Typhoon wrote:
Quite right. The variation in the temperature in the room that I'm in is probably more than 0.5C from the floor to the ceiling
That anyone can claim, with any seriousness, that we know what the global temperature was in 1890 to +/- 0.1C simply boggles the mind..
I have often used similar examples with friends who are True Believers. "Let me see you measure the temperature inside your house to +/- 1 degrees C over 24 hours...... or even get 50 people to help you measure the temp of a square mile around your house....."
I doubt the ability exists even today to measure the temperature of Earth to +/- 2 degrees, yet alone the 0.1 degree C BS.
Simple Minded wrote:Scientists are also often people of faith.....
Typhoon wrote:
I think it's more a case of a mixture of hubris and ignorance than faith.
Failing to take into account and underestimating various sources of systematic error combined with an appalling lack of understanding of and/or willful misuse of statistics.
As a friend with a degree in economics says about Economists "the are a combination of alchemists and poker players!"
Paychecks have a lot to do with it. I probably posted this before but.... in the early/mid 1990s I had the pleasure of working with scientists whose mortgage payments depended on winning government contracts. NASA announced they found a meteorite from Mars that may contain fossils. Being a newbie, I asked the old pros "Claiming they know that meteorite is from Mars is the stupidest thing I ever heard. Anyone who gives it 30 seconds thought will know it is an unprovable assumption! Why would they risk credibility on such a unprovable claim?"
They laughed and said "NASA no one will give it any thought, they are just planting emotional seeds in congress and the public. In a few months or so, they will start publicizing their plans for missions to Mars. Get everyone emotionally invested and the money will flow."