The esteemed scientific journal Nature published a scholarly article last week about alleged empirical relationships between supposedly man-made climate change and wildfire growth risks, quantified using machine learning. While the article advanced the usual conclusions about climate change predisposing certain regions — in this case, California — to wildfire conditions, the lead author then did something quite unusual.
Patrick T. Brown, lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and co-director of the Climate and Energy Team at the Breakthrough Institute, publicly admitted Tuesday that, like other scientists keen to have their work published, he "left out the full truth" in order to push "a narrative [he] knew the editors would like."
Brown's admission and corresponding explanation appear to suggest that those keen to "follow the science" may oftentimes be left filling their heads with alarmist agitprop rather than meaningful insights into the workings of the natural world.
