Academic Competency

In March 2019, 270 academics claiming they are climate scientists, signed an op-ed to support a child prophet. Was the message rational or based on a mental fallacy? By applying a combination of epistemic vigilance and disjunctive reasoning, it's possible to sort out if the message is consistent with reality. Doomsday prophecies have occurred since before the common era and usually, the message includes a warning of a flood and demands for people to make swift changes of their life-style. There have been several child-prophets in these movements, but also adults. They are typically wrong. Since the 1950s, psychological science has explained why people fall victim to doomsaying. During the Cambrian explosion and the introduction of the Phanerozoic, CO2 – levels were 5000 – 7000 ppm in the Atmosphere and it was ~50% warmer. Since then, Earth has gone through at least 100 significant climate changes, and it has only become colder (Especially since the Eocene). Being absent from school...