Be proud of me

[minoanmiss]

I did not get into an argument with Someone On The Internet about how cloud seeding would not make a hurricane stronger, let alone control its direction.

Why are people. Why do a plurality of my fellow citizens believe that the government could (never mind would) strengthen and steer a hurricane, of all things. Why is the USA so unscientific. And so bigoted. Why.

Comments

[cmcmck]

Because people ar thick, perhaps?

[lunabee34]

That is the plot of a Star Trek the Next Generation Episode. The Q Continuum can mess with the weather to kill people, not ordinary humans. It would be funny if it wasn't so stupid and dangerous.

[princessofgeeks]

I am proud of you for backing away slowly from the crazy.

[darkmarcy]

I am very proud of you! *hug*

[amaebi]

I think that it is a cousin of belief that a Sturdy Stern Daddyvoice Leader can Instantly Solve the Things with One Profound Utterance.

And that both are intimately related to the change of perspective since c. 1980, whereby planning/decision horizons are extremely foreshortened and neglect future consequences. Which is also inter knitted with our barren and sterility-inducing financialization.

[minoanmiss]

word and also word.

[lynnenne]

HOW DID THIS EVEN BECOME A THING. JFC I want to bash them all in the head with a very heavy textbook.

[bikergeek]

These are idiots who simultaneously believe that global warming/climate change is not and cannot be caused by humans, and also think that Democrats have some kind of weather-control machine that can create, augment, and/or direct hurricanes.

That's a set of beliefs that's so blitheringly stupid it's not worth arguing with, on par with "space lasers".

[full_metal_ox]

These are idiots who simultaneously believe that global warming/climate change is not and cannot be caused by humans, and also think that Democrats have some kind of weather-control machine that can create, augment, and/or direct hurricanes.

That's a set of beliefs that's so blitheringly stupid it's not worth arguing with, on par with "space lasers".

Ah, but climate change cannot be caused by humans. Once you toss in the assumption that Democrats are (or are at least duped by) Devil Snake People From Outer Space, the syllogism holds up.

[bikergeek]

Lizards. It's lizards.

[lokifan]

Absolute madness.

I think it's because they find the idea that the weather/climate is simultaneously something we affect and something we can't control too scary??

[redbird]

Also because, yet again, people have no sense of scale, of just how much energy a hurricane has. Enough people have asked variations on "can we use an atomic bomb against a hurricane?" that it's in the National Hurricane Center FAQ.:

Apart from the fact that this might not even alter the storm, this approach neglects the problem that the released radioactive fallout would fairly quickly move with the tradewinds to affect land areas and cause devastating environmental problems. Needless to say, this is not a good idea.

Another entry in that FAQ explains that it was tried, repeatedly, in the late 20th century. Which means that there are probably bits of the Internet that say something like "the government admit they used cloud seeding against hurricanes in the 1980s, but they want you to believe they stopped."

[minoanmiss]

The person I Did Not Argue With did indeed say "the gov't tried using cloud seeding...want you to believe that they stopped." Feh.

[sovay]

Enough people have asked variations on "can we use an atomic bomb against a hurricane?"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh.

[full_metal_ox]

They really think that there’s such a thing as pissing in only one corner of the pool.

[med_cat]

Good job re: not getting into an argument

Re: other things, similar matters can be observed in many other countries

[flamingsword]

I am proud of you!

Also, the US is deeply unscientific, but most of the world is not better? Thinking like a scientist, being skeptical of your own beliefs, is very hard. Most places don’t teach science that way.

[anna_wing]

Bad education.