Saturday, July 24, 2010

David Warren is an Ignoramus

What happens when a newspaper hires an ignoramus as a columnist?

You get this kind of drivel, which has been deftly taken apart by media culpa.

David Warren seems to have attended the Denyse O'Leary school of ignorance.

10 comments:

Eamon Knight said...

Every time David Warren calls something "fatuous", irony meters all over Ottawa scream in agony.

Unknown said...

After reading that, I can't help but imagine that Monday night of July 19th David was up late staring blankly at his computer screen with a deadline looming in his mind wondering, "what the hell am I going to write about?! I got nothin!" And so he gritted his teeth and began doggedly typing at his keyboard and by the early morning of July 20th he sat back and surveyed his creation. It was as he feared ... nothing. A vapid, meaningless, illogical piece of crap. But he made his deadline! Phew.

Anonymous said...

That reminds me: I am currently reading "Going Rogue" which, believe it or not, is even worse than Warren's article.

What is the old maxim: better to be silent and let people think that you are an idiot than to speak (write) and remove all doubt? :-)

Eamon Knight said...

I am currently reading "Going Rogue"

I hope you didn't pay too much money for it.

GeorgeG said...

"You get this kind of drivel, which has been deftly taken apart by media culpa."

Warren has a larger point (about "settled science" and "scientism") and an example (IVF).

Media Culpa addresses only the example. I would've hoped they'd be more, eh, deft.

crf said...

How can Warren have a point about IVF and settled-science and scientism when he doesn't even know what IVF is?

His entire column is chuckable. GeorgeG. It's 100 proof dumb-syrup.

Eamon Knight said...

Warren has a bunch of assertions about "scientism". However, they boil down so much unsupported whining about how badly all the Real People are being treated by the Evil Scientistic Elite.

Ompey said...

That would be 200 proof, crf.

Ty said...

Nah. There's no way to make a 200 proof 'syrup'.

Dan Gilbert said...

The phrase "settled science" seems to only ever be used by non-scientists and people who are criticizing science. I don't think I've ever read a true skeptic or scientist use that phrase.

I HAVE heard plenty of global warming deniers, creationists, and "alt-med" proponents use it, though.