Of Diamond Planets, Climate Change, and the Scientific Method

[w1z4rd]

A few weeks ago, we discussed the discovery of a diamond planet in orbit around a pulsar. One of the researchers behind the discovery has now written a followup article about reaction to the news from the media and laypeople. Quoting:
"The attention we received was 100% positive, but how different that could have been. How so? Well, we could have been climate scientists. ... Instead of sitting back and basking in the glory, I suspect we’d find a lot of commentators, many with no scientific qualifications, pouring scorn on our findings. People on the fringe of science would be quoted as opponents of our work, arguing that it was nothing more than a theory yet to be conclusively proven. There would be doubt cast on the interpretation of our data and conjecture about whether we were “buddies” with the journal referees. If our opponents dug really deep they might even find that I’d once written a paper on a similar topic that had to be retracted. Before long our credibility and findings would be under serious question. But luckily we’re not climate scientists."

http://science.slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&type=story&sid=11/09/13/0252239

Pretty interesting article from other scientists on poor climate change scientists. Very apt and very true. I know from my experience in this forum that a large percentage of posters with absolutely no knowledge on science pretend they know more about climate change science than climate change scientists. Poor okes. I feel for them.

I remember reading at the same type of back lash from the normal backwards folk in early atomic theory. A chap by the name of Ludwig Boltzmann was attacked so strongly and so consistently for daring to be involved with the atom that the constant personal attacks from the usual unscientific conservative crowd pushed him to the point where he committed suicide. Same type of attacks happened to Darwin with his book on natural selection and the same thing is happening to these climate change scientists.

 

[Geriatrix]

Some people would rather be outraged than to consider an alternative to their accepted reality. C'est la vie.

 

[porchrat]

I read this last night. It should ring quite true for those on this forum denying climate change.

I'd like to know what qualifications these climate change deniers on our forum have that allow them to in any credible way question the findings of scientists that dedicate their lives to this field of research.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

I read this last night. It should ring quite true for those on this forum denying climate change.

I'd like to know what qualifications these climate change deniers on our forum have that allow them to in any credible way question the findings of scientists that dedicate their lives to this field of research.

There is no denying that climate change is happening. Isn't the debate rather focussing on the REASONS for climate change?

 

[porchrat]

There is no denying that climate change is happening. Isn't the debate rather focussing on the REASONS for climate change?

The problem is that people with no qualifications in any of the required fields are getting involved in the debate at all.

 

[BCO]

There is no denying that climate change is happening. Isn't the debate rather focussing on the REASONS for climate change?

The "debate" has shifted in recent years from "there is no climate change" to "there is climate change but we don't know what the cause is".

In truth, however, there's no real "debate" amongst almost all climate scientists. We know what the primary cause of current warming is - anthropogenic greenhouse gases.