17 December 2009

Surprise! James Randi "Skeptical" About AGW


James Randi, known as The Amazing Randi, is a long-time stage magician and professional skeptic / investigator. So it should not have been surprising to anyone to find out that James Randi is also skeptical about the quasi-religion known as Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming. You could see the little heads of true believers exploding all over Randi's website, in the comments section at the above link. People who pride themselves on their skepticism of religion, the supernatural, and much else, were simply unwilling to accept Randi's simple and honest expression of skepticism over catastrophic anthropogenic global warming.

Some leftist bloggers went particularly ballistic over Randi's independent expression of his reticence to believe in the carbon hysteria that is so fashionable among leftists. To any reasonable person, it is not Randi's problem that so many of the AGW faithful are totally closed-minded to alternative ideas, hypotheses, and points of view. Yet, Randi felt it necessary to explain himself to the intolerant cloned minds, in a separate post.

It is remarkable when a man who has made a career of skepticism, debunking delusions and exposing illusions, should be attacked so reflexively by quasi-religious believers in pseudo-science when he very tentatively expresses a few mild doubts over the "A" in "AGW." Obviously the "Z's" have no insight into their own beliefs and emotional reactions.

Science is not about belief, or having faith in authority. Science is about doing everything you can to disprove a hypothesis -- to falsify theories. The dogmas of modern climate science have never been subjected to the open process of testing and falsification that honest sciences must face. Climate science was adopted by big politics much too early in its lifetime, and was sheltered from normal testing and validation.

Climate science was a baby bird that did not have to crack open its own shell, in other words. It is a deformed weakling, as a result. But a politically protected deformed weakling all the same.

I salute James Randi for having the courage to speak out honestly and clearly in the current atmosphere of carbon hysteria and jihad. Climate McCarthyism is the norm in leftist circles -- whether academic, media, environmental, or political circles. Randi should have known what to expect. Now he does.

More: Some incisive comments from Lubos Motl

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3 Comments:

Blogger neil craig said...

Climate science was doing OK till government started throwing bribes at it. The CRU was founded by Hubert Lamb who was a real scientist who, even after he retired & his brainchild forced into prostitution, always denied CAGW.

I suspect the political sciences like economics & sociology would also be real sciences if they were not "supported" by governments that want their opinions supported rather than tested.

Friday, 18 December, 2009  
Blogger Bearhawk said...

It is interesting how liberalism and it's children like CAGW feel an awful lot like religious zealotry. Though I am really not comfortable placing them in the category of the religions that have stood the test of time, Christianity, Judaism, Budhism, Confuscianism and Islam. These are more like cults...perhaps Liberalism/Progressive-ism is about 100 years old so more than a cult and is quite widespread, but still requires the belief without evidence for its followers.

Sorry for the tangent...

Friday, 18 December, 2009  
Blogger al fin said...

Thanks for the comments, Neil and H72.

I strongly recommend reading Lubos Motl's take on this issue.

In Lubos' comments, Amazing Randi himself expresses his regret at having jumped into this issue, and Lubos lets Randi have it with both barrels.

Regrettable, considering that Randi is undergoing chemo for colan ca, with a 50% survival chance. You know that he is physically very strained right now, and in no condition for an all-out battle with so many of his supporters who also happened to be true believers in carbon hysteria.

Friday, 18 December, 2009  

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“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act” _George Orwell

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