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Consensus is the way much of science is done. For anything that cannot be directly measured/replicated, you need a theory that explains the phenomena. There can be multiple valid theory that apply to current data. These eventually converge as a consensus begins to view one theory as the best/most parsimonious. As more data comes in, this can change the consensus, but that doesn't completely invalidate the process.
Yes, phlogiston/Lamarckism/the Bohr model of the atom etc. aren't currently viewed as correct. However, based on the data available at the time, they seemed accurate.
TTFN - Kent
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Kent Sharkey wrote: Consensus is the way much of science is done
Yes, but it's a consensus of data and evidence, not opinion. Like you said:
Kent Sharkey wrote: based on the data available at the time, they seemed accurate
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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97% of climate change scientists is pretty freaking overwhelming.
"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.
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Rob Grainger wrote: 97% of climate change scientists
If you read the research, it's not 97% of climate scientists, it's 97% of climate research papers. And the so-called study that determined that 97% figure used questionable methodologies. Many of the scientists whose papers were counted as being among the "97%" objected, yet their papers were not removed. Other much more rigorous studies have come up with much smaller figures than the one you quote.
And there is no such thing as a "climate change scientist" or even a "climate scientist".
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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Rob Grainger wrote: Scientific opinion on climate change
Hmm, not scientific evidence or scientific evidence based conclusion. Hmmm
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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The tobacco lobby said similar things for years. Actual evidence in most science is rare. Science typically proceeds with a best theory that fits the evidence, that may be disproved when evidence is found that disagrees. Currently the best theory is that current client change is caused by human activity, hence consensus. You seem to have difficultly with the scientific method itself. Proofs generally only occur in mathematics, not science.
"If you don't fail at least 90 percent of the time, you're not aiming high enough."
Alan Kay.
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Rob Grainger wrote: Science typically proceeds with a best theory that fits the evidence
That is true in most cases. Sometimes it depends on who is presenting the theory. And it's also true that in any human endeavor where there are two or more people politics plays a role. And in this case there is a lot of outside (the scientific community) pressure to provide a theory that fits the environmental lobby cause.
Rob Grainger wrote: the best theory is that current client change is caused by human activity
It's not the best theory.
Rob Grainger wrote: You seem to have difficultly with the scientific method itself
Not at all. I have a problem with politically driven "science" that falsifies and fudges data, ignores contra evidence, and uses emotional argumentation.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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Kent Sharkey wrote: plus, it seemed a really, really slow news day
Well, locally this[^] happened a couple hours south of where I live, I've driven over that bridge many a time.
And tech like this[^] shouldn't be overlooked.
But then again, neither of those are directly related to programming. 
Marc
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I've been in academia for decades and have played all roles in the publishing process. There is more incompetence than malice.
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Agreed - as Feynman said:Quote: The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool.
TTFN - Kent
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True. But in this case, I observe more mediocrity than deviousness.
I recently attended to yet another conference. Most presentations were inane. The researchers were doing their best and their best was nothing remarkable. Having said this, the work of some was interesting and the work of few had potential. I cannot say that I met a single liar.
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And people just trying to keep their jobs and "get ahead". Nothing "malicious" about that. Self-serving lying is the hallmark of incompetence. Just witness any nations politics.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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Why did an alleged article on academic papers suddenly take a turn to politics? Or was that really the point? (Hence, in a perverse way, making the same point.)
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Joe Woodbury wrote: making the same point
Exactly. You got it.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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I had hoped it wouldn't. Sadly, I was wrong. I keep forgetting some of the folken around here.
TTFN - Kent
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A kind word seems to be the most important thing for employees nowadays – far more important than compensation. Those are the results of a new study by Appirio, a global services company helping customers create next-generation Worker and Customer Experiences through cloud tech. But cash is pretty nice
I would have gone with the Flying Lizards, but I used it fairly recently.
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I mostly agree, especially if that is done publicly and through action followup: bonus or pay raise.
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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I would dearly love to send this article, and the research report PDF, to any number of managers and supervisors where I'm "employed"—for lack of a far more brutally honest term. Unfortunately, the end result of such an endeavor would be the same as if I filled their coffee cups with the fresh, steaming byproduct generated by ingesting hunger reducing materials that are eventually expelled from the south end of a north bound heifer.
"...JavaScript could teach Dyson how to suck." -- Nagy Vilmos
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A casual survey where 650 people responded is meaningless.
(Does the "trending articles" logo at the link look like the Tinder logo with an cutout? That's lazy.)
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A new post on Microsoft’s TechNet blog is announcing new world records in performance achieved by the company’s SQL Server 2016 database software. Good news for people who need to run benchmarks on their databases
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Slow news day... 
TTFN - Kent
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A security researcher has discovered a method that would have enabled fraudsters to steal thousands of dollars from Facebook, Microsoft, and Google by linking premium-rate numbers to various accounts as part of the two-step verification process. "I got your number on the wall"
Dang, but that's a clever idea
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That wasn't the only 2FA problem they had.
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