? And my coworker said “you believe when they say?”. And I think that pretty much sums up how people are feeling about experts these days.
The majority of people aren’t looking for the truth, they are looking for validation of what they already believe.
I'm a pharmacist and I'd wager I know a bit better than your coworker. Also, if they really want to know, they can look up the package insert on the FDA's website. It has all of the ingredients.
I believe you!! She still thinks there are tracking chips from Bill Gates in the vaccines, so, you know, I’ve got my work cut out for me.
You all know where they got that tracking idea from? Apparently in Bill Gates plan to eradicate disease with vaccinations, someone floated the idea of putting some sort of permanent dye that is seeable, under blacklight I think, into the vaccine itself. The idea was that it would be an easy way to see if someone had already been vaccinated, in an area that may have poor record keeping.
Also, do these people realize how big a needle is needed to put a microchip for tracking in a dog?
I can't help but wonder how folks who sincerely believe that there are microchips in vaccines also neglect to turn off location services on their phones...