PrintOctober 9, 2009
The Science of Disinformation
In the dictionary:
- Science is defined as "knowledge gained by the study of the physical world."
- Knowledge is defined as "possession of ... truths."
- Disinformation, is defined as "false ... information."
So, apart from a possible oxymoron, what in the world is the Science of Disinformation?
The Science of Disinformation is the deliberate, immoral disregard of truth for the sake of selling something packaged as science. Think it can't happen? It is happening in a very big way, and right in front of our very eyes.
Whatever one's view about global warming,1 it is an odds-on bet that most of us don't know very much about the science underlying what has become a global socio-economic phenomenon.2 For example, most people don't know that many scientists think Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth propagated the theory of human global warming based on some very inconvenient untruths.
Most people also don't know that when Al Gore was chosen for political reasons to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in connection with his global warming advocacy, he was supposed to share that prize with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.3 However, IPCC scientist Dr. John Christy refused to accept the Nobel Prize because he did not want to dignify "jump-to-conclusion advocates" and "scientists who see in every weather anomaly the specter of a global-warming apocalypse."4
So, what's going on here? Why do the mainstream media continue to tell us that the science "is in" on global warming, when so many scientists who actually deal with the scientific data say otherwise?5 Well, perhaps the mainstream media are relying on people like Randy Olson, a marine biologist turned movie maker, whose ideas about honesty include the notion that if you want to get a scientific message across to the scientifically illiterate public, don't obsess about facts.
In the dictionary:
- Fact is defined as "something that can be shown to be true."
- Knowledge is defined as "possession of ... truths."
- Science is defined as "knowledge ..."
- Disinformation, is defined as "false ... information."
So, I guess the Science of Disinformation is all about possessing information that does not support what people say when they want others to believe that science proves something they know it does not prove. Interesting notion of science, wouldn't you say? Let's hope our doctors don't adopt the climate change model of science any time soon. Can you imagine how you'd feel if your doctor operated on you for rectal cancer and the only thing you needed was a hemorrhoid suppository?
Jed Gladstein is an attorney, author and educator.
_____________________________
[1] Some people seem to think that anyone who doesn't go along with the current global warming hypothesis is an environmental troglodyte. However, support for the global warming theory is not a precondition to believing that it is necessary for human beings to clean up the way we live on this planet. For many people, clean air, pure water and a soil free of toxicity are quality of life issues, irrespective of the global warming hypothesis.
[2] There are literally thousands of articles and studies available on the World Wide Web for people who want to become more informed. The September 27, 2009 article entitled "Global Warming 'Science" might be a good place to start.
[3] The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the agency that Congressional Democrats say they are relying on to push forward their "Cap & Trade" legislation, despite the fact that the legislation will result in every American household paying an additional $1,870.00 a year more in energy costs.
[4] Dr. John R. Christy is Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is also the Alabama State Climatologist. He is the recipient of NASA's Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement was given a Special Award by the American Meteorological Society "for developing a global, precise record of earth's temperature from operational polar-orbiting satellites, fundamentally advancing our ability to monitor climate." Dr. Christy was the Lead Author for the U.N. reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
[5] Even the mainstream media is having some difficulty these days maintaining its façade of uniformity, as shown by the article Even left now laughing at Global Warming.
