Cancun COP16 attendees fall for the “dihydrogen monoxide” petition(wattsupwiththat.com)
wattsupwiththat.com
Cancun COP16 attendees fall for the “dihydrogen monoxide” petition
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/08/cop16-attendees-fall-for-the-old-dihydrogen-monoxide-petition-as-well-as-signing-up-to-cripple-the-u-s-economy/
7 comments
> They won't stop to try and puzzle out "dihydrogen monoxide"
If someone has basic scientific literacy, they won't need to stop to puzzle it out, it'll be immediately obvious.
If someone doesn't have basic scientific literacy, they shouldn't be in a management position in an organisation dealing with scientific matters.
If someone has basic scientific literacy, they won't need to stop to puzzle it out, it'll be immediately obvious.
If someone doesn't have basic scientific literacy, they shouldn't be in a management position in an organisation dealing with scientific matters.
If someone doesn't have basic scientific literacy, they shouldn't be in a management position in an organisation dealing with scientific matters.
Yet we see that happen on a regular basis and not only when it comes to science. We have corporations with managers who lack basic technical understanding of what their reports are telling them. We have politicians who lack the basic capacity to express themselves properly and coherently. Is it really that surprising at this point?
The world has somehow become convinced that management is something that need not rely on the specific problem domain. It might irk us or mystify us to no end, but it works. I suspect that it works because it really is possible to be a good manager even if you don't have the basic understanding of your problem domain; you just have to be able to surround yourself with trustworthy people who do know the stuff and organize them properly. Sadly, most of managers who lack the basic understanding of the technical stuff also happen to be bad at management.
Yet we see that happen on a regular basis and not only when it comes to science. We have corporations with managers who lack basic technical understanding of what their reports are telling them. We have politicians who lack the basic capacity to express themselves properly and coherently. Is it really that surprising at this point?
The world has somehow become convinced that management is something that need not rely on the specific problem domain. It might irk us or mystify us to no end, but it works. I suspect that it works because it really is possible to be a good manager even if you don't have the basic understanding of your problem domain; you just have to be able to surround yourself with trustworthy people who do know the stuff and organize them properly. Sadly, most of managers who lack the basic understanding of the technical stuff also happen to be bad at management.
> We have corporations with managers who lack basic technical understanding of what their reports are telling them.
That's because the managers' managers also lack that understanding.
> We have politicians who lack the basic capacity to express themselves properly and coherently.
That's because a lot of their bosses -- the voters -- are stupid.
> I suspect that it works because it really is possible to be a good manager even if you don't have the basic understanding of your problem domain
I agree; but you do need to be wise enough to surround yourself with people who do.
That's because the managers' managers also lack that understanding.
> We have politicians who lack the basic capacity to express themselves properly and coherently.
That's because a lot of their bosses -- the voters -- are stupid.
> I suspect that it works because it really is possible to be a good manager even if you don't have the basic understanding of your problem domain
I agree; but you do need to be wise enough to surround yourself with people who do.
They did something similar on 'The Man Show' a few years back; they got women to sign a petition to end 'Women's Suffrage'.
Someone else thought this would make a great point and put their effort up on youtube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uPcthZL2RE
Someone else thought this would make a great point and put their effort up on youtube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uPcthZL2RE
I think this says more about people's willingness to sign petitions (and what those signatures are really worth) than anything else. When I was in college, I swear someone would knock on my door or approach me on campus at least once a week trying to get me to sign a petition. When I asked the person with the petition questions about what they wanted me to sign, they seemed flabbergasted. Most people just signed it so they'd go away.
Now a UN delegate should know better than to sign something that they don't fully understand. I'm actually shocked that they'd be so lax about signing something. Although, I must admit I don't really know who this UN delegates are or what kind of qualifications they have.
Now a UN delegate should know better than to sign something that they don't fully understand. I'm actually shocked that they'd be so lax about signing something. Although, I must admit I don't really know who this UN delegates are or what kind of qualifications they have.
So an industry-funded "skeptic" group went around a UN conference with a prank petition. That's nice, but they're hand-waving about how many people actually signed.
"radical left-wing environmentalists from around the world scrambled eagerly to sign...almost every delegate that collegian students approached signed their petition"
OK. Who? How many people were approached and how many signed? Why not just publish the petitions?
It goes without saying that this was a PR stunt, but the story doesn't really make any solid claims about what happened, despite the overwrought language about radical left-wing environmentalist climate kooks.
"radical left-wing environmentalists from around the world scrambled eagerly to sign...almost every delegate that collegian students approached signed their petition"
OK. Who? How many people were approached and how many signed? Why not just publish the petitions?
It goes without saying that this was a PR stunt, but the story doesn't really make any solid claims about what happened, despite the overwrought language about radical left-wing environmentalist climate kooks.
We did this in high school back in '95. We got the regular chemistry teacher to sign it to the chagrin of our AP chemistry teacher.
What's an AP teacher (for us forriners)?
Advanced Placement (AP) courses in U.S. high schools are intended to be much more intensive than the "regular" courses. When done right they tend to make students better prepared for college coursework.
Most US colleges will grant you credit on early courses in subject material if you score well enough on the tests.
If you take enough AP tests and pass, you can pretty much start 1/2 year ahead of your peers or more. That can save you money and/or time, or let you get on with advanced studies.
If you take enough AP tests and pass, you can pretty much start 1/2 year ahead of your peers or more. That can save you money and/or time, or let you get on with advanced studies.
And further: high school AP courses prep you to take a standardized 'AP Test' in that same subject, which (depending on the subject and college) may even give college credit, allowing the student to skip otherwise-required classes at college.
Ha, you spent an entire day and managed to get three (watch the video) three signatures on a petition to ban water. Three out of the thousands of attendees didn't pay enough attention not to sign your petition.
That must prove global warming doesn't exist. Good job!
That must prove global warming doesn't exist. Good job!
And, one or more of the signers may have been pranking them, too. If ever asked to sign a Dihydrogen Monoxide petition, I'd try to keep a straight face and get fake names on it, like 'Suffo, Kate' or 'Sneaux Jawb' or 'I. P. Freely'
Put people in front of a camera and most are probably thinking "this sounds important and I don't want to look like an idiot", and all the while the petition taker's words are flying above their heads.
I can't decide whether this is naive or deliberately misleading. First of all, UN delegates were not duped by college students into banning water. They were duped into signing a petition to ban water. It might have been irresponsible of them to leave their signature on a piece of paper without thinking it through, but it's a far cry from being "duped into banning water".
That leads me to my second point: they are UN delegates. They're not geeks, they're more like managers. They'll have experts whom they'll consult. They won't stop to try and puzzle out "dihydrogen monoxide" when approached by obviously unofficial and (within the context) unimportant people. As a matter of fact, given their job, they're probably used to being approached by people ranging from genuine, serious activists to plain loonies.
Like I said, if you're an official decision maker, it's not very responsible to appear to endorse someone else's idea without researching it properly, but that's as far as this whole issue goes.