Recent survey shows majority consensus

[mcclane]

[quote author=sunsettommy link=topic=156.msg1143#msg1143 date=1249910107]
[quote author=Mike Davis link=topic=156.msg1140#msg1140 date=1249909214]
A good many are written by professionals and meant to be obscure so they can get more signers. A lot of people are not aware of what is happening. A good example is when Penn and Teller passed a petition around at and environmental Gathering to ban DHMO. The gathering promoter even signed the petition.
[/quote]

That was done to expose their ignorance and it worked beautifully.

;D
[/quote]

let's face it, the regular joe blow is not very bright.  Instead of questioning the validity of a poll, they blindly answer it.  That's why i believe that the media and the greenies have gotten away with brainwashing the general public, ignorance and stupidity.  people would rather be told what to believe than going out and finding out the facts for themselves.

[Mike Davis]

They have been taught to be dependent on others to do their thinking!

[Doug Danhoff]

I think we can classify "Joe Blow" a little kinder than this.  If i were asked a question in a poll about the procedure used for frontal lobotomy's and the implications of its use I would be as ignorant as Joe.  When people are asked questions outside their expertice they tend to go with what is commonly held to be true.  In THISD way they are brainwashed... in my opinion the best way to brainwash is just that...an appeal to authority.  Afterall we are trained as children and reinforced as adults to respect t authority and to give it credence when we are unsure.
This is precisely why I am so angry about the whole AGW situation.  I am convinced that the majority of scientists in the climate field knows that AGW is overblown and perhaps fully false but for reasons know only to the individual it is incumbent upon them to agree.  This misuse of science as the authority will have very bad ramifications when the general populous (Joe Blow) realizes that he has been scammed, and 3 and a half years of concentrated study of AGW (somewhat outside my field of geology) has convinced me that greenhouse gases are not a danger we need to address.  When Joe finds out that some of those who he considers authorities have used his credulity to deceive him he will probably discount anything anyone of that profession has to say.  This could have a huge impact on all of us.

[Mike Davis]

Doug:
I spent 37 years questioning authority when I was at work as an analyst of man machine interactions from the mechanical to the digital age. I saw a lot of followers that were set in the pattern of looking to authority for answers and the so called authorities that were only interested in self advancement. When my boss was young enough to be my son and thought he new the job better than I did I figured it was time to retire and the job had allowed me to plan for that. The boss had his way and lost customers but he did it his way by calling the manufacturer with meaningless questions and waiting for an answer that I could have given without a thought. Such is life but you are correct with the idea that Joe average will have a negative response when he realizes that he has been deceived by some scientists for funding and personal glory