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Thursday, February 09, 2012

Remember Chris Mooney?

 
Chris Mooney has achieved some remarkable goals in the past ten years or so. He's an atheist accommodationist who doesn't understand atheism or accommodation. He's a science journalist who doesn't understand science or the important elements of science journalism (it's all about spin framing). He's a supporter of evolution but he's only interested in American politics—he doesn't actually understand evolution.

Nisbet & Mooney Reveal Their True Colors
Matthew Nisbet and Chris Mooney Video on Framing Science
Changing Minds Through Science Communication
For Once, Chris Mooney Talks Sense
The Future of Science Journalism
Science Journalism in Decline
Some scientists are astrologers, therefore science and astrology are compatible
Chris Mooney Changed His Mind
The Doctrine of Joint Belief
Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum in Newsweek
Boring ....
The Difference between Truth and Framing
Chris Mooney vs Atheists: Part XXXIV
Chris Mooney Asks a Hard Question
The Great Accommodationist Dud

Chris is about to publish a new book called The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science--and Reality. Like most professional writers he knows that he has to hype the book in order to get people to buy it so he's started the campaign with an article on HuffPost under their new "Science" category [Want to Understand Republicans? First Understand Evolution].

The main theme is that Republicans are genetically different from Democrats and that difference is due to evolution. No, I'm not kidding ....

Jerry Coyne says "huh?" [Chris Mooney, evolution, and politics]. Get on over to Coyne's blog website and join the fun.1 Can Mooney, the science journalist, screw up evolution? ... let's count the ways.


1. What would we do for fun if we didn't have Chris Mooney? We'd have to pick of the creationists all the time and thatgets boring.

5 comments :

Anonymous said...

This guy seems to be obsessed with the idea that there is some kind of hard, immutable division between liberals and conservatives. The fact that he is making a case that these differences are genetic is unsettling. Naturally, Mr. Mooney places desirable traits in the "liberal" category and unflattering traits to "conservatives".

After all, he is genetically superior, and those he disagrees with can't help it- they are his genetic inferiors.

I wonder what political moderates or those who are not so easily pigeon-holed are to him? Strange, mutant hybrids?

SLC said...

The case of Chris Mooney is rather sad. His first two books were quite informative, especially his second book on hurricanes. It is my hypothesis that after he wrote those books, he came under the influence of Matt Nesbit and was brainwashed. Even a sojourn in Los Angeles, 3000 miles away failed to cure him of this problem. He would be better advised to sticking to climate change where he seems better informed then he is on evolution.

Anonymous said...

This little twerp is about to land in my hometown a week from now. I come from a family of Republicans and hate to disappoint the little Yale English major, BUT my late father's PhD in chemistry was from MIT (he was the DuPont Fellow his last year), my late older brother's PhD in chemistry was from Cornell, my other brother's PhD in physics from University of Rochester. My MA and PhD in botany are from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I am president of the local Tea Party. Can't wait to hear this wizard explain how/why I and my family are mentally deficient. Oh, and my late mother had her BA in chemistry, but I learned last week from Ms. Rosen that she "never worked a day in her life". I give talks to Tea Party groups on "The Myth of Man-made Global Warming" and believe me it is not a difficult task to debunk that "theory".

Larry Moran said...

I'm not a big fan of Chris Mooney but I'm glad that he's coming to town to show you why your ridiculous beliefs are anti-science and irrational.

It's embarrassing that you and your family were once exposed to good science. What happened to make you forget everything you were taught?

Anonymous said...

"Oh, and my late mother had her BA in chemistry, but I learned last week from Ms. Rosen that she "never worked a day in her life"."

So anonymous Tea Partier, which one of Mitt Romney's children are you?