Let’s ask for their political party so we can control for it in our prior probabilities of global warming wackery.
Well, it’s somewhat (weakly) relevant; someone deeply embedded in an anti-AGW tribe who parrots the standard line without thinking too much about it, is being less rational than someone in a pro-AGW who comes out strongly against their tribal position.
At the risk of starting a mind-killer war :-) has someone done any actual studies on this? I remember a pair of studies that seemed to show that both sides were equally ignorant in economic matters (though ignorant about different things, always supporting their own position), but can’t find it right now.
As long as we’re mindkilling let’s use whether someone’s a republican or a democrat to gauge their rationality!
Or whether someone’s a neonazi!
Good idea. Let’s ask for their political party so we can control for it in our prior probabilities of global warming wackery.
Well, it’s somewhat (weakly) relevant; someone deeply embedded in an anti-AGW tribe who parrots the standard line without thinking too much about it, is being less rational than someone in a pro-AGW who comes out strongly against their tribal position.
Is an “anti-AGW tribe” one that disbelieves in AGW or one that’s opposed to it?
At the risk of starting a mind-killer war :-) has someone done any actual studies on this? I remember a pair of studies that seemed to show that both sides were equally ignorant in economic matters (though ignorant about different things, always supporting their own position), but can’t find it right now.
My mad Google-fu turned up http://www.science20.com/science_20/democrats_dont_understand_economics_says_one_study_do_understand_compassion_says_another for you.
Yes, that’s what I was thinking of (as well as the follow up, mentioned in http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/12/i-was-wrong-and-so-are-you/8713/# , where he does the same to the ‘other side’).
Quite a bit: This article discusses some of them, but ignores others. There’s some interesting data if one looks at the GSS data which suggests that in the US, self-identified moderates are actually often the least likely to understand basic science.
Didn’t read the links, but posting to note that I caught myself thinking “that makes sense; they’re moderates because they’re aware of their ignorance”.
Interesting.
(For posterity: The Two-Party Swindle explains one of the key reasons why not.)