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Skeptical About Climate Deniers  
Few concepts are more poorly understood or more abused than skepticism. The best example of this abuse is to attribute the moniker of "climate change skeptic" to those who ignore the overwhelming data concerning global warming.

The shortest definition of skepticism is "an attitude of doubting the truth about a claim or statement." Something a bit more meaningful would be "suspending judgment and applying systematic reservation about a claim or statement."

So why can't we rightfully call a denier a skeptic since he doubts or has reservations about the truth about climate change claims, which would at first glance meet the definition of skepticism? We shall see.

Michael Shermer, Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, has rightfully noted that "skepticism is not a position, it is a process." It is the application of critical thinking to evaluate the validity of an assertion. Saying that "I am a skeptic" has little meaning because that is a stance; more meaningful is a statement like, "I am open to accepting a claim if presented with sufficiently convincing evidence."

What we are talking about here, even though everybody uses the term skepticism, is actually "ordinary incredulity." We are not including here what is technically "philosophical doubt" -- a more formal version of skepticism, an intellectual exercise to deny the validity of an entire class of claims by positing that certain knowledge is not attainable even in theory. Yeah, I know, that is a little opaque. But we really do need to understand the distinction between ordinary incredulity and philosophical skepticism before we can nail down why deniers are not in fact skeptics. The best way I've come across is a review of the Truman Show and the Matrix as put forth in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Truman is placed, without his knowledge, in a contrived environment so that his "life" can be broadcast on television. Truman comes across clues that something is wrong. In The Matrix, where everything is running as programmed by the machines, there is no possible way for the "people" in the matrix to determine that the world as experienced is only a "dream world" and not the real world (the world of causes and effects). The Truman Show is a depiction of a case of ordinary incredulity because there is some evidence that is, in principle, available to Truman for determining what's really the case; whereas The Matrix depicts a situation similar to that imagined by a typical philosophical skeptic in which it is not possible for the Matrix-bound characters to obtain evidence for determining that things are not as they seem (whenever the virtual reality is perfectly created). Put another way, the philosophical skeptic challenges our ordinary assumption that there is evidence available that can help us to discriminate between the real world and some counterfeit world that appears in all ways to be identical to the real world.

So from that we conclude that ordinary incredulity (what people typically call skepticism) arises when in principle doubt can be removed by discovering the truth of some claim or statement.

And here is precisely why climate change deniers do not have the high privilege of being called skeptics. No amount of data, no convincing evidence, and no degree of proof would ever convince a denier that climate change is real. Even in principle a denier's doubt cannot be removed because a denier is relying on faith rather than evidence to support his position. If doubt cannot be removed with new knowledge or advances in understanding, then that is not skepticism - it is just a form of religion.

Cynicism Is Not Skepticism

Offering a skeptical perspective is not cynical; in fact quite the opposite is true. Cynics doubt and mistrust not on the weight of evidence or lack thereof but on suspicions of underlying motivation. Cynicism can lead to the rejection of a claim but not to new discoveries, unlike skepticism which can lead to both.

Provisional disbelief is often mistaken as cynicism; the two are not equivalent. It is perfectly reasonable to start out unconvinced that humans are causing our climate to change. But that shifts to cynicism and faith-based opposition with the inability to modify that position in the presence of overwhelming evidence. What matters, independent of one's starting hypothesis, is the willingness to draw conclusions when a claim is confirmed "to such an extent that it would be reasonable to offer temporary agreement."

Skepticism is fully embedded in the scientific method: the application of systematic observation, reproducible measurements, and experimentation in order to gain new knowledge about and a deeper understanding of our physical and biological world. The entire reason for applying systematic observation is that we are open to but remain skeptical of any claim's validity until observation, reproducible measurements and experimental confirm or reject the claim.

Climate change denial is a form of cynicism and as such is the antithesis of skepticism; it is the closed-minded pre-determined rejection of any and all data that might validate the claim that our climate is changing, and the blind credulous acceptance of any unsubstantiated assertions that support the denial. Here is the bottom line difference between a denier and someone currently convinced the climate is changing: if presented with convincing contrary evidence that demonstrates the earth's climate is not warming, or is changing by natural cyclical variation alone, one who temporarily accepted that the earth is warming because of human activity would modify his conclusion based on this new knowledge. In contrast, no mountain of data demonstrating that humans are causing a changing climate would cause a denier to modify his conclusion. Skepticism demands an open mind and allows for and encourages the advancement of knowledge by seeking explanations of phenomena anchored in the natural world; faith-based denial is immune to modification.

A denier may come back and say that in fact those who claim the climate is changing are the ones with closed minds since they openly reject what deniers believe. But no, that is false equivalency; deniers could indeed make headway if they could present convincing data but the inverse is not true.

Open Mind, Gullibility and Conviction

We must not confuse an open mind with gullibility. A mind open to change in the face of convincing data is not equivalent to credulous acceptance of a claim absent of evidence. Nor can we confuse an open mind with lack of conviction. Climate change experts are secure in their conclusions based on overwhelming evidence across multiple disciplines, confirmed independently by thousands of scientists in hundreds of countries. They have no less an open mind because they are firm in their conclusion. With overwhelming evidence in hand the threshold for modifying one's temporary acceptance becomes ever higher. The threshold for change is elevated on the basis of accumulating evidence, not faith. We can confidently conclude, without being accused of being closed minded, that atoms are a building block of nature, that DNA contains the genetic code, and that the earth orbits the sun. Being highly confident about these statements is justified by incredibly precise measurements, reproducible observations and extraordinarily refined experimentation performed by tens thousands of scientists over decades or centuries. Yes it would be possible to overturn these conclusions with sufficiently convincing contrary data, but given the history leading to our understanding of these aspects of the natural world, that is not likely to happen. That does not make us closed-minded; it makes us firm in our convictions but open to being convinced otherwise by overwhelming data. Climate change deniers in contrast can never be otherwise convinced.

Deep Irony

Climate change deniers bring to the debate a deep irony and terrible hypocrisy that add another disturbing element beyond the important difference between cynicism and skepticism. We know that deniers demand more proof that the climate is warming even in the face of a growing body of accumulating evidence. We know too that while they demand such proof no quantity of date would ever be sufficient because the denial is not based in skepticism but in cynicism and faith. And yet. And yet this same demand for proof is conspicuously and gloriously absent when the question turns to patently false claims about fat-burning foods or a host of bogus promises relating to diet and nutrition, or the link between autism and vaccines, or the economic viability of nuclear power, or clean coal, or alien landings, or the Bermuda Triangle, or virtually anything that is not climate change. Only with climate change is such proof demanded; meaning we have the circumstance in which deniers reject a conclusion for which we have overwhelming evidence but accept wild claims for which there is none. Some significant number of Republicans, even if not a majority as sometimes reported, believes that Obama is a Muslim; where is the demand for proof? Such is the dangerous brew of faith stirred with cynicism in the absence of reasonable credulity.

There are no climate change skeptics; only faith-based climate change cynics.

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James Nasmyth Scientist of the Day James Hall Nasmyth, a...  

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James Nasmyth Scientist of the Day

James Hall Nasmyth, a Scottish engineer and inventor, was born Aug. 19, 1808.

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New York's '50 By 30': A Model For The Rest Of America  
As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump roll out their very different energy policy platforms -- with Clinton promoting production of renewable energy and Trump of traditional energy -- it's useful to look at activities at the state level. Because President Obama's Clean Power Plan is making its way through the courts, there is virtually no federal energy policy, which means the 50 states of America are providing 50 pilot programs showing how different potential new federal energy policies could be implemented.

Among the progressive states, New York is worth watching. Governor Andrew Cuomo has advanced a "50 by 30" (50 percent of electric energy must come from renewables by the year 2030) climate and energy policy. Due to its rich existing endowment of energy resources, New York has the luxury to choose from contending forms of renewable and zero or low carbon energy resources. In 2015, 45 percent of New York's electricity came from oil, gas, and coal. That means 55 percent of electric power already comes from low or zero-carbon emitting resources. Here is the breakdown of that 55 percent.

31 percent of New York's electric energy in 2015 came from New York's nuclear plants. Whatever one's view of nuclear, it does produce carbon-free electric power. The problem is, some of the nuclear plants are in dire straits economically, and some are quite far along in the 60-year expected life span of these facilities. If New York could keep its nuclear plants open, maintaining "50 by 30" will be easier; if all of the nuclear plants close, it will be much, much harder. New York is already at "50 by 30" only by virtue of its struggling nuclear power fleet. Hence the determination of the Cuomo administration to keep the upstate nuclear power plants operating until 2030. The mechanism for allowing nuclear plants to survive is by awarding them "zero emissions credits" and requiring electric distribution companies to purchase those credits.

19 percent of New York's power in 2015 came from hydro, anchored of course by the huge facility at Niagara Falls. Only 2.8 percent of New York's electricity in 2015 came from wind. It has the potential for much more wind development, most of it located in upstate. Additional wind capacity could be developed assuming a buildout of north-to-south and west-to-east transmission to get the clean power to downstate markets. New York can import more clean power from Quebec and from PJM (the New Jersey-Pennsylvania-Maryland market). Several advanced new transmission projects are in development that could serve as "renewable expressways" into New York. New York could also ultimately be home to several thousand MW of offshore wind.

Solar energy is expanding rapidly, although most of it is "behind the meter" or a "retail" form of renewable energy. As the idea of "microgrids" takes hold as a result of New York's regulatory reforms, solar will continue to expand in New York. Energy efficiency is also part of the microgrid toolkit, so substantial additional efficiency improvements will continue. This microgrid-led activity in the retail sector of the industry will show up largely as slightly declining demand for electric power from the wholesale sector.

What implications does the New York experience have for President Clinton, or President Trump's, energy policy? Acknowledging that the state's carbon goal requires keeping nukes alive is an important adjustment in the clean energy narrative. But, the subsidy is aimed at "keeping nukes alive," not at creating the next generation of nuclear plants. That experiment is being conducted in other states (almost all in the South) and it is not going well: it turns out that electricity from new nuclear plants may be more expensive than renewable energy from wind and solar.

It's worth asking what New York will ultimately get from this portfolio of renewable and carbon-free initiatives. One answer comes from the old idea of "comparative advantage." What does New York have that makes it competitive in the renewable energy business? To be sure, it has finance, it has technology and first class educational systems. It seeks to be a 21st century high tech manufacturer.

Perhaps its most important attribute, however, is its location. The State's electric infrastructure -- its transmission and microgrid assets -- can, with modest investment, capitalize on New York's comparative advantages to create a booming, region-wide, renewable energy trade. With New York City and Long Island as the fulcrum, New York should be at the center of commerce between its own energy-rich upstate, the massive power market of "PJM" (essentially the area from New Jersey to North Carolina, westward to Illinois), New England, Quebec and Ontario. The greater northeast of North America abounds with intelligence, capital, and natural resources. New York can uniquely be the hub of regional renewable energy trade.

At first glance, the argument that New York will be the hub of an interregional market in renewable energy seems old-fashioned. But it isn't for two reasons. First, a regional renewable energy market, anchored in expanded trading links between New York and its neighbors, will provide electricity users throughout northeastern North America with access to the affordable renewable energy that is all around us. Second, an open market where energy and technology is traded is critical for the adoption of innovation. When markets are closed -- whether it be by actions of utilities or regulators -- innovation is stifled and along with it the economic growth that New York expects to get out of its renewable energy initiatives. Only with a regional renewable energy markets linking producers and consumers of energy can New York and northeastern North America secure large amounts of carbon-free energy at affordable prices.

What's true for the Northeast would be even more true for the nation as a whole. It's unfortunate that the Obama Administration's clean energy programs were largely thwarted. But Hillary Clinton has elaborated an ambitious and progressive renewable energy vision. The result of New York's effort provides other states with a roadmap on how to transition from vision to action, from the old fossil-fuel based power system to the new one based on renewable and sustainable power sources.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

 
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Spotted eagle rays by Eugene Kitsios  

Spotted eagle rays by Eugene Kitsios

Spotted eagle rays swim by in the beautiful blue waters of the Bahamas. This photo was taken in collaboration with the Bimini Biological Field Station, a non-profit organisation that focus on research and conservation of sharks and rays. Follow me on instagram if you want to keep updated of my work: www.instagram.com/eugenekitsios

Eugene Kitsios: Photos

 
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Untitled by Mussion H.  

Untitled by Mussion H.

Mussion H.: Photos

 
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Feeling Lonely? Stop Online Dating and Start Befriending  

Source: Sophie Tanner

Having always been sceptical of online dating, I was hardly surprised to read recent research reveal that Tinder lowers your self-esteem, with users feeling 'depersonalised and disposable'. No shit. Compulsively swiping through photos of prospective lovers can give you a buzz if you get some good late-night chat but can equally make your skin prickle with despair when you're rejected.

Unfortunately dating apps offer a quick fix of false intimacy, which can become addictive to people who are feeling lonely. Yet the cause of loneliness doesn't always come from being alone, it comes from a lack of deep and meaningful relationships, which take time and can't realistically be built on a foundation of pouting selfies and sexting.

It seems to me that isolation and the decline of community is one of the most significant challenges facing the UK in the 21st century. Yet loneliness is difficult for people to admit, especially younger generations who are not stereotypically associated with it. There are many ways a person can end up lonely - moving away from home, changing jobs, relationship break downs, full-time childcare, loss of purpose, not being needed anymore and, of course, bereavement.

In an increasingly ageing society, elderly people often end up spending most of their twilight years alone, with mobility issues meaning they have less control over finding new companions. Evidence states that 3.1 million people aged over 65 have no contact with a friend, neighbour or family member in any one week and over 1.8 million do not see anyone they know in a month.

Troubled by these stats, I spoke to Brighton volunteer charity, Time To Talk Befriending (TTTB), to see what's involved in inter-generational befriending projects. I met with founder, Emily Kenward, and her companion, Muriel, who is very bright and perky at the age of 91.

Muriel tells me that age crept up on her, that gradually all of her friends passed away and her neighbours are always so busy. She started to feel fed up with always being on her own but luckily Emily found her and lifted her spirits.

Emily explains how TTTB offers induction training for volunteers, assessing their personality and interests and matches them with like-minded older people aged over-65. TTTB staff then host the first introduction meeting in which the selected pair check each other out.

Evidently the charity has a real knack for match-making because, in almost every case, long-standing, genuine friendships have been formed, with companions arranging regular dates, on a weekly or fortnightly basis. TTTB carry out 3 month reviews to support any issues that may arise.

There's a plethora of member testimonials which declare that the charity has, quite literally, changed their lives. New mums with babies, often lonely themselves, have found the service particularly successful. "People are in it for the long run," Emily smiles, "it's natural, it's friendship."

I am fascinated by the process, impressed that volunteers continually show such tenacity. Emily and Muriel share a warm glance. "The thing is, you just know," says Emily. "The very first time I met Muriel something special happened, it was real and it was instant."

When I ask Muriel how she feels about using the internet for social connection she shudders. 'Computers - no! I'm too thick. At my age why bother, I don't want it. When I grew up I never had a TV or a radio."

I start to protest then close my mouth. It's a common mistake to forget how radical it is to see a digital revolution happen in the space of one lifetime. The computer-savvy are far too quick to roll their eyes and glibly ignore what it must be like to evolve from a world of telegrams and post boxes to smartphones and avatars. Why should we expect elderly people, digital immigrants, to adopt technology as seamlessly as we have?

Muriel talks about how difficult it is to perform simple admin tasks without an email address. She also tried out a special smartphone for elderly people but couldn't work it. She admits her disillusion with mobiles, saying "you don't get as much human engagement - people don't look up."

TTTB advocates a deeper understanding of how it feels to be isolated by growing older. As well as befriending, they also train volunteers on sensory decline, with ear muffles and vision goggles, and offer school visits, where older people like Muriel meet kids who haven't encountered anyone over the age of 60. Muriel laughs as she recounts how one young girl gazed at her in disbelief, asking "how come you're still alive?"

Scams are often a major threat to vulnerable elders' financial security and wellbeing - every year billions of pounds are lost to door-to-door, telephone and online fraudsters who exploit their cognitive impairment and need to talk to someone. TTTB work closely with Sussex Police to raise awareness and identify hot spots of this crime.

All in all, it seems that this charity is setting a fantastic example on the small changes we can make to try and reduce isolation in our communities. We don't need to exist as lonely hearts behind closed doors. Connecting with the people you see every day is far more rewarding than desperately seeking an elusive online romance to complete you. A smile, a quick chat, a homemade cake - all these things can help people to realise that they aren't forgotten or invisible. And, you never know, in the process of becoming a better neighbour, you might even meet the boy-next-door!  
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r0B0t: Is this the beginning of the end for cab drivers? - Independent Online  

Is this the beginning of the end for cab drivers? Independent Online The software is not advanced enough, while regulators have raised safety concerns and there is uncertainty over whether the public can ever trust robot drivers. These fears increased when 40-year-old Joshua Brown was killed when his self-driving Tesla ... and more »

 
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Helen Macdonald: ​the unsettling encounter that inspired H is for Hawk  

Ten years ago, a confusing encounter changed Helen Macdonald's understanding of the connection between humans and the natural world

It was the autumn of 2006 in Uzbekistan, a few months before my father died. I'd driven with a group of other fieldworkers in a Russian jeep down to the banks of the Syrdarya river in Andijan province. Once we'd pitched our tents, I went for a stroll in the hot, blank forest sunlight. It was very still and quiet. My feet crunched on salt-crusted mud and across leaf litter sparking with grasshoppers and sinuous silver lizards. After a mile or so, I found myself in an open clearing and looked up. And that is when I thought I saw a man standing in a tree. That's what my brain told me, momentarily. A man in a long overcoat leaning slightly to one side. And then I saw it wasn't a man, but a goshawk.

Moments like this are very illuminating. Despite my lifelong obsession with birds of prey, I'd never thought before, much, about the actual phenomenology of human-hawk resemblance, which must have brought forth all those mythological hawk-human bonds I've studied for so long. Back in the early 2000s, I had been working on my doctoral dissertation in natural history at the University of Cambridge, but I never finished it. I wrote a book about falcons instead. I recounted tales that didn't fit in my PhD of the mafia threatening to drive a falconer out of New York City because his falcon was a threat to their pigeon-flying activities, stories of fan dancers, jet pilots, astronauts and the diplomatic shenanigans of early modern royalty. But everything I'd written about this strange symbolic connection between birds of prey and human souls felt as if it had a different kind of truth, now, one forged of things other than books. I looked up at a hawk in a tree, but I saw a man. How curious.

Related: Costa biography award 2014: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

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Research Examines If Surgery Delays Affect Patients' Health Outcome  

Researchers find that long waiting times for surgery are not associated with worse health outcomes for patients. The study involved patients waiting for surgery in England.

 
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Dieselgate in Europe: How Officials Ignored Years of Emissions Evidence  
When American authorities revealed that Volkswagen used software to trick pollution tests, it spurred widespread outrage. Documents obtained by SPIEGEL show that European officials knew about the deception for years -- but didn't act on it.  
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In Leak Of Democratic Emails, Questions About Russia's Role  

What's behind Russia's apparent hacking into the Democratic National Committee — and what could it gain by meddling in the U.S. election? "It's all about Hillary Clinton," says a Russian journalist.

 
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Federal Judge Throws Out Uber Driver Class-Action Settlement Offer  

Uber drivers claims that they should be compensated as employees, not independent contractors, get a boost. Negotiators for the drivers had okayed the deal but the judge wasn't satisfied.

 
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Uber To Roll Out Self-Driving Cars In Pittsburgh  

The ride-hailing company expects to include a human in case something goes wrong, but the driverless vehicles would be the first available for commercial use. They could be on the road in a few weeks.

 
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'Flying Bum' Airship Takes Flight In England  

The Airlander 10 — billed as the world's longest aircraft — took off from an airfield north of London this week. Yet it's the airship's bulbous, multi-chambered design that has captured attention.

 
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T-Mobile, Sprint Vie For New Customers With Unlimited-Data Plans  

It's a bit of a renaissance for unlimited plans, which went all but extinct in recent years. But do people really need that much data?

 
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Ford Looks To A Fleet Of Driverless Cars  

They'll be on the road by 2021, the company says, and will build on automation already available for help with parking and avoiding traffic. The vehicles could be used for ride sharing, Uber-style.

 
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Untitled by Me, You And Others  

Untitled by Me, You And Others

Me, You And Others: Photos

 
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Siblings  

Kieran Williams Photography posted a photo:

 
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Legendary Barber Donnie Hawley stops to talk about ... by Justin Oberman  

Legendary Barber Donnie Hawley stops to talk about ... by Justin Oberman

Legendary Barber Donnie Hawley stops to talk about the future during a tour of his Costa Mesa Barbershop

Justin Oberman: Photos

 
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Sunflowers move by the clock  

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Sunflowers near the University of California, Davis, campus. Plant biologists have now discovered how sunflowers use their internal circadian clock, acting on growth hormones, to follow the sun during the day as they grow. Growing sunflowers begin the day with their heads facing east, swing west through the day, and turn back to the east at night.

Image credit: Chris Nicolini, UC Davis

 
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Interscatter communication enables first-ever implanted devices, smart contact lenses, credit cards that 'talk' Wi-Fi  

Full Text:

University of Washington researchers have introduced a new way of communicating that allows devices such as brain implants, contact lenses, credit cards and smaller wearable electronics to talk to everyday devices such as smartphones and watches. This new “interscatter communication” works by converting Bluetooth signals into Wi-Fi transmissions over the air. Using only reflections, an interscatter device such as a smart contact lens converts Bluetooth signals from a smartwatch, for example, into Wi-Fi transmissions that can be picked up by a smartphone.

Image credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington

 
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Water voles to be reintroduced to England's highest lake  

National Trust will release 100 of the endangered animals, not seen at Malham tarn in Yorkshire dales for 50 years

Britain's endangered water voles will reach new heights when they are returned to Yorkshire's Malham tarn for the first time in 50 years.

Around 100 water voles will be reintroduced on Friday to the National Trust estate in the Yorkshire dales, home to England's highest freshwater lake, in what the trust says is the highest-altitude reintroduction of the species it has carried out in Britain.

Related: England's water voles in desperate decline

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Culling 5,000 brumbies: 41 scientists back controversial Kosciuszko proposal  

Academics say plan to slash number of wild horses is needed to protect delicate Snowy Mountains environment

A plan to cull more than 5,000 brumbies in the Snowy Mountains has received the support of leading scientists from around Australia.

Forty-one scientists from 16 universities have written to the New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, to support the proposed cull of 90% of the brumby population in Kosciuszko national park.

Related: A time to cull? The battle over Australia's brumbies

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A Smell of Burning by Colin Grant review how people with epilepsy have been persecuted  
A powerful memoir of the author's brother tells the story of a condition whose sufferers were killed in the middle ages for communicating with the devil

Raphael's The Transfiguration is a depiction of epilepsy that pulls no punches: a lofted Christ soars on an illuminated cloud, while a boy with rolling eyes and flailing limbs is supported by his father. Raphael's painting is a reference to the Gospel of Mark, chapter nine, in which Jesus descends from transfiguration to cure a boy of the “foul spirit” causing his seizures. “Epilepsy” is a Greek word, meaning “to be seized upon”, and the illness has long been viewed as evidence of connection between human and spiritual realms. The earliest Greek medical writings by Hippocrates are half a millennium older than the gospels, and though they call epilepsy “the sacred disease” they offer a more humane portrait of the condition: “I do not believe that the ‘sacred disease' is any more divine or sacred than any other disease,” Hippocrates wrote. “Because it is completely different from other diseases, it has been regarded as a divine visitation by those who, being only human, view it with ignorance and astonishment.”

Grant's survey of the western history of epilepsy offers ample evidence of humanity's persecution of what it fears

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The Waiting Place  

ShutterJack posted a photo:

"Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
or a plane to go or the mail to come,
or the rain to go or the phone to ring,
or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting."

by Dr. Seuss

 
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