"The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

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_Xenophon
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"The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _Xenophon »

Hot off the presses at 538 is a fascinating profile of Arthur Robinson. You may recognize his name as he was the organizer to the '97 petition from 31,000 signers rejecting the mainstream narrative of man made climate change.

It was an absolutely fascinating read, an excellent peek into the alt-science movement and some of the minds behind it. I feel it provided an interesting look into how some of these ideas emerge and how they grow.

One could view his setup with idle curiosity: the science maverick on his ranch, with a seven-figure budget for his indie urinalysis. But the movement in which Robinson belongs (as a member, if not a shepherd) has nudged a few steps closer, in recent months, to the center of our national politics. Alternative theories of climate change — that is to say, those at odds with mainstream science — are now ascendant at the highest level of government, along with deep suspicion of environmental regulations. And other alt-science points of view — on vaccination, nuclear power, intelligent design — have been showing signs of purchase in the Trump administration. Even Robinson himself may soon be making tracks for Pennsylvania Avenue. Chief among his financial backers are the Mercers — hedge-fund billionaire Robert and his daughter Rebekah — who are better known these days for their avid right-wing activism and sponsorship of Steve Bannon. In March, reports emerged that Rebekah Mercer had made the case for Robinson to be the nation’s new national science adviser. “It would be an honor to do it,” he told me.

“He’s one of the founders of this whole movement,” says Joseph Bast, CEO of the Heartland Institute, which has served for 20 years as the leading think tank of the push to challenge climate science. Last year, when Robinson joined Heartland’s board of directors, Bast called him “as bold and brave a person as I have ever met.” Now Bast says that courage has been vindicated. “Time will tell,” he promised, “but it certainly seems like Robinson’s views are winning the day.”
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
_EAllusion
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _EAllusion »

I already knew a lot about him, but didn't know he was up for the National Science Advisor position until this article came out. It escaped my notice. That blew my mind. He's a crank's crank. It still feels surreal thinking about it. There is no bottom.

It's like waking up to discover Andrew Wakefield somehow is up for heading the CDC.
_EAllusion
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _EAllusion »

What this did article did for me was sink in even deeper just how much power a single billionare with a fundamentalist mission can have.
_The CCC
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _The CCC »

Rachel Maddow has been telling us about this freak for years.
_Xenophon
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _Xenophon »

EAllusion wrote:What this did article did for me was sink in even deeper just how much power a single billionare with a fundamentalist mission can have.

The scariest part is I don't entirely know which billionaire you mean. One of the fascinating/ridiculous parts is seeing the Mercer's name pop-up again. I knew they were into some crazy stuff but between your article on their influence with Breitbart and now seeing their involvement with Robinson it is worrisome to think about how much impact they have.
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
_EAllusion
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _EAllusion »

Xenophon wrote:
EAllusion wrote:What this did article did for me was sink in even deeper just how much power a single billionare with a fundamentalist mission can have.

The scariest part is I don't entirely know which billionaire you mean. One of the fascinating/ridiculous parts is seeing the Mercer's name pop-up again. I knew they were into some crazy stuff but between your article on their influence with Breitbart and now seeing their involvement with Robinson it is worrisome to think about how much impact they have.


Robinson fits well within a sort of John Birch society adjacent fundamentalist brand of quackery. He's close to the Christian Reconstructionist branch of paleolibertarianism. He hits all the familiar beats of pseudoscience and causes popular among would-be American theocrats. One of his many areas of pseudoscience interest is in arguing that the nuclear radiation is not as dangerous as mainstream science would have you believe. He promotes nonsense survivalist material that misleads on how survivable nuclear warfare is. I knew that the Mercers also share these views which various stories have highlighted to suggest how dangerous they can be, but I never connected the two. Now it fits together so well. If you go on down the line of his wackadoodle beliefs and interests, they are so similar it is eerie. I hadn't made the connection before. The Mercers probably got their dangerously wrong ideas about nuclear radiation from Robinson, in retrospect.

That he'd be considered for the post he is being considered for is so insane that I cannot shake the feeling of unreality around it.
_Dr. Shades
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _Dr. Shades »

[T]he science maverick on his ranch, with a seven-figure budget for his indie urinalysis.

What the Hell do they mean by "indie urinalysis?"
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"

--Louis Midgley
_EAllusion
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _EAllusion »

Dr. Shades wrote:
[T]he science maverick on his ranch, with a seven-figure budget for his indie urinalysis.

What the Hell do they mean by "indie urinalysis?"


Robinson has been convinced that they key to understanding human health is through analysis of urine, so he's been collecting and storing huge supplies of samples. He has been performing tests on his samples to further absolutely outlandish theories. This is not connected to any reputable research institution, so it is independent, i.e. "indie."
_Xenophon
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Re: "The Grandfather of Alt-Science"

Post by _Xenophon »

EAllusion wrote:Robinson has been convinced that they key to understanding human health is through analysis of urine, so he's been collecting and storing huge supplies of samples. He has been performing tests on his samples to further absolutely outlandish theories. This is not connected to any reputable research institution, so it is independent, i.e. "indie."


I thought the one super sad part about this is the realization Robinson has made that his lifestyle and choices more than likely killed his wife. I only wish that line of thinking had driven him back to the mainstream, but it seems to have entrenched him further. He seems to have decided that he has sacrificed so much that he needs to double down on his current path.
"If you consider what are called the virtues in mankind, you will find their growth is assisted by education and cultivation." -Xenophon of Athens
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