Comments on: President Obama’s Factfulness and the Death of Expertise

By: dean

dean — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 14:54:35 +0000

One thing did just get better: the US just sent Jakiw Palij , a Nazi who was a guard at Treblinka, to Germany. The (now) old man came here, lied about his service, and has been here since 1949.

By: dean

dean — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 14:11:17 +0000

In reply to Jeff Harvey.

That Obama reads such utter piffle tells me how embedded in the corporate culture he and the political establishment are in the U.S.

There is a chance that, unlike the right, Obama is open to reading things he does not agree with, in order to gain some insight into the thoughts behind them. I don't know what percentage I'd put on that chance.

By: Li D

Li D — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 13:57:50 +0000

If that Nichols book dosnt have appropriate statistics in it to back up the claims made, ( and I’m betting it dosnt, even though I’ve never seen it ) may I suggest it’s a pile of positive reinforcing bullshit. I can smell the bias the author has and the bias the author assumes the reader has ( and hes likely correct ) across the Pacific.
I get the bloody bias because it’s so immediatly appealing. Of one thinks Brexiteers are thick as shit, and I most certainly do, this book is seemingly just what the doctor ordered to validate further my perception. Uh Uh. That’s a sales gimmick not
reality. If I see a copy I might see if it’s got stats. I can’t honestly see the author having time or inclination to do the nessessary field work and analysis.

By: BBD

BBD — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 11:41:20 +0000

Well, Jeff – who knows whereof he speaks – has beaten me to the punch. The only thing I will venture is that it is quite possible that Obama does not agree with some or even most of Rosling’s conclusions.

By: Jeff Harvey

Jeff Harvey — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 09:38:56 +0000

One final point. Hans Rosling, in my honest opinion, truly cared about the future. It is very sad that he passec away last year. However, this does not ignore the fact that he overrelied on selective use of statistics that largely ignored the natural economy. The UN Living Planet Index reveals clearly that we as a species are living off of capital rather than income. Improvements in technology have thus far exceedec the growing ecological deficit. However, at some point there will not be enough natural capital left to make up for this imbalance. Dr. Rosling did not appear to factor either the growing ecological debt or indeed the importance of nature in his calculations. This is why he is wrong.

By: Jeff Harvey

Jeff Harvey — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 09:28:52 +0000

Rosling’s analyses would barely pass kindergarten level because, like most contrarians, he believes that the material economy is independent of the natural economy. The recent Bioscience paper (World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity 25 Years After the Rio Biodiversity Summit) lays bare why Rosling and his myopic tribe are wrong. Actually the world, if we factor in the state of ecosystems across the biosphere, is in a much worse state than we are led to believe.

Insect populations are collapsing across large parts of the world. Pollinators are in serious trouble. So are those of birds, bats, snakes, amphibians, and a myriad of other organisms that are part of the natural economy. Even the ubiquitous hedgehog has seen its population reduced by over 90% in the U.K. Over the past three decades. Something us clearly going wrong. This summer has seen unprecedented events linked with climate change manifesting themselves across the northern hemisphere. Nafeez Ahmed said that we are beginning to see the unraveling of our industrial civilization as the effects of warming kick in.

Against this background emerge the sycophantic army of optimists led by Bjorn Lomborg, Matt Ridley and now Rosling’s latest screed. All of these clowns believe that himans are exempt from the laws of nature, that somehow we can continue with a slash-and-burn approach to nature, while embracing rapaciously destructive neoliberal capitalism and live happily ever after.

That Obama reads such utter piffle tells me how embedded in the corporate culture he and the political establishment are in the U.S.