Briffa2013

[flacaltenn]

You know, I find it astounding how many non-scientists these deniers tend to quote mine. If NASA relied on such out-of-the-field people these deniers do, they would never have gotten off the launch pad.

Actually NASA DID depend heavily on "out of field" people constantly. Because the majority of challenges were brand new. The experience CREATED specialties, but many of these didn't EXIST when NASA needed them. I worked at NASA Kennedy HQ for a year and and a half.. One of the most elegant multi-disciplinary workplaces on the planet..

As an example -- the development of Simulator technology was HIGHLY multi-disciplinary. With A LOT of med/psych/physics/electronics/mechanical folks straddling A LOT of the borders that you don't think can ever be crossed.

Here's your prob Oroman.. There are a shitload of trained psychologists that know MORE ABOUT statistical methods and Monte Carlo simulation than your average Climate Scientist.. In fact -- the stats requirements for most Climate Science undergrad degrees are kinda wimpy.. I don't think you have a broad picture of how all these skills are transferable or DESIRABLE to improve areas of EVERY discipline..

 

[Abraham3]

"Multi-disciplinary" is not the same thing as "uneducated".

 

[orogenicman]

Last time I checked --- it was OK to be a used car dealer and serve on the Senate Intelligience Commitee or the Energy Committee. Has that rule changed?

You should really address the ASSERTIONS and the REFERENCES given --- and not waste time impeaching sources because you don't like them.. Was there NOT a graph in that GRL Letter 1997 paper that is referenced in IAN's post? Do you doubt it exists?

Huang and Pollack, GRL Volume 24, 1997, page 1948 --- details on how to "tune" a borehole sample to fit your agenda...

You should address your denier spokesmens' utter lack of qualifications in scientific matters. Until you do, you have no credibility in these discussions. A mechanical engineer, a B.S. in Psychology, a former DJ, and a message therapist? These are the best you people can do? Really? How pathetic is that?

I'm a former rock star, italian restaurant prep specialist, and surfer bum.. Think my clients care about any of that? Einstein was a mere patent office clerk.. You're off in the weeds.

What matters is the quality of the discussion.. The "fame and glory" is never based solely on credentials. If that were the case -- TED talks wouldn't be playing to booming multidisciplanary crowds, new pharmaceuticals wouldn't be being discovered by biologists and oceanographers, and DNA analysis would be back in the dark ages.

nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) Discoveries - Top Scientists Promote Innovative, Multidisciplinary Global Problem-Solving Strategies - US National Science Foundation (NSF)


"If you want science students to be more mathematical, you can't solve the problem just by sending them off to the math department,' said Bialek. "Instead, we need to teach them how math is integrated into the scientific world."

So, for example, although freshmen are typically introduced to probability in math classes and to gas laws in physics classes, freshmen in Princeton's interdepartmental program are introduced to these topics in a single class that shows how probabilistic concepts apply to problems ranging from the ideal gas to genetics to Brownian motion. Such classes are accompanied by group exercises that introduce students to the types of collaboration required of professional scientists.


Princeton's program, according to Bialek, targets freshmen for the same reason that schools should introduce foreign languages to children as early in their education as possible: the younger you are, the easier it is to become bilingual and to become fluent in multiple scientific disciplines.

Maybe I'm spoiled by the fact that my specialities are used in so many different disciplines. A fact that has constantly sent me BACK to academia to learn. But all I see from my prospective are breakthrus that REQUIRE collaborations between disparate disciplines and a HISTORY of MASTER scientists who were never told they weren't chemists or physicists.

Not at all. I don't think you are spoiled. I think you are deluded. What multidisciplinary approach to climate change requires the "expertise" of a former dj, a massage therapist, someone who specializes in customer service, and a mechanical engineer specializing in technical sales?

For that matter, what multidisciplinary approach to climate science requires the "expertize" of a former rock star, an Italian restaurant prep specialist, and a surfer bum?

 

[Abraham3]

And I'm curious who it was that pronounced you "a rock star".