ciphergoth comments on You're Entitled to Arguments, But Not (That Particular) Proof - Less Wrong

57 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 15 February 2010 07:58AM

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Comment author: taw 15 February 2010 07:48:05PM 13 points [-]

I'm too lazy to write a top-level post about it, but the main problem with AGW as I see it is that most people have reference class of "statements said by people like IPCC and Al Gore, who think that AGW is real, and Kyoto Protocol and similar activities are a good idea".

One group of people look at pretty solid evidence that AGW is real, and from this and such reference class infers that Kyoto Protocol type actions must also be good.

Another group of people look at pretty solid evidence that Kyoto Protocol is a very bad idea, and from this and this reference class infers that AGW might not be real.

All media show these issues as highly entangled, even though they're not really (well, if AGW is false, then Kyoto Protocol is almost certainly bad, but all three other combinations are possible).

I have two reference classes - one for AGWers' statements about climate which I estimate to be almost all true, and another for AGWers' statements about proper policy which I estimate to be almost all false.

Comment author: ciphergoth 20 February 2010 11:22:01AM 5 points [-]

Most of my friends do not believe the scientific consensus that being overweight causes health problems. On both sides of the argument you see the same phenomenon you observe here - people do not draw a distinction between this assertion, and a particular prescription, in this instance "dieting is good for your health". From what I've looked at so far, I'm pretty confident of the first, but much less so of the second.

Comment author: taw 20 February 2010 04:43:47PM 0 points [-]

This is a great example, thanks.