Category Archives: Critical Thinking

Some of the posts are examples of critical thinking, rather than being about critical thinking

What percent of Americans are rational?

Posted on September 22, 2017 by

[ I was inspired to write this post by the best book I’ve ever on American’s truly crazy beliefs from evangelistic Christianity to astrology and too many to list, it’s 440 pages of the lunatic ideas Americans have believed since … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Robert Rapier on why “fuel from CO2” breakthrough won’t work

Posted on July 26, 2017 by

Robert Rapier. Oct 27, 2016.  Ethanol From Carbon Dioxide Is Still A Losing Proposition. energytrendinsider.com If I told you that I had created a process to extract pure gold from seawater, you might deem it an amazing accomplishment. If I … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Critical Thinking, Far Out, Other Experts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Ugo Bardi: Turn CO2 into ethanol

Posted on July 17, 2017 by

Ugo Bardi. October 22, 2016. The mother of all promises and how science failed to maintain it. Cassandra’s Legacy. The latest scientific claim that went viral on the web is about a catalyst able to turn CO2 directly into ethanol. … Continue reading →

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Pessimism and Optimism versus Ignorance

Posted on November 6, 2016 by

Below are my thoughts about whether views based on scientific evidence can be labeled optimistic or pessimistic. Skeptical energy news: 2017-2-7 Renewable Lies And The Deception Of Dutch Commuters Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2) Collapse, Critical Thinking | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Telling others about peak oil and limits to growth

Posted on August 21, 2016 by

[ Obviously the planet is finite. We’re using many times more oil than we’re discovering, and therefore at some point global oil production will peak and decline.  Yet even in 2016 this reality is denied by most, so much so … Continue reading →

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Limited Cognition

Posted on August 20, 2016 by

Gifford, R. May 2011. The Dragons of Inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation.  PubMed. Limited cognition.  Humans are far less rational than once believed.  1: Ancient brain Our physical brain hasn’t evolved much in 30,000 years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Critical Thinking | Comments Off on Limited Cognition

Who Killed the Electric Car and more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Posted on March 22, 2016 by

[ Who cares about electric CARS?  Civilization ends when trucks stop running, and trucks can’t run on batteries because they’re too heavy (93% of the cargo weight, 25% of the cargo space), and an all-electric truck fleet would require thousands … Continue reading →

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Why do political, economic, and scientific leaders deny Peak Oil and Climate Change?

Posted on March 29, 2015 by

[ Related posts: Telling others about peak oil and limits to growth Why do so few alter their lives to lessen climate change and peak oil? Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2) Collapse, Alternative Energy, An Overview, Critical Thinking, GOVERNMENT, Other Experts | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review of Grain Brain: Extraordinary claim not backed up by evidence

Posted on October 22, 2013 by

[ This is my book review of David Perlmutter’s (2013) Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar–Your Brain’s Silent Killers. And hey, if you want to believe in silly dietary notions despite all the peer-reviewed evidence, I … Continue reading →

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Over 250 Cognitive biases, fallacies, errors, and more

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

What makes us susceptible to nonsense? A scientific paper on Bullsh*t was recently published: “On the reception and detection of pseudo-profound bullshit”, which attempts to identify what makes people susceptible to nonsense. The authors defined BS as a statement that … Continue reading →

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