Why are Republicans so Anti-Climate Change?

[Alydael]

It has always baffled me.

There really is no denying climate change at this point.

I think the reason they do is because they fear that admitting to climate change will lead to over regulation by the government. Just a guess.

[cubby]

The GOP are anti-climate change because they're idiots, or they are pandering to idiots.

[zorkuus]

Ok, if you know something most scientists don't know (like evidence for gravity) then please share.

So it wasn't enough there was a flat-earther in this thread, now we have a gravity denialist too. Boy this is fun.

[zorkuus]

Well, what do you think gravity is?

That wasn't your question. You wanted evidence for gravity, which we have plenty of. Don't try to move the goalpost.

[Pterodactylus]

Ok, if you know something most scientists don't know (like evidence for gravity) then please share.

Take anything you can pick up that is nearby. Hold it above the floor and let go. Watch what happens.

[Pterodactylus]

It falls down.

There is your evidence for gravity.

[zorkuus]

Can you give me one piece of evidence for gravity? (That will show me what you think gravity means).

You're moving the goalpost once again. Ask your original question again and I will be more inclined to answer.

[Pterodactylus]

No, you never answered my question. Why does it fall down?

I thought it was pretty obvious since I presented it as evidence for the existence of gravity that gravity is responsible for the force acted upon the object in question. I guess I overestimated your understanding of basic science - sorry.

[cubby]

You're moving the goalpost once again. Ask your original question again and I will be more inclined to answer.

Don't play his game. If he wants to be grouped with the same people that staff the Flat Earth Society, there is no hope for him (or anyone). If you deny science, you're basically done. You can't even have a logical conversation with that person.

[Garnier Fructis]

It falls down.

But why does it fall down?

That's a separate issue from evidence for gravity. You've shifted from wanting evidence of gravity to wanting a causal mechanism for gravity.

You might be arguing that gravity isn't a true force, which is true according to our best theory of gravity. But that wouldn't change the fact that there's some gravitational phenomenon.

[zorkuus]

My original question is "So, not much evidence at all?" (copied and pasted)

So do you want it or not? None of this bs "show me what you think gravity means". Do you want evidence for gravity or not?

You read up a little on gravity (probably back in high school) and you probably recently read up on logical fallacies, and you want to show the world that you read up on these two (at a very low level). But because what you read is at a low level, you got yourself into a quandary (and you don't even know it).

Are you projecting?

[cubby]

I don't deny science. I just demand that others actually understand it better than they purport.

Gotcha. So you're just baiting people to prove how brilliant you think you are while ignoring the point of the post. I think we have a solution for that.

[Garnier Fructis]

It has always baffled me.

There really is no denying climate change at this point.

I think the reason they do is because they fear that admitting to climate change will lead to over regulation by the government. Just a guess.

Fear of over regulation is likewise baffling, since most of the large environmental actions in the past were accomplished by Republicans. All they would need to do is propose their own solutions for this problem, like they've done in the past.

[zorkuus]

So, the question "Why does it fall down?" baffles physicists of the modern era

Matter bends spacetime. No mystery there.

[Pterodactylus]

No, actually its quite the opposite. Gravity cannot be explained in basic science at all. You are foolish to think it is.

The Universal Law of Gravitation is not an explanation. It does not explain why an object falls down. It only is an observation of how things fall down (most laws are merely observations). Quantum field theory is attempting to finally provide a satisfactory explanation for that phenomenon.

So, the question "Why does it fall down?" baffles physicists of the modern era, because their best response is "We might have an idea, but in the end, we don't really know." Answering it any other ways is indeed ignorant.

Aren't you cute.

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You might be arguing that gravity isn't a true force, which is true according to our best theory of gravity. But that wouldn't change the fact that there's some gravitational phenomenon.

He thinks he is so clever!

[Garnier Fructis]

No, actually its quite the opposite. Gravity cannot be explained in basic science at all. You are foolish to think it is.

The Universal Law of Gravitation is not an explanation. It does not explain why an object falls down. It only is an observation of how things fall down (most laws are merely observations). Quantum field theory is attempting to finally provide a satisfactory explanation for that phenomenon.

So, the question "Why does it fall down?" baffles physicists of the modern era, because their best response is "We might have an idea, but in the end, we don't really know." Answering it any other ways is indeed ignorant.

Just a few notes to add.

Quantum field theory doesn't include gravitation, but there are attempts to extend GR into some kind of quantum field theory. The other point is that not knowing why it happens doesn't mean that our theories of gravitation aren't good or that they have no explanatory power. Their predictive and explanatory power is excellent.

That we don't know everything about it doesn't mean we can't give informative answers, even to the question of why something falls.

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The wording here bothers me. If you are claiming that there is a phenomenon that brings two masses together, then there is no argument here. However, claiming it is because of gravity is nonsensical if you name that phenomenon to be gravitational in the first place. That is circular reasoning, and i am sure someone of your intelligence knows that.

The wording was bad on my part. What I meant to say was that even if gravity wasn't a real force, there's some kind of phenomenon that brings things together, and gravitation is just the label we give to this set of observations.

[Alydael]

Fear of over regulation is likewise baffling, since most of the large environmental actions in the past were accomplished by Republicans. All they would need to do is propose their own solutions for this problem, like they've done in the past.

Yeah, it doesn't make much sense. TBH, I think everyone is struggling with climate change. What do we do?, What is going to happen?, What should we do?, etc, etc....

It is a problem we have never faced before, so it is understandable. There is no point in denying anymore really.

[Osmeric]

Ok, if you know something most scientists don't know (like evidence for gravity) then please share.

You mean, evidence like THINGS FALLING? What do you think that is, animal spirits?

BTW, you seem to have some difficulty with understanding just what a theory is. A theory is something that lets you make predictions in a large number of situations. That's it. The best theory of gravity we have, General Relativity, has successfully predicted what gravity does in every situation in which it's been tested. One cannot get a theory that's better than that (although future tests may make a better theory necessary, if its prediction don't work in some new situation.) There is no need (or, indeed, does it make any sense) for a theory to try to explain "why" something happens unless that's the best way to describe what the theory predicts.

It was a mistake of physicists in the 19th century to try to explain electromagnetism using mechanical models of an "ether". Eventually they became comfortable with just treating the equations as the theory and not demanding some sort of underlying mechanism.

There's a wikipedia page summarizing tests that have been conducted on GR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tests_...ral_relativity

[Glorious Leader]

Matter bends spacetime. No mystery there.

Tides go in tides go out you cant explain it!

[zorkuus]

Tides go in tides go out you cant explain it!

- here's the explanation

But you can't explain the explanation! Checkmate.