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Clovis Comet Gets Second Look
Wall Street Journal ^ | March 16, 2012 | Matt Ridley

Posted on 04/06/2012 9:21:52 AM PDT by baynut

Scientists, it's said, behave more like lawyers than philosophers. They do not so much test their theories as prosecute their cases, seeking supportive evidence and ignoring data that do not fit—a failing known as confirmation bias. They then accuse their opponents of doing the same thing. This is what makes debates over nature and nurture, dietary fat and climate change so polarized.

But just because the prosecutor is biased in favor of his case does not mean the defendant is innocent. Sometimes biased advocates are right. An example of this phenomenon is now being played out in geology over the controversial idea that a meteorite or comet hit the earth 12,900 years ago and cooled the climate.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Conspiracy; History; Science
KEYWORDS: catastrophism; clovis; comet; globalwarming; godsgravesglyphs; lakecuitzeo; mammoth; mammoths; mastodon; mastodons; mexico; youngerdryas

1 posted on 04/06/2012 9:21:59 AM PDT by baynut
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To: SunkenCiv

ping.


2 posted on 04/06/2012 9:34:52 AM PDT by Theoria (Rush Limbaugh: Ron Paul sounds like an Islamic terrorist)
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To: SunkenCiv

Intredasting.


3 posted on 04/06/2012 9:34:52 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: baynut
Interesting how an ice age can be a hot topic.
4 posted on 04/06/2012 9:43:48 AM PDT by dog breath
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To: baynut

Some Alien Theorists say..........

Well it is almost the same, isn’t it?


5 posted on 04/06/2012 9:50:54 AM PDT by X-spurt (Its time for ON YOUR FEET or on your knees)
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To: baynut
There is so much advocacy and biases in climate science, it's hard to read articles about it as strict science. I constantly find myself trying to figure out what the scientist's angle is, even if they don't have one. The whole field is a total mess.

I'll stick to astronomy and physics articles, I guess.

6 posted on 04/06/2012 9:56:05 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: baynut

I’ve taken to walking back any comet or asteroid claim by roughly 3,600 year intervals to see if there is any correlation to 2012, since the whole thing is so tinfoiled on the one hand and dismissed right out of hand on the other.

This doesn’t. But, some do. So, I still have no idea if there’s any legitimate astronomical basis for the whole 12/21/12 thing.

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see, lol.


7 posted on 04/06/2012 10:02:47 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes: Flood, Fire, and Famine in the History of Civilization The Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes:
Flood, Fire, and Famine
in the History of Civilization

by Richard Firestone,
Allen West, and
Simon Warwick-Smith

Thanks baynut. Matt Ridley also authored that book on DNA, among others.
8 posted on 04/06/2012 10:17:37 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (FReepathon 2Q time -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Theoria; martin_fierro; 75thOVI; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; ...

Thanks Theoria and martin_fierro for the pings, and baynut for the topic.




9 posted on 04/06/2012 10:17:54 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (FReepathon 2Q time -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; ...

 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks Theoria and martin_fierro for the pings, and baynut for the topic.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


10 posted on 04/06/2012 10:18:52 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (FReepathon 2Q time -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: baynut
Clovis Comet Gets Second Look

Clovis Comet.......I think I dated her once.

11 posted on 04/06/2012 10:23:35 AM PDT by GreenHornet
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To: baynut

12 posted on 04/06/2012 10:34:57 AM PDT by Bullish
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To: Bullish

13 posted on 04/06/2012 10:42:22 AM PDT by wolfcreek (‘closed eye’ mentality is the reason for our current reality)
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Click!

Donate to Free Republic.

14 posted on 04/06/2012 10:52:14 AM PDT by RedMDer (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=93)
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To: RegulatorCountry; blam
Rupp from U Chicago postulated that extinctions occurred on a regular basis and had a grad student study the problem. The thing that got my interest was a post by Blam on the Hiatus in the spread of civilization after the Sargonite Empire which lasted about 300 years.

They found a crater in Iraq that could have some impact on this hiatus but I never followed it up.

15 posted on 04/06/2012 10:53:50 AM PDT by Little Bill (Sorry)
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To: RegulatorCountry; blam
Rupp from U Chicago postulated that extinctions occurred on a regular basis and had a grad student study the problem. The thing that got my interest was a post by Blam on the Hiatus in the spread of civilization after the Sargonite Empire which lasted about 300 years.

They found a crater in Iraq that could have some impact on this hiatus but I never followed it up.

16 posted on 04/06/2012 10:54:09 AM PDT by Little Bill (Sorry)
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To: Little Bill

Periodicity and near extinction level events would make sense of a lot of legend and certain religious prophecies.


17 posted on 04/06/2012 10:57:50 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: baynut
Clovis comet gets a second look??? This idea has had numerous LOOKS since its introduction some seven or eight years ago. Seems the arguments wax and wane but nothing ever gets settled. Maybe it has something to do with job security???

It looks like Kennett has taken up the cause started by Firestone, Topping, et al and I gather he's a good hand to have in the fray. BTW, I notice the author has apparently changed the title of his article; in now reads: "A Global-Cooling Theory Gets a Second Chance". Might be something else tomorrow. ;^)

18 posted on 04/07/2012 11:23:04 PM PDT by ForGod'sSake (You have only two choices: SUBMIT or RESIST with everything you've got!!!)
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