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Depressed Climate Scientists advised to use F-word

What do you get when you believe a failed theory? Climate Depression

Instead of being a bad thing, climate depression is a normal healthy response when the data doesn’t match the theory. Either the theory has to change or the scientist has to stop pretending to be a scientist. Too bad there is a whole industry of depressed “journalists” propping up depressed scientists. They award them with pretend Nobel Prizes they don’t really have, and extend their pain and confusion by making out that researchers on good salaries who produce models that don’t work are the victims.

Naturally, those who don’t understand climate reality don’t have a grip on psychological reality either. Their fantasy-world is collapsing.

As Tony Thomas says — it’s so bad it’s beyond satire:

Reporter Madeleine Thomas (no relation), writing for Grist, has described how climate scientists are driving themselves into depressed states over their climate forecasts. One solution she suggests is that relieve their incredible stress by shouting out “F—k!” and other dirty words*.

My message to depressed scientists is to wake up and see through the weak excuses. Stuff like Madeleine Thomas’ Grist wailing:

And a dose of honesty may be more than just therapeutic. Some real talk about how we’re all screwed may be just what the climate movement needs.

Oh yessity yes. Honesty is needed, but lets start with honesty about the data. In science, any other kind of honesty is a waste of time if we don’t first have data honesty.

Back in March, Grist’s Brentin Mock wrote that in order to really drive home the urgency of global warming and not just view “climate change only as that thing that happened one year on television to those poor communities in Brooklyn,” maybe it’s OK, when appropriate, to ditch a very limited “just the facts” vocabulary in favor of more emotional language. In other words, he argues that scientists should start dropping F bombs. “Forgive my language here, but if scientists are looking for a clearer language to express the urgency of climate change, there’s no clearer word that expresses that urgency than FUCK,” Mock writes. “We need scientists to speak more of these non-hard science truths, no matter how inconvenient or how dirty.”

If you think the answer to your science problem is swearing out loud, it’s time to get out science.

If you are a science writer, quit. Gossip magazines need you.

Climate deniers aren’t going away anytime soon.

If you have to resort to namecalling, and can’t define your terms in English (who denies there is climate?), there’s a message in that. You’ve picked the wrong career.

h/t To Tony Thomas

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