Global Warming and other "controversies": how to make up your mind as a layman?

Hi, Annafan. A BS in biochemistry doesn't make somebody a biochemist, anyway: it makes them a person who has taken a number of biochemistry classes. And, from my experience as having finished a portion of a biochem degree before switching to integrative biology, I'm not impressed with these "credentials": he's still a layperson, in my opinion.But, of course, most laypeople don't realize that they are laypeople, or that it's a lot more difficult to make the transition to "expert" than they think.I think the first step to dealing with controversies as a layperson is to recognize when you are a layperson. Too many laypeople leave this step out.

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I'm Bluejay.Darwin loves you.

Hi, Cavediver.Maybe I should stay silent then, because, as of right now, I only have a BS myself (my kick-in-the-balls is still in the works).But, unlike most pre-kick-in-the-balls laypeople, I try to get a little education before (or, at least while) I argue (by at least Google searching or reading links upthread and stuff). I have put my foot in my mouth several times on this website alone when I neglected to do that.Consequently, I learned not to do that. Unfortunately, most people don't learn that, so they keep doing and saying stupid things. And thus, the "controversy" is passed on to the next generation.Edited by Mantis, : "Webiste": the second person past tense of the Spanish verb "webir"; it roughly translates to "you have webbed." Ask Onifre if you don't believe me.

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I'm Bluejay.Darwin loves you.

Hi, Annafan.I know this topic isn't really about global warming, but I just found an article online today, and thought it would be useful in answering some of your skeptics on the other site, such as this one:

quote:

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"there is not a consensus in the scientific community for or against MMGW. Show me the consensus. There are plenty of climatologists, geologist, ecologists, atmospheric chemists, etc. who have openly come out against the political consensus.

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Here is the article ("Scientists Agree Human-induced Global Warming Is Real, Survey Says"). It contains this:

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A group of 3,146 earth scientists surveyed around the world overwhelmingly agree that in the past 200-plus years, mean global temperatures have been rising, and that human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing mean global temperatures.

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quote:

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Two questions were key: have mean global temperatures risen compared to pre-1800s levels, and has human activity been a significant factor in changing mean global temperatures.

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About 90 percent of the scientists agreed with the first question and 82 percent the second.

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Granted, the survey only had about a 1/3 response rate, but I think it's still a fairly strong consensus.To tie this marginally back into the topic, I think laypeople often like to hold on to the minority view, citing 18% as a "big" number of dissenters while somehow managing to simultaneously downplay the magnitude of the 82% figure. Strange.

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I'm Bluejay.Darwin loves you.

Hi, Cavediver. I like to keep people on their toes like that, and I wanted an entomology theme for awhile, like Tanypteryx. I'll probably change back sometime in the near future. I might even go back to "Thylacosmilus" for a awhile. Or, maybe I'll be Thylacomantisjay, or something like that. But, I always keep the name "Bluejay" in my signature line to keep it reasonable.----- For sure, dude. I often "wake up" at the end of the day realizing that I spent the last five hours reading about paleontology, mammalogy or molecular genetics (stuff I know very little about), and that I didn't get my homework done or change my baby's diapers. I'm addicted to learning.

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I'm Bluejay.Darwin loves you.