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 | | From: | CSICOP | | Subject: | CSICOP Online: Doubt & About - Michael Crichton & State of Fear | | Date: | Wed, 19 Jan 2005 02:04:12 +0000 |
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 | Bad Science, Bad Fiction
In Michael Crichton's work, the two are intimately connected.
Chris Mooney
http://www.csicop.org/doubtandabout/
January 18, 2005
Michael Crichton's latest book, _State of Fear_
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0066214130/youngskeptics/) , is a
novel in name only. More accurately described, it's a work of thinly disguised
political commentary, in which a wildly implausible plot--eco-terrorists
supplant Al Qaeda as the leading global menace, unveiling dastardly weather
modification schemes to convince the public of a nonexistent global warming
threat--serves as an excuse for a string of Socratic-style dialogues about
climate science. Since Crichton's characters repeatedly find themselves jetting
across the globe to stop the latest eco-terrorist menace (blowing off parts of
Antarctica, unleashing a tsunami, and so on), they have plenty of time in
transit to question the reality of human caused global warming. The plot
contrivance of a pending climate change lawsuit--abandoned once its proponents
realize they don't have a case--provides yet another didactic opportunity for
the author. When the legal team cross-examines one of our heroes about climate
science, Crichton seizes the chance to insert temperature trend diagrams and
copious footnotes into the text.
To Read More of this Column Visit:
http://www.csicop.org and http://www.csicop.org/doubtandabout/crichton/
To Read More Articles by Chris Mooney Visit:
http://www.csicop.org/doubtandabout/ and http://www.chriscmooney.com/
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