tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post7777187040115845085..comments2024-03-16T02:16:54.082-07:00Comments on Vagabond Scholar: False EquivalenciesBatocchiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-11654198214965968182008-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:002008-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:00Thank you, I appreciate it. I like to joke that I...Thank you, I appreciate it. I like to joke that I am an Extreme Moderate. A fierce independent if you will. I have found that most discussion sites are either left or right and rather than identify with similarities many of the participants just see the differences. I'm too liberal for the right and to conservative for the left. The middle is lonely. Particularly in politics. I remain Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03051257901556604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-83952665297909906132008-12-02T13:56:00.000-08:002008-12-02T13:56:00.000-08:00Haha. Fair enough on both comments.BTW, you might...Haha. Fair enough on both comments.<BR/><BR/>BTW, you might enjoy checking out The Non Sequitur, Obsidian Wings, Crooked Timber, Hullabaloo, Glenn Greenwald and No Comment, all on my blogroll. Not all admit comments, but they're some of the more intellectual sites out there, and a few have really good communities with great debates in the threads. There's also making your own blog (blogspot Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-76684087195555640322008-12-02T13:37:00.001-08:002008-12-02T13:37:00.001-08:00oh and here's a name for youoh and here's a name for youUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03051257901556604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-49708638609826617082008-12-02T13:37:00.000-08:002008-12-02T13:37:00.000-08:00I have seen that site and find it interesting if n...I have seen that site and find it interesting if not contradictory at times much like the skeptic sites. 10 years of cooling is not a trend but 100 years is? In the big picture, Really? Sure we predicted cooling but that didn't catch on so it didn't count, but now we're serious. More storms in the Atlantic means global warming, but a cooling Antarctica is a local phenomenon. Both sides are soUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03051257901556604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-3070972193219778122008-12-02T13:33:00.000-08:002008-12-02T13:33:00.000-08:00Fair enough, Anonymous, and that's pretty classy o...Fair enough, Anonymous, and that's pretty classy of you, in all sincerity. Apologies for adding to the scrum at all myself.<BR/><BR/>The Gristmill links do give much more detail on climate change, and I found it interesting to look through them. I'm not a meteorologist nor an expert on the subject, and don't pretend to be. I do try to read up and research a bit on the issue, as with other Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-29032157419495352632008-12-02T13:02:00.000-08:002008-12-02T13:02:00.000-08:00Well I will certainly go with your theme of de-esc...Well I will certainly go with your theme of de-escalation.<BR/><BR/>I did look over my first post and it was inappropriate. In my haste I did not take into account that there was no established rapport and I did not check myself properly. In the next posts I was just reactive.<BR/><BR/>I didn't address the main point of your post because I didn't have an issue with it. I just had an issue withAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-34841537594773089902008-12-02T12:27:00.000-08:002008-12-02T12:27:00.000-08:00Oh, there's also Gristmill's How to Talk to a Clim...Oh, there's also Gristmill's <A HREF="http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics" REL="nofollow">How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic</A>, which covers a wide variety of arguments ranging from the loony to the more serious, including several entries addressing the "consensus" argument. Grist for the mill indeed.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-36047380533701695112008-12-02T08:25:00.000-08:002008-12-02T08:25:00.000-08:00Anonymous, thanks for a more detailed comment. Bu...Anonymous, thanks for a more detailed comment. But wow, talk about missing the point or at least cross-talking. I'm quite fond of spirited debate and discussion. However, I take commentators more seriously when:<BR/><BR/>1) They actually read the post and address its main points, don't ignore salient points, and don't mischaracterize either type, however unintentionally, or make uncharitable Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-57574903087640137702008-12-01T22:12:00.000-08:002008-12-01T22:12:00.000-08:00Perhaps my mistake was the perception of this blog...Perhaps my mistake was the perception of this blog. A friend of mine recommended it as a source for my ongoing interest in the use of critical thinking in modern media and communications. I came to this entry with the understanding that was what it was. But from the condescending tone of your response to me and the obvious one sided-ness of your comments the mistake was mine. I apologize for Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-60927673197220417872008-12-01T21:49:00.000-08:002008-12-01T21:49:00.000-08:00Batocchio - I think you missed the point entirely....Batocchio - I think you missed the point entirely. The point is the idea of a false equivalency can exist but it can also be used as a shield to avoid real debate on an issue. I prefer to find intelligent people who disagree with me and can spur debate and challenge my ideas. I get the impression that you surround yourself with people who agree with you so you probably don't see a debate in Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-60441704079445354052008-12-01T15:37:00.000-08:002008-12-01T15:37:00.000-08:00Anonymous, did you bother to actually read the pos...Anonymous, did you bother to actually read the post, and follow the links, particularly the Hansen piece? You forward a rather novel (if not contrary) conception of false equivalency, and your claim that "There is no such thing as a settled consensus in science" is parsing at the most generous. Your view of Hansen is in the minority - that's fine, but please don't pretend that you somehow Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-34129859845630777282008-12-01T14:04:00.000-08:002008-12-01T14:04:00.000-08:00This is such a hopelessly bad example it hurts my ...This is such a hopelessly bad example it hurts my head. False Equivalencies only exist when the debate is about something other than the underlying facts. Such as a debate about what to do to solve the problem of endemic poverty. Both sides agree there is poverty, but they are debating what is to be done. Then you can have these sort of equivalencies. But with the global warming issue it is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-65531959037461441402007-05-03T08:56:00.000-07:002007-05-03T08:56:00.000-07:00Thank you so much for explaining this horrible log...Thank you so much for explaining this horrible logic fracture so completely.<BR/><BR/>I've been raging for many years now that the MSM's idea of "balance" meant that all they had to have was two talking heads disagreeing with each other, and that is so disingenuous and intellectually dishonest that it makes both my head and my heart hurt.<BR/><BR/>That any seemingly competent journalists could Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-28997157224334169952007-04-14T15:49:00.000-07:002007-04-14T15:49:00.000-07:00Nice analysis. I live to read about the psychology...Nice analysis. I live to read about the psychology of politics. I think it's called addressing the subtext.daphnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067942377130261729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-42839920389191217372007-04-14T15:15:00.000-07:002007-04-14T15:15:00.000-07:00Jcasey — Thanks for the correction. D'oh! Should ...<I>Jcasey</I> — Thanks for the correction. D'oh! Should have caught that one. I've updated the post. Actually, I never saw <A HREF="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108185/" REL="nofollow"><I>Sommersby</I></A>, just the original film in high school French class, <A HREF="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084589/" REL="nofollow"><I>The Return of Martin Guerre</I></A>. <BR/><BR/><I>Anonymous @ 8:49</I>Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-57657500247349325142007-04-14T12:08:00.000-07:002007-04-14T12:08:00.000-07:00Very nice piece, about a very troubling issue.Very nice piece, about a very troubling issue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-55027628324915926932007-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:002007-04-14T10:21:00.000-07:00(@anonymous: always a good idea to define your ter...(@anonymous: always a good idea to define your terms. Nobody's arguing about when life began. That was way back with the first primitive cell. The discussion is about *human* life, which is a much more metaphysical problem, involving as it does a definition of what is human. Good luck to all of us on that one.)<BR/><BR/>I wanted to comment about the coverage of scientific facts. The points quixotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12650030894065858444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-51591246830610514852007-04-14T08:49:00.000-07:002007-04-14T08:49:00.000-07:00I really liked this post, thanks. I am an abortio...I really liked this post, thanks. I am an abortion-rights supporter but I have to say the bit about Plan B is itself misleading. What would have made the CNN show fair to the viewer would be to show:<BR/>- many religious people define conception at the moment the egg and sperm join<BR/>- that whether or not the egg has been fertilized, Plan B will prevent implantation<BR/>- so if the egg was Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14857092.post-69641683756262069972007-04-14T08:14:00.000-07:002007-04-14T08:14:00.000-07:00Nice job on this Batocchio. One minor item of cor...Nice job on this Batocchio. One minor item of correction: The Daily Howler is Somerby (not Somersby--that was a movie with Richard Gere. But on more substantial matters, the idea that one ought to be "balanced" in all matters is a silly one. Some people won't even read things they perceive as not "balanced" (for the reasons I think Ivins noticed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com