Is the majority of the "global warming" section a prime example of the dumbing down of America?

Question

I'm not saying anything for or against the global warming theories, mind you. That's not the subject of this question.

I would ask you to take a few minutes and read few of the questions and answers in this section and tell me if this isn't a prime example of "dumbing down."

Here are a few examples:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ato_2PCUywkbJfv.6J5nwBIS.Rd.?qid=20070722210729AA7p8O6

^Equates gravity and the roudness of the earth with global warming, condescending nature of question implies that he believes he is highly intelligent despite blatant lack of scientific knowledge.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjLACH.fK16krhKzts0hErQS.Rd.?qid=20070722172043AAUnxlv

^Have you had your panic today?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhaRKV.RY.fSuBdd0bwVlv8S.Rd.?qid=20070722215320AAtSVzT

^And what can I say about that one, really? For the love of God, let's turn off the tv and save the polar bears from our melting world!

Answer 1

I would agree there is little in your examples to inspire intelligent debate !

Much of Y!A is a knee-jerk reaction to some random daily thought people have when they first sit down at thier computer. If you look thru some peoples question history you find a bizarre range of topics they are "pasionate " about one day but not the other.

Are you sure the "Global Warming" section is the worst offender ? You and I have both seen some icons of stupidity in the V&V section.

Answer 2

I didn't go through all your links but the first questioner was correct in his definition of a 'theory'.

Science never proves anything 100% - there is ALWAYS an alternative explanation, no matter how bizarre (eg hallucination, conspiracies etc).

However, once a certain level of proof is reached it becomes foolish to not accept it as a scientific 'law'.

It is, however, arbitrary when the distinction is made between a 'theory' and a 'law'. Generally when the vast majority of scientists agree on something it is accepted as a law.

You mentioned Newton's Laws. I'm not a physicist but I understand that many of Newton's 'Laws' are now considered approximations for the more accurate Quantum mechanics.

I'm also not a climate change specialist but from what I've heard we may be approaching that arbitrary stage where consensus changes a theory into a law.

Answer 3

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actually he isn't equating anything with anything, just stating the fact of what a theory is. I think you either need read slower, or take a few science classes.

<<^Have you had your panic today?>>
insulting another person's opinion, on a widely accepted phenomenon, shows where the dumbing-down is occuring.

<<^And what can I say about that one, really? For the love of God, let's turn off the tv and save the polar bears from our melting world!>>
see above comment.

Answer 4

The one about the polar bear is funny... Those bears have lived other warmings in the past, and they never died out! now they need to swim more, thats about it... Well, I do agree with you that this world is really dumbing down, but to a point, that did not happen for a while! Peoples are not only missing correct educations, but they are mostly illiterated and are teach wrong stuff all over! So when you don`t have knowledges, you can always look for it, but when you get a bad one, and you think that what you have learned is right, then it takes much more efforts to look for the real answers and facts! Which I believed is the real reason of our society dumbing down lower than before.

Give you an exemple, while I was in a philosophy class in College, the teacher was very open, and ask students of the class which kinds of test they would like (voting hands up), it appears that we were about 5 to chose an opinion test (on theory and principles discuss in class), but the 60 others have ALL voted for going for the by heart test (meaning to remember an exact text and rewrote it without omitting anything)... Which means that in philosophy, we will only spend our time memorizing answers instead of developing our critical analysis!! I was shocked, and I drop the class just for this! Bunch of morons, they think that life will be easy with them, and don`t need tools to survived... Well I got enough of it and never really enjoy the morons ''molding'' process of that period in my life... University was better... Slightly... Still I am not a genius, but I learned that in life, if you want real answers to your questions, you go look by yourself. Be Intelligent is one thing, but using it appropriately is another...
I guess the ''answers are out there'' ;)

Answer 5

I will give you this one. Good question!
From all I have read in here, there are too many people poking fun at this phenomena - some remarks ridiculing the lack of 'cold' weather, because the earth is supposed to get much colder. Others mocking Al Gore because of his stance - it seems people will make fun of almost anything, these days. Is it perhaps the 'fear' tactics have finally taken hold, and people need to act out, instead of speak up and do something to help make a difference? Fear can create a whole lot of dysfunctions amongst the people - even, in the United States - a country we presumed to be safe from tyranny of any sort! Our country is obviously much more vulnerable than many of us ever imagined.
It's my fervent hope, people will come back to their sensibilities and work to make a positive difference, not just mock those who try.
The science, I believe, indicates the earth is old and simply goes through climatic changes - however, it does no good to shrug and say, "It's someone else's problem."
Or, repeat the 'chicken little' story - - "The sky is falling" as though it is laughable.
It's my basic philosophy that as a citizen of the earth, I must do my part to ensure its care and safety. Like; not littering, not wasting water, feeding the wild critters nearby because they are struggling to survive, too. It is something which I take very seriously... just ask my neighbors - lol lol
Finally, the more we make fun of one another, the more we get to pretend life isn't to be taken too seriously.

If, we don't all wake up, and become more grounded, more caring and more concerned about the world we live in - we don't deserve to live in it!

Answer 6

The sad truth is that most Americans are willing to take any statement made by people in authority and that includes the big business lobby inspite of the fact that they have proved to be self serving and without ethics. It is easier to believe that nothing can be wrong and to equate quality of life with gadgetry instead of any real quality.
It is also a fact that Americans are wiling at all times to belittle and mock any person of any intellectual ability and to twist their words to suit their own petty positions.
Global Warming is not dumbing Down America, the citizenry has opted to dumb themselves down at the whim of the politicos and big business lobbies.
Stop and think for just a few moments, America is dependent on fossil fuels for energy importing more than 40% from foreign countries, many of which are totally unstable and many of the remainder have populations that are hostile to the USA or have both governments as well as the people who are hostile to the USA - Venezuela as an example which is a net provider of oil to the USA.
Yet we not only continue to increase our appetite for this energy resource, but do so in face of the dependence it enforces on us as well as the need to create wars that otherwise could be avoided - all this to satisfy big business.
Strangely enough there are electric cars already on the road that could compete with the best sports cars - see Tesla Motors' Roadster, and the Lotus designed SUV - see the ZAP-X - that can go at speeds of up to 155 miles an hour, that recharge in a few minutes and have a range for the roadster of up to 250 miles before recharging and for the ZAP-X SUV of up to 350 miles.
Why then do we need to be held hostage by the big oil companies and the motor companies that instead of re-investing prefer to "down-size" their work force and cut costs instead of keeping America in the fore front of technological innovation?
Dumbing Down of America? It is NOT Global Warming that is doing that, it is the mental idleness of Americans and their politicians taking advantage of that.

Answer 7

I rarely see anything in that thread that isnt either someone crassly against the global warming theory,
or some lemming listening to anything anyone says about the global warming theory
or people who think they know about it because they watched an Inconvienient Truth and checked out a website or two, and now have all the data.

So I would say yes.

Answer 8

Most of these people are well-meaning, but mostly poorly informed. The whole global warming thing, while not denying or confirming the accuracy of the theory, is just the latest example of the apparent need to keep the public in a constant state of fear.

Everybody panic, the polar bears are gonna be some pissed if we melt their igloos! They'll be in NYC before you know it and then there will be hell to pay.

Answer 9

People will believe anything the "inventor of the internet" tells them to.

Personally I believe the biggest threat of global warming is that polar bears are going to get pissed and swim over and eat us. And I'm not in great anticipation.

Answer 10

Aren't you the girl who's always going on about the NWO and concentration camps?
You have the nerve to say they are dumbing down America?
Leave them to their thoughts, and I'll leave you to yours.