Talking to Science Deniers | Cherry Picking

Cherry Picking and Conspiracy Theories- the first two 'Five Tropes of Science Denial' from Dr. Lee McIntyre. To understand science denial, we need to learn their strategies.

Link to summary video by Dr. McIntyre-

Dr. McIntyre's Book-

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ResearchFlatMoon is a YouTube Creator hosting live streams and creating original content debunking conspiracies such as Flat Derp, Moon Landing Derp and Anti-Science.

[JSSTyger]

"We see too far."
Find me any photo of Mt. Everest from 500 miles away taken from the top of another mountain.

[wheresway]

You know Bob, if absolute scientific evidence that the Earth is Flat came out tomorrow, most GE's defenders like you and I, would go "huh, oh, so the Earth is Flat then. I guess I will make another video then."
We follow the science.

[iandobbin]

Really enjoying this series. Have felt something is amiss with many flerfers for a long time, from the loud and obnoxious screamers to those that really are simply ignorant or misguided. But, breaking it down helps bring perspective to the need to be part of this glitch in human progress. And what they get out of it is fundamental. Thanks.

[adventureswithdogs]

As you know, the mindset behind science denial is something I've been looking into for years now. I have an admittedly limited education in psychology, but I fully agree with Dr. McIntyre's points.
Regarding the notion of the earth being flat, this is relatively harmless. The problem is that it's never JUST Flat Earth.
About cherry picking- my favorites are those that reveal "declassified government documents" that show that the Earth is flat and non-rotating. They always leave out the part that says it is assumed in order to simplify equations, and only when that assumption does not significantly alter the results.
All in all, this has been one of my favorite series of yours thus far!

[matt]

Sitting on top of Mt Dunning-Kruger with a lifetime supply of cherries.

[grahvis]

YouTube flerfers certainly know their followers will not question anything they say.
The rules they lay down are not applied to themselves, like Jeranism stating that if just one flaw is found in the globe/heliocentric theory, the whole thing must be discarded.
Yet he clings to his flat earth despite it being all flaws.

[fepeerreview]

7:18 Cherry picking - That this photo is so unusual that it could be cherry picked is powerful evidence of the correctness of the current science on atmospheric refraction.
Ditto with the Platform Habitat "Black Swan" photo. The very fact that it is the *exceptional* photo among many photos of the platform is strong evidence of how atmospheric refraction works.

[artenroyal]

It's been a while and I'm still amazed how dr.Bob can still put up with these loonies.

[bobblum]

Simply put, their reasoning is unreasonable.

[OAlem]

They don't differentiate between the exception (Chicago skyline, black swan) and the rule. They fail the 1st day of statistics 101.
Also, there is increasingly more data on the overlap with narcissism and Dunning-Kruger. I also believe many suffer from borderline personality disorder. There is narcissistic rage and BPD rage. Both are in Cluster B of personality disorders in the DSM. Both may be prone to paranoia and other parallels.

[bobblum]

Thank you, Dr. Bob, for the video. As usual a good presentation, waiting for the next installment. (I'm refraining from saying "Thanks, Bob!")

[mymumbakescakes]

The amount of cherries the flerfs pick could fill up a giant cherry pie.

[sthurston]

The last trope was "Science must be perfect". This is such a key strawman I think it is worth highlighting. "Science knows everything" and "Science is the truth" are two urban myths they encourage their victims to admit to believing. They are both really easy to demolish. They lead into accusations of being in a religion of Science, or Scientism. I think less able people are susceptible to these urban myths and are just the sort of people they can easily recruit. This trope gives them the perfect in.

[entangledmindcells]

One driving theme I found while discussing evidence with an FE was this sense of looking for any possible way to discount the evidence. And after watching some FE channel vid's it is a reoccurring theme.

As long as there was a possibility, no matter how unscientific it was, that was ok for them as long as it allowed them not to falsify their belief.

It is interesting to see their reaction when I pose the "two people with their backs to each other staring off in opposite directions can see the same stars at the exact same moment. " I most of the time can see almost an anxiety type response.

[iveneverseensuchbehaviorin]

I cant remember what video I saw that said this but they say people believe this stuff because they enjoy the power a conspiracy theory like flat earth gives them when talking to the average person who cant debunk their talking points on the spot

[ekojar]

How do you tell someone they are crazy without sounding rude? Or making them mad.

[cuross]

Science deniers have to strawman science in order to make their own claims and hypothesis viable. They don't even argue against the presented science, just their own versions of it. This is where they are able to subtly sneak a discussion into a conversation.

[maxwellshammer]

I’m finding these videos on the psychology of flat earthers and conspiracy theories really interesting. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

[JSSTyger]

"We've also seem them go to elementary schools..."
**Nathan Thompson quietly steps away.**

[Isolder]

The part about creating false authority figures is dead on. The catch is that they want it to be them and them alone. Eventually, they can’t share the spotlight so have to put all the other ones down. Think about it, if QE wasn’t the one writing his buzzwords for him how long would NO really tolerate him on his channel?