I was going to post a link on various social media services, to an article I just read on BBC about the horrific development regarding climate change, but realised I probably shouldn't.
It won't make a difference, and the usual comments will begin, which will make me despair:
How did we get to a state where "it could be right, but then it only truly applies after I've died, but it could also be wrong, so let's do nothing, or if possible, make it worse, quicker."
How did we get to a state where people see and hear facts, provided by professional experts, and dismiss them because the people themselves don't understand them? Somehow they trust what their doctor/dentist/mechanic says, even if they don't understand it themselves, and they trust the education and experience those experts have...but still the people don't trust most scientific experts within that experts own field, especially if that field of expertise seems to mean we have to change how we do something we like, or at least are used to.
How did we get to a state where conspiracy nutters, often with very little understanding of how science actually happen, are allowed to confuse the scientific meaning of Scientific Theory with the more common word "theory" that has a "he says, she says, it could be either" meaning, as opposed to the rigorous work that actually goes into presenting a scientific theory, which is testable and so far, after a lot of testing, proven correct?
How did we get to a state where when grave scientific facts are presented, and a vast majority of the scientific community agrees on something, instead the debate amongst people is not related to the topic in question, but instead focuses on if it is 97% or 99% or 90% of the scientists that agree on a specific formulation? And that we use those odd-one-out 3%, 1% or 10% to hide behind, saying "well, not ALL scientists seem to believe this! Therefore I'm going to do nothing! Hah!"
How did we get to a state where caring about other people or caring about the environment is sneered on as "liberal" or ugly and bad?
I don't have the answers. I have my own theories on the reasons for the current state in the world. Those theories could be wrong, so I shall not present them here. Those theories of mine are not Scientific Theories. They are highly subjective self observed theories, based on personal experience, and yes, I know the difference a subjective theory and a Scientific Theory. Do you?
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