Less than a week ago Paul Matthews pointed out to his fellow clisceppers the video of the RSA interview with Jordan Peterson, and Ian Woolley wrote it up in an article here, resulting in a long, interesting and continuing discussion, taking us very far from the discussion of climate. Paul’s tip related to the unsuccessful … Continue reading
Tag Archives: sociology
An invitation to Jordan B Peterson
It’s coming up to the anniversary of the first mention of Jordan Peterson at Cliscep, just as the UK mainstream media start catching on*. Readers will also be wondering ‘what kept you?’ because it was obvious to climate sceptics a year ago that Dr Peterson was someone to watch. Here was someone not only willing … Continue reading
Strangling the Gorilla in the Echo Chamber of Your Mind
Lewandowsky Cook and Ecker (who he?) have two new articles at the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. The first “Beyond Misinformation: Understanding and Coping with the ‘Post-Truth’ Era” “…explores the growing abundance of misinformation, how it influences people, and how to counter it. And outlines “a number of recommendations to … Continue reading
Social Science as Organised Ignorance
In a recent article I criticised Catriona McKinnon of Reading University, who wants climate deniers to be banned from expressing their opinions or being employed in universities. That’s a pretty strong position for a Professor of Political Theory to take. The last time certain people were banned by law from working in universities was… never … Continue reading
Cook and Oreskes are Right
Pearce, Grundmann, Hulme et al have replied (14 Nov 2017) to replies by Cook (28 Sep 2017) and Oreskes (28 Sep 2017) to a previous article by Pearce, Grundmann, Hulme et al (23 Jul 2017). It’s been discussed at WattsUpWithThat, but as usual there, any sensible comments get lost in the hubbub. That’s why here … Continue reading
Only half of Americans would pay $1 a month to fight climate change
Roger Pielke Jr has now moved on from the climate debate into sports policy, but he still issues occasional bulletins of climate stories that are well worth reading. The latest, Pielke on Climate #6, discusses emissions intensity, hurricanes, and ocean heat content, but starts off with a remarkable fact from a recent public opinion survey. … Continue reading
German Sceptics are Racists: Official
Europe‘s march towards a carbon-free future will be on hold for a month or two while Germany makes up its mind in what direction it is going to lead the European Union. The likely coalition with the fervently anti-coal anti-nuclear Greens, and the Free Democrats, who argue for a “rational” pro-business energy policy, may bring … Continue reading
Climate not a priority for public
A new survey is out today, European Perceptions of Climate Change (EPCC), on public opinion in the UK, France, Germany and Norway. It’s being talked about at an echo chamber conference, see the twitter tag #EPCC17. It’s also discussed in the Guardian. The authors include some of the ‘usual suspects’, Nick Pidgeon and Adam Corner. The … Continue reading
The rise (and fall?) of instant distinction
There can’t be many now who’ve never heard of Milo. So as you probably know he recently got into trouble again, but this time big trouble, losing a book deal and job as a result. Is there more to this than just a career blowout for him personally? Yes: Milo’s setback tells us something about a particular form … Continue reading
Weak Minds Think Alike
This article is part of an occasional series exploring the possibility (or rather the necessity) of a sociological analysis of climate catastrophism. Others can be found at https://geoffchambers.wordpress.com/category/sociology-of-climate-change/ It argues 1) that the key criterion for identifying the social class which has propelled climate catastrophism to centre stage (the green blob; the chattering classes, Guardianistas, … Continue reading
