But when reading novels one must remember the difference between facts and opinion. This book is great for the study of legitimation. Crichton uses the graphs, figures and footnotes of climate scientists and big words both to look like he's done some real research and present the book as a factual analysis rather than the fiction that it is. He also tries to de-legitimate environmental activists by creating their characters to be arrogant or have personality flaws. One might call the novel an analogy but I call it a strawman. It doesn't take much to twist excepts and statistics to sway the general public to be either in favor or against any particular issue. This goes back the the increasing trend of the democratization of science, which is troubling to me as I know how hard it is to keep opinions and facts separate. As humans even scientists have their pet theories but they should also have the training and courage to give up a theory when confronted with overwhelming evidence against it, and I would say most of them do. Crichton reminds me of creationists who have an agenda in mind (their faith in the bible) and then go looking for facts to back up their preconceived notions rather than observing and making non-contradictory informed inferences.
my favorite climate change comic:
http://brandonferguson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/091207usatC.slideshow_main.prod_affiliate.91.jpg
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Mark, I completely agree that by taking only specific data that supports a point, you can convince the general public that you have the answer. This being said, I would say that people, scientists and crichton alike, provide the data necessary to support their point and not show the other side of the coin. This is exactly where the opinions and facts comingle and the science becomes tainted.
ReplyDeleteMark,
ReplyDeleteI'm on your side with this one. Crichton obviously had an agenda while writing this book. I find it amusing yet troubling that while I completely disagree with many of things he is saying, I find myself swept along by the faux-scientific current. His warping of the facts is something that many politicians and I would even say scientists do. Like we've discussed before, you can't escape your politics. It is easy to warp the facts in your favor.
I think that comic is amazing!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Conrad. You can not escape your politics. What I find interesting is Crichton's attempt to distance himself from his by acting as if he just wants to lay out the facts. On the flip side, its been difficult for me to take a step back from just wanting to say "No, your wrong." while trying to ignore my own politics. My own opinions and ways of seeing the world are such are such an integral part of who I am that I have a difficult time creating an argument against Crichton that is not based on them.
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