Sunday
May182014
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill The wisdom of Michael Mann
May 18, 2014 Climate: Mann Climate: Sceptics Michael Mann thinks Richard Lindzen, Matt Ridley, Steve McIntyre, Ross McKitrick, Richard Tol, Roy Spencer, John Christy, Judith Curry, Richard Muller, the Koch brothers, Ken Cuccinelli, Mark Steyn, Rand Simberg, Nate Silver, David Rose, Marc Morano, Christopher Booker and Anthony Watts are poo heads. He also thinks that Fox News, the Mail on Sunday, the Telegraph, the National Review, the GWPF, and the Heartland Institute are a bunch of poo heads.
I don't think he's keen on me either.
In his latest article in the Huffington Post we learn, among other things, that he thinks that Mike Hulme and Lennart Bengtsson are poo heads too.
Wouldn't it be easier if he wrote his article like this?
Hulme and Bengtsson too.
Reader Comments (67)
Very interesting David: I always said 'denier' was their biggest boomerang. Enjoy the great company!
It does not seem very wise of Mann (Don't laugh...let me finish) to engage in a political rant and invoke celebrities and movies and other such codswallop when he is trying to defend himself against Steyn as a devout non political scientist dragged screaming into the public eye by Steyn's evil characterisation of him. Would it not be more appropriate for the righteous Mann to don his cassock, scapular and cowl, grasp his book in his hands and remain heads down until the case is settled? ""The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”"
All this goes back to what I think is at the heart of the establishment's efforts to protect Mann.
The 'cause' hitched itself to Mann. He is, to all intent and purpose, Global Warming. But those in the inner circle (fellow scientists, lobbyists, NGOs and pet MSM) know he is a borderline sociopath and are terrified that if this gets out (emails showing their interactions and doubts) it will damage the 'cause' terminally.
Those on the outer circle still think he's a Global Warming Angel, battling to save the planet and refuse to believe he has feet of clay.
Hence the resistance to email release.
When I was a PhD student, my supervisor was an undistinguished, but dedicated physics professor. I never once recall him denigrating other physicists or telling me I was onto a good thing because the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood were in agreement.
I wonder how long before others in his team start distancing themselves from him? A scientist wouldn't want to be associated with somebody who is in so much need of assistance (or councelling I think they call it these days).
Countdown to the troll....
Philip, I don't see how they can. They bet the farm on him and every time he screws up they double down.
Can you think of a media strategy the Warmist community could use to distance itself from Mann without catastrophically hurting the brand/cause?
"He was just an isolated individual"
"A peripheral figure"
"Did some minor work that doesn't affect the main conclusions"
Snort.
How tall is he?
Paragon,
Not nearly tall enough to stand on anyone's shoulders!!!
Mailman
"The wisdom of Michael Mann"
A slim volume indeed.
Mailman, I have watched only one video of him talking at length, but I would say that he is actually quite a good public speaker. Confident presentation can get you a long way on a small amount of substance before you get rumbled.
I know I can can recall at least one occasion in my life where I have "won" a public argument amongst peers only to later realise I was completely wrong and that it was arrogance that had prevailed. If I could harness it more often perhaps it would make me more successful, but probably not happier.
osse
Silver became famous with PECOTA and his presidential election predictions. The book publishers approached Silver with an idea for a project - Silver would visit and research leading practitioners of prediction in every area - from sports gambling, to meteorology to casinos to climate models. He would then write up how people in these areas succeed (or fail) and so on.
For climate, Silver chose to talk to Mann.
Talking to Mann went fine. Mann impressed upon Silver the essential greatness and brilliance of climate science prediction and models. Silver seemed to take it in. But when the book came out it appeared Silver had turned 'skeptic', which is to say he didn't swallow everything Mann sold him but had his own take on climate prediction and its record. This meant Mann had managed to fail convincing Silver - a darling of the press - about climate science. Compare this to largely positive portrayals of such individuals as Haralobos Voulgaris and you will see why this must hurt Mann, and doubly so.
How a guy of such limited intelligence has managed to get to the position he holds is a mystery???
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William from Occam: maybe he is good at annulingus
He strikes me as the sort of person like Max Clifford, who would stand in front of the cameras for a good six minutes outside court before being sent down for 'crimes against humanity'...
Thanks, shub, your point about Silver and Mann is earlier and more pertinent than mine about Silver and Pielke.
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Mann's characterization of ERL as "obscure" (implying it's new to him and insignificant) seems strange since his latest paper (On forced temperature changes, internal variability, and the AMO) is published there.
11 Facebook comments by the believers on HuffPo (well 10 and the solo Geoff Chambers braving the trenches), 65 comments here. Even the believers barely care anymore.
Oops Geoff's comment is now gone, rest in peace Geoff.
" As a poo-head, I'm able to spot complete disconnects with reality...What a feckless narcissist."
We should have bought him a mirror the first time he won a Bloggie