Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Memo For File IV
Not sure what to make of this blog over here just yet, but it looks like something worth bookmarking. It’s well-written, well enough anyway, and the author has the same pet peeves about what we call “science” that I’ve been having. Possible worthy addition to the sidebar. He elaborates on his complaints here and here and here and here. And here too. Seems to be pretty organized about it.
I have come to be aware of a new logical fallacy being used with increasing regularity by the scientific community, and it’s getting even more frequent use with the release of Al Gore’s new movie. I have called this the Hundred Percent Fallacy but it would be more descriptive to call it something like a Fallacy of Faux Unanimity or some such. It is the love-child of the No True Scotsman fallacy and the False Consensus Effect.
It works like this.
1. Global warming is real and it is caused by humans.
2. One of the most persuasive foundations for #1, is that all scientists agree with it (False Consensus).
3. Response: Bob is a scientist, and he doesn’t agree with #1, so #2 is placed in doubt.
4. (No True Scotsman): Bob is not a real scientist, because he doesn’t agree with #1.
5. All scientists who similarly dissent from #1, are likewise eliminated from the pool, so the veracity of #2 is restored.
The Circular Logic fallacy also has strong influence here. #1 is supposed to be supported by #2, but instead it is used to support #5, which in turn supports #2, which supports #1. There is no one single genesis for the support sequence, no beginning and no end. It just goes in a circle.
That’s a problem that deprives the equation of the proof it is supposed to be providing. The much bigger problem, is that conceptually, a consensus has little or nothing to do with proving anything. The majority amongst a pool of concerned commentators is wrong, fairly often. This has always been the case. And even if it hasn’t, what we call “science” ought to be constructed to allow for this. By design, Science-By-Consensus doesn’t allow for such a thing and can’t allow for such a thing.
Update: I don’t want to lose this one to my old-age forgetfulness either. Looks interesting. Also a worthy potential sidebar addition. “Stilettos in the Sand.”
Update 6-10-06: This guy is listing me in the sidebar, so his site deserves nothing less than a serious looking-over. A pursuit which can’t receive the time and attention from me that it deserves, at the moment, but I’ll fix that shortly.
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