Isaac Asimov posited: “[a]nti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

Jim Clark regularly vindicates Asimov.

Logic 101: “false equivalence” is “a logical fallacy where there appears to be a logical equivalence between two opposing arguments, when in fact there is none.” In practice, false equivalence gives the appearance of a legitimate debate, when there is none.

---

---

A propagator of a false equivalence often uses it to diminish validity of opposing arguments because the merits of his argument fail.

Clark’s December 23 column begins with a false equivalency that would make Ken Ham blush: “Man-caused climate change evangelists have little use for people who dare question whether there is any room to even debate alternate theories.”

---

---

Clark equates the science of climate change to religion, even a cult, thereby insinuating that those who believe in anthropogenic climate change do so without reason.

Doubters are victimized by true-believer bullies that suppress “alternate theories” on climate change. The scrappy underdog fossil fuel industry just doesn’t get equal time!

But: 98 percent of climate science researchers (see Stephen Schneider, National Academy of Sciances) agree that Earth’s average surface temperature is rising, and that the rise in temperatures is directly attributable to human activity.

Clark’s politically fueled, non-peer reviewed, non-scientific theories are rejected by legitimate scientists (and those who defer to their expertise) because they are unsupported.

Peer-reviewed journals carry more weight than marketing departments. Clark’s ignorance is not as good as scientific knowledge. Yet the Bonanza gives him a platform from which to proudly trumpet his ignorance.

Readers: Please play “Spot Jim Clark’s Logical Fallacies” along with me when Mr. Clark next emits a volley of verbal flatulence.

Greg Morrison

Incline Village