Monday, December 31, 2018

f) Considering the Missing Key to Gould’s “Nonoverlapping Magisteria”

... and this one was the climax of my journey.  Doesn't matter much that few seem to get it or care, this one is my gem.  The culmination of my heroic introspective journey.  See, I was a genuine dharma bum, as a young man I threw myself to experiencing life and the road, the wind and my own wits.  Been able to walk in many shoes for a distance, known many beautiful people and have enjoyed many wonderful discussions, seen many ups and downs.  Back in those 70s, 80s our country wasn't so scared and angry.  Being of poor but healthy honest stock people hired me, so I had opportunities to work many diverse jobs and live many experiences over the succeeding decades.    Considering the odds I've had a great ride.  

I'm a bonafide student of the University of Life you could say.  Among my early professors were a parade of enthusiastic research librarians before the days of personal computers.   Next to living, there was keeping up on science news and proactively researching things that interested me and since understanding myself and the entire Earth and her story interested me, it's been a busy life.  I dare say I've been attentive to every day, good and bad.  These days I'd label myself an Earth Centrist and I've accumulated some deep understanding.  Here I was finally able to summarize it in a way that feels complete and that opens whole new vistas for me.  I fancy this my U of L Master's Thesis.    ;- )
(Evening Jan 1, 2019:  Spent many hours today reviewing this 6 post collection and making final changes, then more final adjustments, plus adding some closing observations at the end of this piece.  I do believe this annotated collection is now finished.   
Happy New Year to you and best wishes, cc.)
   __________________________________________________________________________________________________
    
The Missing Key to Stephen Gould’s
“Nonoverlapping Magisteria”

“… missing was a much more fundamental division crying out for recognition.  Specifically,                                        
the magisteria of Physical Reality vs the magisteria of our Human Mindscape. …”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
    
The increasingly shrill and disconnected from physical reality attacks on science by faith-based organizations and individuals has me thinking about an essay evolutionary biologist and historian of science Stephen J. Gould wrote some twenty years ago in an attempt to address the tension between scientific truths and religious truths.
His solution was the notion of “Non-overlapping Magisteria” which delineated two teaching “authorities” (magisterium), the “magisteria of science” and the “magisteria of religion.” It wasn’t his original idea, rather a continuation of a centuries old dialogue between scientists and the Catholic Church that I don’t have the space to get into.
In any event, Gould concluded there should be no conflict because each realm has its’ own domain of “teaching authority.” Since these “magisteria” do not overlap, they cannot contradict each other and should be able to exist in mutual respect.
When it first came out

e) Map v Territory Problem, Statistical Certainty vs Geophysical Realities

. . . since New Year's Eve is upon us, I feel like collecting some of my favorite essays in an effort to summarize my perspective.  
Here are explanatory highlights from two articles that seemed to piss off the big boys.  'How dare a street urchin insinuate himself into their discussion,'  is the message I received loud and clear.  Well I dared because I thought the academic system was about increasing understanding, discussing ideas, finding and nurturing talent, but I've come to realize all those romantic notions belong to earlier more innocent days, back when principles and morality meant something and before the drive for profits and prominence dominated as it does today.  We live and learn.
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I share the key excerpts from two previous articles that look at a couple climate science communication pitfalls that are important and need much more open discussion.  At least if we're concerned with translating science speak into regular people speak.  The "Map v Territory Problem' and 'Statistical Certainty vs Geophysical Realities.'


Exploring the Map v Territory Problem - via the Brown Ocean Effect and Dr. Trenberth

Colorado Floods - statistical certainty vs geophysical realities - 2013

_________________________________

Exploring the Map v Territory Problem - via the Brown Ocean Effect and Dr. Trenberth

On November 9th, 2017 Dr. Trenberth visited our local Fort Lewis College and was the featured speaker at an afternoon climate change symposium.  

A Distinguished Senior Scientist (in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research), he is a cartographer if you will.  His entire being is about getting the science, the models, the map, as close to representing reality as resources and ability allow.  This dedication has made him among the best in his field of climate studies.  

As a self-taught Earth and climate science enthusiast I’ve been familiar with his work for decades and have learned a great deal from his articles and in past years talks on YouTube and I was glad to finally have the chance to see and hear him in person. …

d) Considering our dysfunctional public dialogue, in 14 verses.

2018 was the climax of a decade long crescendo in my decades long effort to network with rationalists, scientists and science communicators, in what I fancied was our communal struggle to confront the mischief that corporate funded science contrarians and select politicians were so successfully peddling to an under-informed and mostly disinterested public - and since New Year's Eve is upon us, I feel like collecting some of my favorite posts in an effort to summarize my perspective.  
This is the flip-side of my flier for the Democratic State Convention, it's a list of various important aspects of climate science communication along with key pit-falls and observations, in 14 verses.
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1)  Uncertainties vs. known Physical Certainties

It is a disservice to constantly allow trivial uncertainties to become the focal point of the public discussion.

In real life when we get mired or overwhelmed by increasingly complex situations, we stop, back off a little, get reoriented with the big picture, reacquaint ourselves with what we do know for certain, then move forward again.  

I’m not saying ignore uncertainties!  I’m saying keep reminding us of the overriding fundamental certainties!  Thus putting contrarian trivial pursuits into real world perspective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2)  Map vs. Territory Problem

Scientists are Cartographers mapping out the geophysical realities of our planet, the Territory if you will.  They do the best they can with the data they have available.

Too often we get trapped into assuming that until our scientists can define all aspects with statistical certainty, we should assume it's okay to ignore.  
That's getting lost on the Map and forgetting we exist within the Territory.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3)  Sloppy usage of “Natural Variability”

c) Intellectually Confronting Faith-Based thinking and Dogma Driven Deceptions

Why not challenge people to realize no human has ever been born capable of understanding the true “God Almighty of Light and Time, Creation and Love” ?

( 2018 was the climax of a decade long crescendo in my decades long effort to network with rationalists, scientists and science communicators, in what I fancied was our communal struggle to confront the dishonest nonsense that corporate funded science contrarians and select politicians were so successfully peddling to an under-informed and mostly disinterested public - and since New Year's Eve is upon us, I feel like collecting some of my favorite essays in an effort to summarize my perspective.  
This is half of a flier that I circulated at the Colorado Democratic Assembly and Convention and where I did my best to summarize a challenge to confront faith-based thinking and dogma driven deceptions - along with some retrospective at the end. )
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The Memes Courier
    Colorado Democratic Assembly -  April 13, 2018  
      
Intellectually Confronting Faith-Based thinking and Dogma Driven Deceptions.


The opposing sides: Children of the Intellectual Enlightenment vs Faith-based dogmatism spearheaded by the evangelical movement (driven by wannabe oligarchs).  Winning at the polls is only half our challenge when well over a third of our country fully supports this amoral president and his white supremest bullying and his attacks upon our government and democratic institutions.  
Beyond winning in the 2018 elections, we need to nurture a massive grassroots movement of informed and engaged voters who are willing to confront faith-based delusional thinking on an individual level, while also standing behind those we elect to make sure they get their jobs done.
Faith-based thinking demands a rejection of serious science along with hostility towards learning from down to Earth evidence.  This attitude is enabled and reinforced by a constant flow of contrived high pitched fear-mongering and paranoid machinations towards “the other” be it different people or ideas.
Why have we allowed their religion and God a free pass?

Sunday, December 30, 2018

b) Saying No To Reality, denying the Geologic Column. A response.

Since, 2018 was the climax of a decade long crescendo in my decades long effort to network with rationalists, scientists and science communicators, in what I fancied was our communal struggle to confront the nonsense that corporate funded science contrarians and select politicians were so successfully peddling to an under-informed and mostly disinterested public - and since New Year's Eve is upon us, I'm collecting some of my favorite essays in an effort to summarize my perspective.  
Here's another look at the importance of understanding evolutionary reality.
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The following appears in the July issue of the Four Corners Free Press
Working title was: Explaining the Geologic Column to the Faith Blinded Psalm1Tree. 

Colorado's Grand Staircase's Geologic Column - Wayne Ranney
(click on image for a better view)

https://earthly-musings.blogspot.com/2013/08/ancient-landscapes-of-colorado-plateau.html
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Recently, I was minding my own business listening to a fascinating talk on YouTube titled, “Rooted in Earth History: the Devonian transition to a forested planet.”  It was about strategies that Earth’s first ground-hugging plants adapted to escape the confines of Earth’s surface.  They did this in order to reach closer to our sun and further away from plant-eaters. 

This led to Earth’s first forests, which in turn led to an explosion of new environmental niches for life to radiate into. 

I learned some fascinating details regarding questions I’d been wondering about for a long time.  The lecture increased my understanding of evolution on this fantastic planet of ours, which has been a lifelong passion for me.

But my pleasant reverie was shattered by a YouTube comment that blind-sided me.  One ‘Psalm1Tree’ wrote in all seriousness: 

“There never was a Devonian period, just as there never was a Cambrian, Jurassic, Triassic etc. period. That's because there never was a Geologic Column. That is a 19th century construct that has no data whatsoever to support it.”

Besides avoiding the topic of the video, the comment is such an ignorant statement on so many levels that most who know anything about geology and evolution would simply clamp on the head-vise and back away. 

Unfortunately, decades of ignoring such belligerent ignorance about important aspects of our life and planet have led to its becoming so insidious and commonplace that our government is controlled by Republicans who disregard obvious physical realities on personal whim.   Justified only by a hubristic conceit that they are doing “God’s duty,” they are in fact all about pursuing their own EGO’s bidding.

I decided to engage Psalm with a short video that rationally explains what the geologic column is all about.  Then came my second shock.

a) Who says understanding Earth’s Evolution is irrelevant?

2018 was the climax of a decade long crescendo in my decades long effort to network with rationalists, scientists and science communicators, in what I fancied was our communal struggle to confront the mischief that corporate funded science contrarians and select politicians were so successfully peddling to an under-informed and mostly disinterested public - and since New Year's Eve is upon us, I feel like collecting some of my favorite essays in an effort to summarize my perspective.  
I'll start with a Dec 2, 2017 introductory post at ConfrontingScienceContrarians  followed by some retrospective. 
_________________________________________________

... Sadly all too many.  

I often hear people, not just the religious with their paper thin understanding, but educated rational people who superficially accept the notion of evolution, - (but who've spent little time absorbing what Earth's pageant of evolution has been all about) - dismissing the need to learn anything about it.  As if learning how to make money and survive in our modern society is all that matters to understanding our place in the world.

This disregard has led to a general apathy that I can't for the life of me comprehend.  Especially considering what an amazingly beautiful, complex, mysterious and absolutely relevant story it is.

Saturday, December 1, 2018

STOP CALLING "SURFACE" TEMPERATURES GLOBAL TEMPS ! ! !

Yesterday a casual google search triggered a flurry of recent stories from a spectrum of news outlets, most with breathless headlines about two years of global temperature drop - that leaves me stupefied.  Too many of these stories with all their handwringing and confused writing either ignore or bury the fact that they are discussing Earth's surface temperatures.  Why can't we get the simplest principles straight?  It's the atmospheric insulation silly!  Right, Left, malicious and well-meaning, what up?  We live upon a Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine!

Our Surface Temperature represents about 10% of our Global Climate Engine's total heat content.  The oceans contain the other 90% of global climate temperatures, for christ sake stop ignoring that!  Enunciate how our planet operates.  Surface temperatures fluctuate, distribution patterns of surface heat are immensely complex, so what?  The fundamental physical reality that no one cares to hammer home is that our global heat and moisture distribution engine is accumulating a known amount of extra warming 24/7/365 and the reasons are well understood, and the amounts are well known.

But don’t take my word for it, listen to a real expert Josh Willis PhD explain the deniable, but unavoidable, physical reality.   First a quickie, then another talk with a bit more details, followed by some visualizations of Earth’s temperature rise to put these fluctuations into realistic perspective.

NASA | Ask a Climate Scientist: Global Warming Pause?
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Charting Irreversible Climate Change with Jason-3

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Ildiko Valeria Miesler (December 20, 1925 / November 24, 2018)




Ildiko Valeria Miesler
December 20, 1925 - November 24, 2018

You were a most extraordinary mother,
sowing and nurturing the seeds of love, caring, 
curiosity, family, and belonging.  

Looking back from 63 I realize how you made us aware 
of our connection to this Earth that created us,
"Children breath deeply, savor that clean country air." 
and the human spirit within us, 
“Behold children what two hands have achieved.”

For navigating a challenging unforgiving world, 
you instilled in us the gift of appreciating that substance matters more than facade.

You endured much adversity always retaining the deepest love for us five children and an infectious enthusiasm for our world and the good people in it.  

Thank you with all our hearts!
_________________________________________

One moment I think I have a lot I'd like to share, next moment it's all silence within.  My dear mother passed away yesterday evening, nearly 93 she was ...

Thursday, November 22, 2018

President Kennedy, reminiscing on a loss that gets greater with every year.

No November 22nd has gone by without me thinking about President Kennedy and his untimely death with it's profound impact on the future direction of American and world politics.  Not that he was a saint, but he was a capable intelligent Mensch, a beloved leader of men, someone who cared and loved learning and loved people.  After rereading a little piece I wrote five years ago I got to thinking about how the world has continued to change for the worse these past five years.  
Considering today's increasing anguish over the existential future of American civility, and since yesterday was the fifty-fifth anniversary of John Fitzgerald Kennedy's profoundly tragic assassination, I'm reposting it.  My little way of honoring his memory.

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

Reflecting on November 22nd, 1963 and the assassination of our President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the loss of a nation… and of the world.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Up until I was eight years old, life was a scattered recollection of emerging awareness of the world around me.  Then, while climbing the stairs to the second floor of John J. Audubon Elementary school in Chicago, Illinois - I overheard an older guy descending the stairs telling his friend: "Did you hear?  The President's been shot!"

The news meant something big, then and there.  That feeling was reinforced within the minute it took to complete my trek to the classroom.  The somber teacher, the being sent home early, the stunned walk home through a hushed neighborhood.  Then the look of my mother and the tears she could not hide when we got home. 

The following day we drove to my grandparents and spent the subsequent days in a vigil around their TV (since we still didn't have one) trying to absorb what had happened until our President was laid to rest.  It's the earliest period of my young life where I remember a sequence of many days.  A metaphorical brutal slap in the face letting me know that the outside world does make a difference to my own little world.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Blistering Response to Dismissal of Climate Action Demands. Lizia Woolf

I myself have been in a hell of a struggle with hopelessness for many years.  Its like the tide coming in, every wave hits a bit harder than the last, but then I shake off the hit and keep on keeping on, until the next one comes along that knocks me over.  After all, hope is a survival strategy in hopeless times - I like that.  
Unfortunately, the general public apathy, disconnect, along with the profound lack of appreciation for the complexity of our society and its utter dependence on relatively moderate and predictable weather patterns sustaining our robust biosphere that's been millions of years (and more) in the making, has been chopping away at my will power.  Which then reminds me that simply curling up and hiding is another survival strategy (perhaps mental health strategy is more accurate). 
But, then someone like Lizia comes along to remind me this isn't simply another political game, this one is for keeps.  Lizia's impassioned response resonated with me and its worth sharing.


Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Morning after, 2018Election. Ducking hard questions. R. Samuelson


Robert Samuelson a columnist for the Washington Post echoed some of my feelings so well that I want to share some of it over here.  
Considering the 2018 election results (not a complete disaster but, ...) it seems a fairly sure bet that the next two years will be filled with the Democratic House investigating our Russian obligate President and Trump’s all around lawlessness, while the GOP Senate continues focusing on completing their stacking of our Court system with ideological judges probably even more extreme than Kavanaugh.
On the "public dialogue" front Republicans will continue lathering-up their faithful with fear, hatred, and contempt for “others” while doubling down on their faith-based rejection of learning from objective facts and constructive dialogue - topped off by their all around placid acceptance of the malicious calculated lie as their best political weapon.
Democrats hold the key.  Continue avoiding the deliberate brainwashing messaging of FOX News and what Trump-Republicans are force-feeding Americans and Democrats will continue losing the hearts and minds of rational people, as yesterday’s election demonstrated.  It needed to be a clear landslide for American Pluralistic Principles and America's government of the people, by the people and for the people - instead it was a whimper.
 _________________________________________________________________
Robert Samuelson, Washington Post, Nov. 6, 2018

Ducking hard questions, we all lost the elections

WASHINGTON – We all lost the fiercely contested midterm elections.
They were a referendum on President Donald Trump, which suited both Republicans and Democrats just fine. Democrats were betting that the public had increasingly tired of Trump’s lies and his vile style. Trump and his supporters believed that Democrats were again underestimating his popular appeal.
What was missing was any realistic engagement with the difficult issues facing the country. In democracies, elections serve not only to select the country’s leadership. They also aim to gauge public opinion on the hard issues and to see whether some sort of consensus is possible. The campaign featured very little of this constructive politics.
What are some of the hard issues? There’s no secret. …
… Under the best of circumstances, it would be difficult to achieve. Politicians want to win. By and large, they tell voters what voters want to hear, even if it is exaggerated, selective or dishonest.
But the fixation on Trump and his antics turned a longshot into an impossibility. It destroyed the prospects of anything resembling rational debate. Indeed, public opinion may be worse informed at the end of this campaign than at the beginning. In this sense, the campaign may have been wasted.

Read the complete column at,
Robert Samuelson is a columnist for The Washington Post. © 2018 The Washington Post Writers Group

Flashback, April 2018 a stab at our dysfunctional dialogue, Colorado Democratic Assembly.


This is side two of the flier I handed out at the 2018 Colorado Democratic Assembly/Convention (side one).  I notice I've improved a bit in subsequent writings, but will leave this version as it was. (Oh and it looked nicer formatted in two columns, but its the substance that matters so hope this will do.)

A few thoughts regarding Climate Science and our dysfunctional public dialogue

I’ve spent a couple decades attempting to debate climate science contrarians.  This has given me insights into the faith-based mind in action and the games they employ to derail discussions. I’ve distilled my experiences into the following list of observations regarding our dysfunctional public dialogue.  It’s incomplete and improvable.  Still I hope it’s a useful effort, food for thought if nothing else. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uncertainties vs. known Physical Certainties

Is it a disservice to constantly allow trivial uncertainties to become the focal point of the public discussion, to the exclusion of facing the known certainties.

In real life when we get overwhelmed and mired in increasingly complex problem, we stop.  Back off a little, get reoriented with the big picture and what we do know with reasonable certainty, then move forward again.  

I’m not saying ignore uncertainties!  But keep reminding all of the overriding fundamental certainties!   Thus putting those trivial pursuits into real world perspective.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Map vs. Territory Problem

Scientists are Cartographers mapping out the geophysical realities of our planet, the Territory if you will.  They do the best they can with the data they have available.

Too often we assume that until our scientists can define all aspects with statistical certainty, we should assume it doesn’t exist.  That’s getting lost in the Map and forgetting we actually exist within the Territory and had better beware, (which incidentally, doesn’t care if we get it or not.) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sloppy usage of “Natural Variability”

Monday, November 5, 2018

Intellectually Confronting Faith-Based thinking and Dogma Driven Tribalism.

Here we are election eve and I simply want to say hello and let folks know I'm still around.  A bit battered but knowing I gave it a pretty good shot.  Could have been better, but not stranded within this party of one, it is what it is.  Nowadays, besides being crowded by work and obligations, I'm drained by the enduring general apathy, not just towards what I've written, worse towards our Democratic principles of pluralism, enlightened self-interest, and rational constructive dialogue over demagogic  hate mongering and fantasy thinking.  

Watching our inept Senators at the Kavanaugh's hearing knocked me off my pins (as Stephen Schneider would have said).  I can't fathom their failure to seize the moment - then October 25th.  Hello, this stuff has lasting consequences!  The election campaigns seemed like the same tired old shit, with the same tire money pitches and nothing to really motivate, even Obama seemed more promise than substance.  

For now, I'm going to take a stroll down memory lane and collect what, for me, were important efforts to enunciate my position, starting with side one of the pamphlet I passed out at the 2018 Colorado Democratic Assembly and Convention. 
==============================================
(Originally posted April 13, 2018)

I'm at my fourth Colorado Democratic Assembly and I've always been a pamphleteer.  Not the easiest for a private shy sort of guy.  So I've been rather passive, offering my pages and ready for dialogue but not stepping forward to engage people.  Time passes, we learn more with every day and this year I've promised myself to step it up a little and reach out to people to introduce the topic and establish an interest before offering my flier. 

Had a little practice during the short district assembly this evening.  At first looking at the 350+ District 3 delegates it seemed the crowd of the usual old folks, and not that many young faces.  But, then I started spotting them.  Not in the numbers I had hoped.  Then I heard a couple powerful speeches by young speakers.  Followed by a few good conversations,
as in 'yippy, they get it.'  I realized their small number way under-represented the energy and substance and power they possess.

It was fun.  I'm feeling a little better already and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  Here's side one, a lifetime's distillation.  I'll share side two tomorrow, now I'm going to bed, it's late and tomorrow will be a long busy day.
The Memes Courier
    Colorado Democratic Assembly -  April 13, 2018  
      
Intellectually Confronting Faith-Based thinking and Dogma Driven Tribalism.

The opposing sides: Children of the Intellectual Enlightenment vs Faith-based dogmatism spearheaded by the evangelical movement (driven by wannabe oligarchs).  Winning at the polls is only half our challenge when well over a third of our country fully supports this amoral president and his white supremest bullying and his attacks upon our government and democratic institutions.  
Beyond winning in the 2018 elections, we need to nurture a massive grassroots movement of informed and engaged voters who are willing to confront faith-based delusional thinking on an individual level, while also standing behind those we elect to make sure they get their jobs done.
Faith-based thinking demands a rejection of serious science along with hostility towards learning from down to Earth evidence.  This attitude is enabled and reinforced by a constant flow of contrived high pitched fear-mongering and paranoid machinations towards “the other” be it different people or ideas.
Why have we allowed their religion and God a free pass?