Tag Archives: relativism

A response to John Kosowski

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Rick Altman

After a week of online discussion with John Kosowski (an Engineer from Illiois and – clearly – an amateur climate scientist in his spare time), I am posting this, my latest reply to his questions, as a new blog post … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Cognitive Dissonance, Confirmation Bias, Maketplace of Ideas, Philosophy, Politics, Scepticism | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

How to Avoid the Truth About Climate Change

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Rick Altman

Barry Bickmore is Associate Professor of Geological Sciences at Brigham Young University (Utah, USA). His research specialties are low-temperature geochemistry and geoscience education. In this 40-minute presentation (appended below), he discusses how he moved from being a climate change “sceptic” … Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate Science, Confirmation Bias, Environment, Junk Science, Liberalism, Maketplace of Ideas, Merchants of Doubt, Politics, Pseudo science, Scepticism | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Is having an open mind the problem?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Rick Altman

It has occurred to me that this is a very profound and important question for our times. I suspect that most people would put having an open mind up there alongside not killing people, but is it? Having an open … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Environment, James Delingpole, Maketplace of Ideas, Politics, Populism, Scepticism | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments

The ecological challenge for Liberalism

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Rick Altman

A Review of ‘Liberalism’ by Marcel Wissenburg, in Dobson, A. and Eckersley, R. (2006), Political Theory and the Ecological Challenge (pp.20-34), Cambridge: CUP. In the opening chapters of Political Theory and the Ecological Challenge, the contributing authors attempt to demonstrate … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Consumerism, Ecological Modernisation, Economics, Environment, Growthmania, Liberalism, Limits to Growth, Modernity, Money Fetishism, Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

MMR and MRSA – health scares and bowel movements

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Rick Altman

My children are of such an age that they were due to get the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine in 1998 (just when Andrew Wakefield first got his research published). I am very glad we ignored the fuss and … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Environment, Maketplace of Ideas, Populism, Pseudo science, Scepticism | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The problem of arguing with a sceptic

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Rick Altman

I recently got into a discussion over on the Amazon website with another ex-Telegraph blogger, regarding Peter Taylor’s Chill, A Reassessment of Global Warming Theory: Does Climate Change Mean the World is Cooling, and If So What Should We Do … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Environment, James Delingpole, Maketplace of Ideas, Populism, Scepticism | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

All that is wrong with the “marketplace of ideas”

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Rick Altman

This can be seen in a UK education system that has been compromised by left-wing progressive ideas that have been repeatedly tried and found wanting; and yet we keep trying them – why is that?… The so-called “marketplace of ideas” … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, James Delingpole, Maketplace of Ideas, Populism, Scepticism | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments