Bits and Pieces - We Know Better Edition

Blogging, and punditry in general, is usually conducted in pleasant surroundings, hence the plethora of jokes about finding something funny and ruining one's keyboard by spitting out coffee as one laughs.

So we have today a plethora (nice pundit word, no?) of commentary on what looks like the summary execution of Muammar al-Qaddafi (plethora of commentary about spelling of name deleted). Hey, I have to obey the traffic light at the bottom of the hill, don't I? Rule of law! Blake Hounshell provides another view. No it's not a good thing that it happened this way, but how much does that really matter? As James Lindsay points out, it's still tough going for Libya until it has a stable government.

Physicists are the concern trolls (yes, another word for pundit!) of the scientific world. Nobody can do anything quite as well as they can. All other science derives from physics, it is true in a rather limited way. But, because many approximations lie between the mathematics of physics and dealing with real chemicals in a test tube, never mind animal physiology or the global circulation system, a physicist cannot simply, overnight, master one of those other sciences. Far too many physicists don't notice this detail.

One of them, Richard Mueller, was convinced that he knew better than those silly climate scientists with their complicated computer models based on too many assumptions. So he decided to rederive climate science. He recently announced his results: the silly climate scientists had it right. This is a great disappointment to the claque of know-nothings who hitched their wagons to his physics star. But I'm sure they'll be able to find someone else to support their denial. I guess we can give Mueller credit for being enough of a scientist to admit he was wrong.

In a somewhat related development, woman finds math relatively easy.

Also, hats are being tipped across the blogosphere to the New York Times and Washington Post who finally figured out that something called politics is being manipulated in the United States Senate by a group called the Republicans.

Another of my own personal punditical I-told-you-so's on community organizing. Of course it's lead from behind!

Crabby Friday, I know. I'll see if I can find a nice photo for later, or perhaps Helmut has some fruit.