Penn's full of Bullshit!

Penn: if your "credentials are... nonexistent" because you merely went to "clown college" and you admit that on scientific topics you "don't know" then on those topics you should obviously
"shut the fuck up."

You've probably heard of Penn Jillette. He's an outspoken libertarian, skeptical of all things governmental. He's the host of the hard-hitting Bullshit series, which argues against potential regulatory issues like global warming, recycling, second-hand smoke, drinking age limits and gun control. Environmentalism in general is one of their favorite targets.

But like most TV personalities, Penn doesn't have the credentials to intelligently discuss the science behind these issues. In a testament to his hard-hitting ways, he even admits his own ignorance.

By the way, here's a quick link to my crude run-down of the scientific support for global warming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn6--jIz4Go#t=46s

It was part of a larger Bullshit episode debunking.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Penn Jillette
• Penn and Teller
• Bullshit
• credentials
• second-hand smoke
• secondhand smoke
• global warming
• science
• scientific consensus

[Swedetastict]

The earth’s climate is constantly changing owing to natural variability in earth processes. Natural climate variability over recent geological time is greater than reasonable estimates of potential human-induced greenhouse gas changes. Because no tool is available to test the supposition of human-induced climate change and the range of natural variability is so great, there is no discernible human influence on global climate at this time.

-American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

[directedchaos]

@Swedetastict Good try, precisely what I was asking for, but ultimately wrong:

1) AAPG statement was changed in 2007 because "The current policy statement is not supported by a significant number of our members and prospective members." See: aapg.org/explorer/president/20­07/03mar.cfm

2) New statement includes: "AAPG membership is divided on the degree of influence that anthropogenic CO2 has on recent and potential global temperature increases"

See: aapg.org/gac/statements/climat­echange.pdf

[directedchaos]

@Swedetastict Also, note the PETROLEUM in their title. That industry is precisely the industry that fights global warming/climate change science the most, because their emissions bear significant blame. It's not quite as bad as the smoking research lies of the tobacco industry -- AAPG is a real scientific organization, not just a lab -- but it's not too far of a stretch. You should be able to recognize their bias.

And that bias has them "divided" about global warming, not against it.

[Pchlster]

1) You expect a TV-host, magician and comedian to have as complete an understanding of scientific data as the people who actually make a living doing those experiments? Wow, could you show me where you get your television?

2) Bullshit has never claimed to be objective. They try to make their points and they don't try to hide it.

3) Global Warming is still up for debate, or at least the cause to it. Look at H. Svensmarks theories, for example.

Seriously, work on your stuff.

[Chomper839]

when i first saw the title of your video, my first thought was literally, "oh no you didn't" xD

[guitar789]

Do you honestly think, that a teen like you has a better understanding of the world than a professional magician, comedian, critic, showmaster,sceptic, actor, produce, director,bestseller author and big thinker that has traveled the word and is at least twice as old as you ? ur kidding me

[Draxedelic]

It seems like you have a hate boner that could cut glass. Also you put too much stock in credentials. Credentials are bullshit. However, the fact that you're a prick doesn't change the validity of some of your arguments. Just like with Penn.

For the record, I'd like to say that I admire Penn Jillette, whilst vehemently disagreeing with him on a lot of things.

[phantomscolts1]

bullshit

[topster888]

I like how this douchebag attacks Penn's credential when Penn rarely, if ever, cites himself as a source of information. The entire premise of the show is that they go to *experts* in the field they're showcasing, they dont talk out of their ass.

And gj idiot for attacking them for claiming that they were wrong about something when the truth is only revealed years after the fact. I bet this guy thinks the Wright brothers were idiots for not thinking up the 747

[TheLastBrainLeft]

@ImperiousViking My only beef was that they did not stipulate that the Competitive Enterprise Institute is a free market, libertarian think tank. It sucks when liberals fail to disclose that critical information comes from activist groups with an agenda, it's not OK for the other side to do the same.

[TheLastBrainLeft]

@directedchaos Dude, the biggest proponent of global warming hysteria is the energy sector. They profit from the government subsidies given to energy concerns to promote "green" technology. The oil industry magically changed it's tune when they realized they could profit more FROM AGW hysteria than fighting against it.

[TheLastBrainLeft]

Who the fuck are you and why should I care about what you say? Jilette backs his shit up with something more than whiny complaining.

[ferraridav]

furthermore, as a scientist, let me give you a very helpful piece of advice: be very weary of any government mandated science. politicians and officials are not scientists, they are whores, agenda driven and will do whatever it takes to make themselves look right. whats sadder, many scientists will go along with this because in the real world, its a lot more lucrative to sell your soul than to have integrity. Research grants and your name on published articles is nicer than teaching high school.

[ferraridav]

your video was amusing; however, still erroneous. it seems you failed to realize that penn is simply the poster boy of the show; a large team of researchers actually does finds the material that gets reviewed for the specific topic, granted they sometimes pick and choose what to present, but that can be said of any and, in fact, everyone. The reason for this is simple, there is no underlying absolutism in our world; everything behaves like a gaussian function.