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writing for godot

Right Wing - Wrong Science

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Written by John Glassco   
Tuesday, 09 September 2014 05:54
As a student, I never took a statistics course. However, my courses in calculus, macroeconomics, and even psychology used plenty of statistics.

If one looks over any set of numbers seeking patterns, it is not difficult to see up and down trends. This is done by examining large sets of numbers and comparing lots of analytical results. It is better to do this analysis yourself rather than to depend on the opinions of others, even those of the teacher. This is one of the most important lessons I took away from from my education.

People with a strong investment in one side of a scientific argument, will see the trends within statistics that reinforce their point of view. This is human nature. Arguments are made by choosing and isolating trends within sets of numbers, but stepping back to reexamine the big picture is mandatory to check your work.

At one time popular wisdom claimed that the earth was flat with an edge, that our planet sat at the center of the solar system, that people would never be able to fly, that smoking tobacco was not the cause of illness, and that the speed of light could never be measured. Through heroic journeys and/or plodding research, the truth eventually comes out. When the facts are in, skeptics always melt away, and life quickly adjusts to the new reality. Does anyone now remember any of the skeptics who claimed that people would never walk on the moon?

Consider how the evidence of global warming is presented using statistics. Use your skepticism to troubleshoot your own analysis instead of trying to convince others that the analysis by someone else is either right or wrong.

In spite of recent phony articles about a "fifteen year pause in global warming" the trends in the statistics on climate change are clear. It will only be a few years until the truth about climate change will be obvious to everyone. Do your own checking. There is plenty of reliable information out there to use. Unfortunately there is precious little truth on this topic to be found in our neurotic news media.

Thanks for your patience.
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