by Judith Curry
Climate researchers are now engaged in a debate about whether their science is being crippled by a compulsion to conform. They wonder if pressure to reach a consensus is too great. They ask if criticism is being suppressed. No less is at stake than the credibility of research evidence for climate change and the very question of whether climate research is still reliable. – Spiegel
Posted in Ethics, Skeptics, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
There are obvious issues, such as protecting the independence of advice, acknowledging the limitations of science and being clear about what we know and do not know, to understand how science informs but does not make policy, and the need to ensure honest brokerage of information. – Sir Peter Gluckman
Posted in Policy, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
Mavericks once played an essential role in research. Indeed, their work defined the 20th century.
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
The American Physical Society (APS) is in the process of reviewing its 2007 Climate Change Statement. The process itself is remarkable, and I’ve been privileged to participate in the process.
Posted in Policy, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
I fear we are witnessing the “death of expertise”: a Google-fueled, Wikipedia-based, blog-sodden collapse of any division between professionals and laymen, students and teachers, knowers and wonderers – in other words, between those of any achievement in an area and those with none at all. – Tom Nicholls
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
Little boys and girls in ancient Athens grew up wanting to be philosophers. In Renaissance Florence they dreamed of becoming Humanists. But now a new phrase and a new intellectual paragon has emerged to command our admiration: The Thought Leader. – David Brooks
Posted in Communication, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
Our age reveres the specialist but humans are natural polymaths, at our best when we turn our minds to many things. – Robert Twigger
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
“The journals want the papers that make the sexiest claims. And scientists believe that the way you succeed is having splashy papers in Science or Nature — it’s not bad for them if a paper turns out to be wrong, if it’s gotten a lot of attention.” – Michael Eisen
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
The extension of the “denier” tag to group after group is a development that should alarm all liberal-minded people. One of the great achievements of the Enlightenment—the liberation of historical and scientific enquiry from dogma—is quietly being reversed. – Edward Skidelsky
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
A comprehensive survey has been conducted of the American Meteorological Society membership to elicit their views on global warming.
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
On the other hand, serial climate disinformer Judith Curry (Georgia Tech) announced “Consensus distorts the climate picture.” – Michael Mann
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
There is no cost to getting things wrong. The cost is not getting them published. – Brian Nosek, as quoted by the Economist.
Posted in Scientific method, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
What does this perception of climate controversy reveal about our own understanding of the relationship between science and society, nature and culture, and more generally about our relationship to modernity? – Lionel Scotto D’Apollonia
Posted in Sociology of science
by Johanna
The politicisation of climate science is perhaps best illustrated by the emerging role of the social sciences in placing interpretations on human perception of, and responses to, “the science.”
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
Two particular subgroups of ACC-questioning mainstream scientists that emerged from my research among atmospheric scientists were two kinds of research meteorologists: the (by definition physics-strong and theoretical) dynamicists and more empirical research meteorologists with past training in synoptic methods and weather prediction. – Myanna Lahsen
Posted in Skeptics, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
The ‘pause’ has gone mainstream, with an article by Justin Gillis in the NYTimes.
by Judith Curry
Climate change officers are professionals who apply knowledge of climate-related risks and opportunities to their organizations’ near-term and long-term strategies. These professionals help their organizations to adapt and thrive in a world of climate uncertainty, and guide their organizations toward strategic decisions that are simultaneously strategic for the organization and beneficial to the climate. – Association of Climate Change Officers
by Judith Curry
Do I think we’re doomed to disastrous warming? Absolutely not. But do I think we are doomed if we persist in our current approach to climate policy? I’m afraid the answer is yes. – Myles Allen
Posted in Policy, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
A central puzzle of modern American politics is why so many voters can maintain strong political views concerning complex policies yet remain relatively uninformed about how such policies would bring about desired outcomes. – Phillip Fernbach et al.
Posted in Politics, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
What we can see in academic support for climate change is an emotional zeal combined with a highly developed form of abstract thought that is not very healthy, especially when it is combined with a strong sense of self-interest. – Greg Melleuish
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
The American Physical Society (APS) has a new Topical Group on the Physics of Climate (GPC).
Posted in Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
Mathbabe asks ‘Whom can you trust?’ and discusses trusting experts, climate change research, and scientific translators.
Posted in Consensus, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
On what we can learn from Goldilocks and The Three Bears regarding our perceptions of climate, climate science, communication and policy.
Posted in Communication, Sociology of science
by Judith Curry
The manufactured consensus of the IPCC has had the unintended consequences of distorting the science, elevating the voices of scientists that dispute the consensus, and motivating actions by the consensus scientists and their supporters that have diminished the public’s trust in the IPCC.
Posted in Consensus, Scientific method, Sociology of science
