Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has a doctorate in molecular quantum mechanics. That makes her quite unusual among political leaders. But being a qualified quantum mechanic per se doesn't make her especially qualified to lead the German government, since molecular quantum mechanics rarely has much role informing policy.
It does mean, however, that she is what I will call scientifically literate. Very few scientists in fact know anything to speak of about molecular quantum mechanics. I understand vaguely that it's about the physics underlying chemical reactions, and that's probably as much as most physicists know, actually. I'm guessing that chemists tends to know more, but the point is that as our understanding of the world has deepened, science has become highly specialized. Being an expert in one scientific field doesn't mean you necessarily know bupkis about most others.
However, what you do know is how scientific claims are evaluated, and you likely at least have a broad grasp of how various fields of science fit together and build up a coherent picture of the world. You understand how chemistry rests on physics, how biology rests on chemistry, how psychology and society emerge from biology. You understand how physics and chemistry are essential to astronomy and cosmology, and how geology emerges from cosmic history, shaped by physics, chemistry and biology. And anyone who understands high school physics can understand how increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes the lower atmosphere and the oceans to warm.
You also understand the processes by which scientific theories are developed, tested, and come to be accepted. You understand the institutions that guard the integrity of science. They don't always do so successfully, but in the long run fraud and error gets corrected.
You don't have to be a scientist too be scientifically literate in the ways I have just described. But to be a policy maker or political leader who I can respect, you do need to be scientifically literate and you need to respect the expertise of people who have earned it. That is why I cannot respect a political party that denies the reality of anthropogenic climate change, wants to teach creationism to school children, denies that particulate pollution kills people, and continues to claim that cutting taxes on wealthy people benefits working people, among other manifest falsehoods.
I'll say it again. Reality has a well-known liberal bias. The reason is that nowadays, what distinguishes liberalism from conservatism is truth.
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Here's info about a woman scientist who theorized, based on experimentation, that large amounts of CO2 emissions would heat Earth's atmosphere--back in 1856!
https://time.com/5626806/eunice-foote-women-climate-science/
Rupert Murdoch's abomination of Fox "News" has caused a mutation in Republicans, who are not the folks they used to be fifty years ago. When Cervantes wrote in today's post that " ... nowadays, what distinguishes liberalism from conservatism is truth," he wasn't kidding. The key word is "nowadays," although conservatives have always eschewed the concept that ALL men and women are created equal. Here's what it's come to: in order to keep a lock on political power, conservatives have disavowed factual information, choosing instead to purvey lies about economics, science, and history in their words and "news."
Their avatar is a lying, genital-grabbing criminal, rapist, con man, and bigot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkU1ob_lHCw
That's interesting. Svante Arrhenius is usually credited with the basic theory of atmospheric temperature, a few years later than that. It may be that he developed it more fully. Also, he's more famous in general so got more attention.
It's true that modern conservatism cannot function without lies and propaganda. The Fox network, for example, primarily features TV hosts and guests chosen from a plethora of media whores whose vitriolic histrionics are paid for by Rupert Murdoch. Tune in for a minute and see if you don't want to scream or throw up. Don't worry, though--it's a bona fide medical condition. Doctors call it "Asshole Reflex Disease."
It seems to me that in addition to lying and being founded on lies and propaganda, what distinguishes modern U.S. conservatives from liberals are obstructionism, blackmail, voter suppression, and financial recklessness.
The first example, obstructionism, can be observed, for example, in Repuplicans' unwillingness/inability to do anything meaningful during disasters and crises--hurricanes Katrina, in New Orleans/Gulf Coast, and Maria, in Puerto Rico; late and non existent responses to COVID-19; and McConnell's blocking of Merrick Garland's confirmation for the Supreme Court, and refusal to take up bipartisan bills waiting for debate and vote.
The next can be seen in the bizarre political reversals of people like Lindsey Graham. I have no factual information that blackmail is responsible for Graham switching from calling Shitler a "kook," "crazy," and "unfit" to becoming what Germans call an "aschloch" (in this case, literally). But the metamorphosis of various people from Shitler critics to servile supporters reminds me of the comment Al Pacino (as Michael Corleone in "The Godfather") makes to his wife (Kay, played by Diane Keaton). When he tells her he'll be working for his father now (Don Corleone, played by Marlon Brando), she maintains that the Mafia is different from the U.S. government because "Senators and presidents don't have men killed." "Oh.... Who's being naive, Kay?" responds Michael.
I can't imagine that no pressure has been brought to bear on people like Graham. Shitler fancies himself a mob boss, has no doubt been connected with Mafia figures, and is certainly allied with Russian mob figures since he's been funded for the past decade by laundered Russian money. His son has boasted about the Shitler organization receiving all the money it needs from Russia. And Steve Mnuchin is not in jail, despite his violating the Constitution by failing to provide Shitler's taxes. He's a Shitler toady and, hence, protected from consequences--the Shitler way.
Thirdly, modern Republicans openly suppress the vote. Shitler himself recently averred that if vote-by-mail were instituted across the entire country, no Republican would win another election. He votes by mail, incidentally. The recent "vote if you don't mind the risk of getting COVID-19" in Wisconsin shows the lengths conservatives will go to in order to suppress the right of people to vote.
Finally, the old sobriquet of "party of fiscal responsibility" has been mercifully, though belatedly, laid to rest with Republicans' tax cuts for billionaires, grifting under Shitler (e.g., awarding of no-bid contracts to build sections of a "border wall" that is doomed to ridicule), and removal of government watchdogs for trillions of dollars in COVID-19 bailouts.
Modern U.S. conservatives, still calling themselves Republicans, are nothing but con men, criminals, bigots, and misogynists. They have nothing left that they stand for except power for power's sake--Mitch McConnell's credo. It's shocking and tragic that so many people will still vote for them when these voters have nothing to gain. The only thing that keeps these voters loyal, besides the brainwashing and bigotry of their upbringings, is the apparent thought that at least minorities and women will get shafted worse than they will.
Talk about a zero sum game.
Arrhenius wrote a paper in which he fairly rigorously proved it as fact. I gave up trying to read the paper; I got lost at 'carbonic acid'.
The article in Wikipedia is a little easier to grasp - if you follow the links.
The sad thing about this is that we knew this before it was proved that atoms/molecules actually existed. (Einstein, 1905)
(I may have submitted this multiple times - sorry.)
Remember, the Republican party is also the party of god and guns.
When you have a belief system based on 'faith' and 'mysterious ways', it is difficult to move people from what they feel is right.
Guns; there was a fair amount of gun-toting at the protests in Madison yesterday. And a lot of out of state plates: Ohio, Minnesota, Colorado, Illinois. Hardly a home grown protest.
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