Bereft of gainful employment, I now find myself spending more time than is good for me plucking at the internet for morsels of entertainment. Thus engaged, and being a sucker for the allure of an intriguing title, I recently settled upon the following article, written by a certain Michelle Nijhuis, and posted on Vox,1 the self-proclaimed … Continue reading
Author Archives: John Ridgway
How to Crash the Earth
On December 28th, 1978, a DC8 flying into Portland Oregon from New York City (United Airlines flight 173) was on final approach, when a cockpit light indicated that there was a nose-gear problem. The crew needed time to investigate, so the captain put the plane into an emergency holding pattern. As he did so, the … Continue reading
The Neurobiology of Climate Change Denial
Much work has already been undertaken to establish the cognitive foundation for the irrationality of climate change denial. Of particular note are the studies undertaken by Lewandowsky, Kahneman, Shapiro and O’Conner, identifying the many cognitive biases that invalidate arguments put forward by those who profess scepticism in the face of the scientific evidence. However, it … Continue reading
I think you’ll find that was the other guy
Driving back from my holidays the other day, I suddenly felt the urge to empty my increasingly dysfunctional bladder. So it came to pass that I found myself stood at a urinal in the Tibshelf northbound services, only to look down and see that I was stood in a pool of someone else’s piss. Yes, … Continue reading
A Cry For Help: Uncertainty, Risk and Decisions
When Professor Shapiro (of Case Western Reserve University) recently derided sceptics for being unable to grasp the basics of reasoning under uncertainty, he certainly wasn’t the first. The evaluation of the scale, nature and significance of uncertainty is central to understanding climate change, so such accusations are tantamount to refusing sceptics a voice in the … Continue reading
Confessions of a Merchant of Doubt
I hear that it is the height of arrogance for CAGW sceptics to criticise the climate scientists without themselves having any experience or expertise in the subject. Apparently, if they are not able or prepared to offer an alternative thesis resulting from the fruits of their own scientific studies, then they should just shut up, … Continue reading
Safety in Numbers
Whenever I look back on the banality of my recently defunct career, I can’t resist the urge to abstract myself from the story. Who is this guy who wasted so much time on so much trivia? That can’t be me! It says here in the script that I was an intellectual behemoth who offered the … Continue reading
