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General Science / Re: How can I strengthen my students' awareness about climate change?
« on: 25/05/2016 12:18:35 »
Another point to make to the students is, science has only been collecting accurate weather data for about 150 years, give or take. While weather on earth has been a part of earth since it formed billions of years ago. There is a big difference between the data we have from the two time periods, which can create an illusion.
One way to normalize the present and past data, would be to only use the science techniques, used to measure the past, for all present and future weather data. For example, if you could only use tree rings to talk about weather, you no longer be able to see all the day to day variety reported in the nightly news. If only tree rings were used for the present, it would appear that weather has gotten uniform. Average annual temperate or rainfall, does not tell us much about day to day. If the temperature dropped 10 degree in one hour, you can't see this in the past. It can only be seem by modern tools.
Science does ice core samples to look at the earth's past. This is useful, however, ice core data can only be done where there is ice. One has to approximate weather in warmer climates from this. In the future, we can do ice cores samples in Alaska and then talk about the weather in England.
Maybe as an experiment, if your classroom has windows, have one or two students, each day, monitor the number of birds they see, for a week. After the week is over, present the bird data and tell the class (a white lie) that the consensus of science has shown that there are now more birds near your school than anytime in the past. This is a psychology experiment.
This claim will be hard to refute, since nobody will be able to present any detailed data, before that week. The best anyone will be able to do will require much more work than counting. They may have to interview people and/or look for forensic evident such as old bird nests. This can easily be refuted and called antidotal evidence and not scientific evidence. How can that compared to pictures of live birds on cell phones.
Some of the students will continue to use common sense and critical thinking and might say, this is an illusion because we did not measure the birds before. At that point, make fun of them by calling them deniers. The goal is make everyone is afraid to speak up until all students see the Emperors new clothes or at least give this lip service.
Part two of the experiment is to see how long it takes for the bird meme to spread through the school and maybe even outside the school, using this core of students as typhoid Mary for the meme.
As a sub experiments, also make ridiculous bird predictions, that won't come true, to see how out of touch the students are willing to become. This is reflected in no change of resolve, even when the predictions fail to appear.
One way to normalize the present and past data, would be to only use the science techniques, used to measure the past, for all present and future weather data. For example, if you could only use tree rings to talk about weather, you no longer be able to see all the day to day variety reported in the nightly news. If only tree rings were used for the present, it would appear that weather has gotten uniform. Average annual temperate or rainfall, does not tell us much about day to day. If the temperature dropped 10 degree in one hour, you can't see this in the past. It can only be seem by modern tools.
Science does ice core samples to look at the earth's past. This is useful, however, ice core data can only be done where there is ice. One has to approximate weather in warmer climates from this. In the future, we can do ice cores samples in Alaska and then talk about the weather in England.
Maybe as an experiment, if your classroom has windows, have one or two students, each day, monitor the number of birds they see, for a week. After the week is over, present the bird data and tell the class (a white lie) that the consensus of science has shown that there are now more birds near your school than anytime in the past. This is a psychology experiment.
This claim will be hard to refute, since nobody will be able to present any detailed data, before that week. The best anyone will be able to do will require much more work than counting. They may have to interview people and/or look for forensic evident such as old bird nests. This can easily be refuted and called antidotal evidence and not scientific evidence. How can that compared to pictures of live birds on cell phones.
Some of the students will continue to use common sense and critical thinking and might say, this is an illusion because we did not measure the birds before. At that point, make fun of them by calling them deniers. The goal is make everyone is afraid to speak up until all students see the Emperors new clothes or at least give this lip service.
Part two of the experiment is to see how long it takes for the bird meme to spread through the school and maybe even outside the school, using this core of students as typhoid Mary for the meme.
As a sub experiments, also make ridiculous bird predictions, that won't come true, to see how out of touch the students are willing to become. This is reflected in no change of resolve, even when the predictions fail to appear.
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