I had to look up the word, ‘sciolism.’ I think it fits.
As someone who has believed in the “evidence” produced by climate science, I was shocked to learn that climate science deniers have a completely alternate set of facts and questions. Who would have thunk it?
The deniers say that the climate is always changing, so what’s the big deal? Dang. We dummies didn’t know that. (Actually, scientists do appear to understand that the climate is always changing, but add that the current changes are caused by human activity, mostly the burning of fossil fuels. But that’s only based on evidence.)
The deniers tell us that past atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached thousands of parts per million, so when the current levels spike at 417 ppm, it’s nothing. Didn’t know that either. Boy, are those propeller-heads stupid. And me too, for believing them. But just to clarify, the scientists do say that levels above 1,000 ppm last occurred 40 million years ago, and the planet has not seen levels as high as they are now for 800,000 years. One last thing that they say about this is that current and historic global temperatures correlate with these atmospheric CO2 levels. But why quibble when the facts are inconvenient?
The deniers wonder why climate models aren’t compared with actual data. Good question! The silly scientists just never thought of such a thing. Oh, except maybe for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). But I’m sure that doesn’t count.
There are other things the climate science deniers say about the climate hoax. Like solar activity isn’t taken into account. Wow. If only the scientists had thought of that. (Except that they did when they built it into the models.)
I guess I just need to listen to my inner flat-earther self more. Thank you, climate change deniers, for showing us that critical thinking and scientific literacy are mere inconveniences in the pursuit of blissful sciolism. It's a tough job, but someone has to stand up against the overwhelming evidence and expert consensus. Keep fighting the good fight, and may your blind faith in misinformation continue to shine like a beacon of willful (i-word).
