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Letter adds to growing list of logical fallacies

| December 29, 2020 1:00 AM

Monty Heil (Daily Bee, Dec. 3) adds to his growing list of logical fallacies. In a previous letter (Daily Bee, Nov. 22), I cited two articles from “Skeptical Science” that provided multiple lines of evidence supporting the argument I was making. In his response, Mr. Heil misquoted me, completely ignored that evidence, and instead attempted to discredit the source by saying it was authored by “merely a cartoonist.”

By responding with criticism that failed to address the crux of my argument, Mr. Heil committed the “avoiding the issue” fallacy. Ironically, by deceptively downplaying the credentials of the author, John Cook, he committed the “poisoning the well” fallacy, the same fallacy he accused me of committing. In fact, John Cook has a degree in physics and holds a research assistant position with George Mason University in the Center for Climate Change Communication. He has authored/co-authored 22 peer-reviewed papers and numerous books and articles on climate change. Add “suppressing the evidence” to Mr. Heil's litany of logical faux pas.

Throughout our discussions, Mr. Heil has failed to produce a shred of scientifically verifiable evidence to disprove the reality of anthropogenic warming. Instead, he has waged a disinformation campaign replete with unsubstantiated claims and fallacious logic. When confronted with evidence that contradicts his claims, he commonly ignores it or attempts to rebut it with misinformation from discredited fringe sources outside mainstream science.

I recommend that Mr. Heil view “Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change” on YouTube. Perhaps this cartoon format will be better suited to his level of comprehension.

JACK DeBAUN

Dover