Questioning the Geologic Column. Mind over Matter

I think it's important to add this essay to December's collection.  I like how it reads.  Nothing fancy, all based on a century and more of scientists and other experts accumulating evidence, then engaging in careful study and learned debate - that evolves as more evidence accumulates.  The results of which they (and some intrepid reporters) have then explained to the general public, well, those interested in learning about Earth and keeping up on the latest findings.  In this essay I describe what the Geologic Column is to a faith-shackled character that simply can't bring himself to accept the evidence.  So he ran away to hide from this essay.  

Could you do a better job of connecting?    How would you go about challenging someone who thinks 'I Know "God's Will" for certain'?  What if giving up on trump's 40% is not an option?  If we aren't changing minds, we are losing.  Thoughtful, suggestion and opinions are welcome.

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The following appears in the July 2018 issue of the Four Corners Free Press

Working title was: Explaining the Geologic Column to Psalm1Tree. 

Colorado's Grand Staircase's Geologic Column - Wayne Ranney

(click on image for a better view)

https://earthly-musings.blogspot.com/2013/08/ancient-landscapes-of-colorado-plateau.html
___________________________________________________________

Saying No To Reality
Four Corners Free Press, July 2018

Recently, I was minding my own business listening to a fascinating talk on YouTube titled, “Rooted in Earth History: the Devonian transition to a forested planet.”  It was about strategies that Earth’s first ground-hugging plants adapted to escape the confines of Earth’s surface.  They did this in order to reach closer to our sun and further away from plant-eaters. 

This led to Earth’s first forests, which in turn led to an explosion of new environmental niches for life to radiate into. 

I learned some fascinating details regarding questions I’d been wondering about for a long time.  The lecture increased my understanding of evolution on this fantastic planet of ours, which has been a lifelong passion for me.

But my pleasant reverie was shattered by a YouTube comment that blind-sided me.  One ‘Psalm1Tree’ wrote in all seriousness: 

“There never was a Devonian period, just as there never was a Cambrian, Jurassic, Triassic etc. period. That's because there never was a Geologic Column. That is a 19th century construct that has no data whatsoever to support it.”

Besides avoiding the topic of the video, the comment is such an ignorant statement on so many levels that most who know anything about geology and evolution would simply clamp on the head-vise and back away. 

Unfortunately, decades of ignoring such belligerent ignorance about important aspects of our life and planet have led to its becoming so insidious and commonplace that our government is controlled by Republicans who disregard obvious physical realities on personal whim.   Justified only by a hubristic conceit that they are doing “God’s duty,” they are in fact all about pursuing their own EGO’s bidding.

I decided to engage Psalm with a short video that rationally explains what the geologic column is all about.  Then came my second shock.

Fundamentals - Earth's Carbon Cycle By The Numbers - R.Rohde

The single most important lesson to understanding the physical reality of manmade global warming: IT’S THE ATMOSPHERIC INSULATION SILLY!  

One simply can not comprehend anything else about current climate changes without first achieving that bedrock understanding.

Today’s science-contrarian industry has made it their goal-one to muddle and hide away that fundamental physical certainty from public view - and frankly, rationalists at all levels have been compliant suckers in going along with the bully con job and turning a blind eye on the obvious.  Rather than focusing on and explaining what is known for certain.

Okay, so how to explain Earth’s Carbon Cycle to people?  
As it happens Robert Rohde has managed to put together an amazing data visualization that drives home Earth’s carbon cycle like nothing I’ve seen before.  

Confront GOP Massie’s pseudoscience insinuation. 4/9/19

Considering John Kerry’s Failure to Communicate with and Confront GOP.

I made these remarks after finishing a review of some deceptive opining by Mike Hulme.  

It occurs to me I'd like to share the same message over here

since I seriously am looking for someone to work for.

citizenschallenge - at - gmail com

Watching GOP Rep. Thomas Massie April 9th questioning of John Kerry I was struck by how much Massie’s questioning and attitude resembled a smug entitled middle schooler, gotcha games and all.  It was laughable.  If not for the societal tragedy of having such a know-nothing in such a position of power.

That’s why I vowed to give his little theater a closer look when I could.  Now I can and of course it turns out more convoluted and time consuming than expected.  Instead of the single post I had originally envisioned, I’m going to have to go with installments.  

My first post was a closer look at the person who was at the heart of Massie's “pseudoscience” word play.  Namely, Trump’s climate “brain trust” the infamous William Happer a man who’s a firm believer in taxes being more important than truthfully understanding climate science.  A one time physicist who in old age hires himself out to attack active scientists.  

William Happer is motivated by extreme right wing political passions and a paycheck.  He is the poster boy of a Professional Pseudoscientist if there ever was one. 

That collection serves as supporting information for this second installment where I’ll focus on Rep Massie’s bizarre and basically unhinged insinuation that climate science is pseudoscience.  

As for Massie’s middle school gotcha game with Kerry, it was smoke’n mirrors.  But that’s just fine for the Republicans.  Confusion and inaction are their goals.

Kerry was the pathetic failure in that he didn’t have the wherewithal to turn the table on Massie.  Use the moment to switch to kindergarten mode.  Treat Massie as the kindergartener intellect that he is!  Then very carefully respond to Massie cynical questions.  

For instance, the fact that Kerry wasn’t sharing his opinion, he was sharing the well known Considered Expert Opinion, which is widely available. 

Publicly enunciate how Massie was simply playing a cynical game of diversion.  Point out that Massie didn’t have anything substantive to offer. 

The Happer files - This is what a Kangaroo Judge looks like.

This is informational background for an upcoming blog post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. William Happer, one time scientist 

and current  master of the art of 

Science by Rhetoric and Malicious Slander.

A closer look, with links and selected quotes from a dozen articles.

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Now that I’m back home, I’ve been working on catch up, starting with the Kerry, Representative Massie exchange during the 4/9/19 House Oversight hearing.  

I learned that Kerry's allusion to Kangaroo Court was inspired by rumors that the infamous cold-warrior William Happer has been elevated to run Trump's climate science review board or whatever it is.  I’ve also found out that Kangaroo Court is an actual legal term.  Check it out,

1. A bogus court, the intention of which is to provide the illusion of a fair justice system where none exists.  (https://legaldictionary.net/kangaroo-court/)

I’m familiar with William Harper’s long history of misrepresenting well understood climate science.  He misleads by way of an amoral disregard for honesty.  

Instead he’s mastered Science by Rhetoric and irrelevant distractions, rather than science by constructively assessing all the known facts in a good-faith learning process.  It’s crazy making and confusion that Happer has dedicated his dotage to.

If a Kangaroo Court is mission focused in complete disregard for reality, then referring to Dr. William Happer as a Kangaroo Judge is a stone sober descriptive, plain and simple. 

To support this contention I offer the following collection of quotes and links from,

Physicist William Happer, the 'Unmoored' Climate Science Denier Heading a White House Climate Probe

          By Graham Readfearn • February 20, 2019

(Happer) Not even giving physicists a bad name!

              Posted on February 16, 2017 by ...and Then There's Physics

Peabody coal's contrarian scientist witnesses lose their court case

             John Abraham | May 2, 2016

Peabody's Outlier Gang Couldn't Shoot Straight In Minnesota Carbon Case, Judge Rebuffs Happer, Lindzen, Spencer, Mendelsohn, Bezdek

             By John Mashey • June 7, 2016

Greenpeace exposes sceptics hired to cast doubt on climate science

              Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent | December 8, 2015

Exposed: Academics-for-hire agree not to disclose fossil fuel funding

             By Lawrence Carter and Maeve McClenaghan | December 8, 2015 

MacCracken v. Happer: The Real Truth about Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change

              September 21st, 2011 |  Global Warming Denial Machine, 

The Real Truth about Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change: Paragraph-by-Paragraph Comments on an Article by Dr. William Happer

              Michael C. MacCracken, Ph.D. |  September 2011

Serving up a NOAA-thing burger

             Gavin Schmidt @ 9 February 2017

FOXLEAKS: Fox boss ordered staff to cast doubt on climate science

             BEN DIMIERO ››› December 15, 2010

BS Science: Climate Change Denial

             by Jeremiah Tattersall  |  April 28, 2011

Skeptical Science Blog Posts regarding Dr William Happer

• Schmitt and Happer manufacture doubt
•         Posted on 15 May 2013 by Dumb Scientist
• Lindzen, Happer, and Cohen Wall Street Journal Rerun
•         Posted on 22 August 2012 by dana1981
• Yes Happer and Spencer, Global Warming Continues
•         Posted on 3 April 2012 by dana1981
• Yes Happer and Spencer, Global Warming Continues
•         Posted on 3 April 2012 by dana1981
• The Latest Denialist Plea for Climate Change Inaction
•         Posted on 31 January 2012 by dana1981
• Even Princeton Makes Mistakes
•         Posted on 26 May 2011 by Chris Colose

A striking resemblance between testimony for Peabody Coal and for Ted Cruz

             John Abraham  |  January 20, 2016 

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Physicist William Happer, the 'Unmoored' Climate Science Denier Heading a White House Climate Probe

By Graham Readfearn • February 20, 2019

Diary 4/24/19_Democrats Stop Talking Past GOP Trumpsters (index)

We’re* going to lose this struggle to save American democracy if we continue talking past each other!  Trump supporters, or rather their arguments and PR strategies, must be better recognized and exposed and understood and vocally countered by an energized, engaged grassroots movement!

Stop following the GOP script - get better educated and eloquent and create a new one.  Then directly address Trumpism and the vandalism its inflicting upon our society - something that has not been happening.

Intellectually Confronting the Faith-blinded and the Faith-shackled would provide a much needed second benefit, to better educate OUR OWN people, who for the most part don't understand today's issues and rather withdraw within the comforts of consumerism than get engaged.

d) Considering our dysfunctional public dialogue in 14 verses.

2018 was the climax of a decade long crescendo in my decades long effort to network with rationalists, scientists and science communicators, in what I fancied was our communal struggle to confront the nonsense that corporate funded science contrarians and select politicians were so successfully peddling to an under-informed and mostly disinterested public - and since New Year's Eve is upon us, I feel like collecting some of my favorite posts in another effort to summarize my perspective.  

This is the flip-side of my flier for the Democratic State Convention, it's a list of various important aspects of climate science communication along with key pit-falls and observations, in 14 verses.

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1)  Uncertainties vs. known Physical Certainties

It is a disservice to constantly allow trivial uncertainties to become the focal point of the public discussion.

In real life when we get mired or overwhelmed by increasingly complex situations, we stop, back off a little, get reoriented with the big picture, reacquaint ourselves with what we do know for certain, then move forward again.  

I’m not saying ignore uncertainties!  I’m saying keep reminding us of the overriding fundamental certainties!  Thus putting contrarian trivial pursuits into real world perspective.

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2)  Map vs. Territory Problem

Scientists are Cartographers mapping out the geophysical realities of our planet, the Territory if you will.  They do the best they can with the data they have available.

Too often we get trapped into assuming that until our scientists can define all aspects with statistical certainty, we should assume it's okay to ignore.  

That's getting lost on the Map and forgetting we exist within the Territory.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3)  Sloppy usage of “Natural Variability”

b) Saying No To Reality. Questioning the Geologic Column.

Since, 2018 was the climax of a decade long crescendo in my decades long effort to network with rationalists, scientists and science communicators, in what I fancied was our communal struggle to confront the nonsense that corporate funded science contrarians and select politicians were so successfully peddling to an under-informed and mostly disinterested public - and since New Year's Eve is upon us, I'm collecting some of my favorite essays in an effort to summarize my perspective.  

Here's another look at the importance of understanding evolutionary reality.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following appears in the July issue of the Four Corners Free Press
Working title was: Explaining the Geologic Column to the Faith Blinded Psalm1Tree. 

Colorado's Grand Staircase's Geologic Column - Wayne Ranney

(click on image for a better view)

https://earthly-musings.blogspot.com/2013/08/ancient-landscapes-of-colorado-plateau.html
___________________________________________________________

Recently, I was minding my own business listening to a fascinating talk on YouTube titled, “Rooted in Earth History: the Devonian transition to a forested planet.”  It was about strategies that Earth’s first ground-hugging plants adapted to escape the confines of Earth’s surface.  They did this in order to reach closer to our sun and further away from plant-eaters. 

This led to Earth’s first forests, which in turn led to an explosion of new environmental niches for life to radiate into. 

I learned some fascinating details regarding questions I’d been wondering about for a long time.  The lecture increased my understanding of evolution on this fantastic planet of ours, which has been a lifelong passion for me.

But my pleasant reverie was shattered by a YouTube comment that blind-sided me.  One ‘Psalm1Tree’ wrote in all seriousness: 

“There never was a Devonian period, just as there never was a Cambrian, Jurassic, Triassic etc. period. That's because there never was a Geologic Column. That is a 19th century construct that has no data whatsoever to support it.”

Besides avoiding the topic of the video, the comment is such an ignorant statement on so many levels that most who know anything about geology and evolution would simply clamp on the head-vise and back away. 

Unfortunately, decades of ignoring such belligerent ignorance about important aspects of our life and planet have led to its becoming so insidious and commonplace that our government is controlled by Republicans who disregard obvious physical realities on personal whim.   Justified only by a hubristic conceit that they are doing “God’s duty,” they are in fact all about pursuing their own EGO’s bidding.

I decided to engage Psalm with a short video that rationally explains what the geologic column is all about.  Then came my second shock.

6/7 Sorting out God, Science, Earth, Learning and Truthfulness.

The Situation:

The disconnected-from-physical-reality GOP attacks on climate science (a.i.) have reached horrifying levels with the Trump Administration.  Yet science loving rationalists, pluralists, progressives, liberals, Democrats still haven’t developed effective messaging for directly confronting the most childish of Republican arguments.  Why?  Seems to me, mainly because rationalists rather sidestep that Me First driven willful ignorance.  This acquiescence to nonsense has been a fatal error for the national dialogue.

Engaging and arguing with contrarians should not be seen as an exercise in futility, they are teaching moments.  Air the false claim, explain why its wrong.  Dissect deceptions, expose them, how else can we break the power these childishly contrived memes have held over political action? (continued at ...) 

_____________________________________________________________________

I am an Earth Centrist.

https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/07/i-am-earth-centrist.html

Saying No To Reality (Four Corners Free Press column)

https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/07/explaining-geologic-column-to-psalm1tree.html

_____________________________________________________________________

I am an Earth Centrist !

Meaning that Earth and her physical processes and the pageant of her evolution are my touchstones.  Understanding evolution and the biosphere I'm part of and how we got here is the foundation of all my reality. 

Religions, God, political beliefs, they are all products of the human mindscape, generations of imaginings built upon previous generations of imaginings, all the way down.  

Something real and to be reckoned with, yet in the end, it's only our mindscapes at work.  While the real creation keeps on unfolding outside of our heads regardless and we're left to hang on for dear life. …

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then there's the God v Science question.

Knowledge of God is the ultimate in personal intimate relationship, your experience can not be transferred to, or replicated for, others.  

Religions are human constructs for enabling people to reconcile themselves with the seasons and hardships of their lives and to enable human societies to function in a civil organized manner. 

A God if there be one is All Things to All People, well beyond all human* understanding as the Holy Books warn us (* read petty, fearful, greedy, self-serving humans) individuals.  

If you are fortunate enough to be touched by God, that is your gift alone, something for you in your unique life.  It is not a recipe for your neighbors or the world.

Science on the other hand is humanity’s recipe for learning about the physical world and its processes as honestly as possible.

Science is:

Learning is the goal.

Fidelity to physical facts is the gold standard.  

Free Speech doesn’t mean it’s okay to lie and slander with malicious intent.  

Informed constructive skepticism is the rule.

Mistakes are for learning.   

Dishonest bluster and bullying is a crime.

__________________________________________________________________

Saying No To Reality (Four Corners Free Press column)

https://confrontingsciencecontrarians.blogspot.com/2018/07/explaining-geologic-column-to-psalm1tree.html

The following appears in the July issue of the Four Corners Free Press

Colorado's Grand Staircase's Geologic Column - Wayne Ranney

(click on image for a better view)

https://earthly-musings.blogspot.com/2013/08/ancient-landscapes-of-colorado-plateau.html
___________________________________________________________

Recently, I was minding my own business listening to a fascinating talk on YouTube titled, “Rooted in Earth History: the Devonian transition to a forested planet.”  It was about strategies that Earth’s first ground-hugging plants adapted to escape the confines of Earth’s surface.  They did this in order to reach closer to our sun and further away from plant-eaters.