Sunday morning, 24 July 2022.
I was thinking about how you never see a group of professors criticizing the way semi-tractor trailer drivers drive. Most of the professors I know, and I know a few through my wife (who is a professor) have an awareness of expertise – a self-awareness as well as a situational awareness. Just about every professor I know understands that they know more than the average person about one or two things based on their education level. They also recognize that they don’t know everything and have no business criticizing others when they have no professional experience in that area.
I have this fictitious conversation going on in my head with a high school classmate.
“Hey Jon, that professor would like to talk to you about your driving”
“What?”
“That professor… the one with the Ph.D. in Romance Languages”
“What?”
“He noticed the way you were backing up your rig and would like to give you some tips”
“Oh, hell no. What does that clown know about driving a rig? Has he ever been in the cab of a rig?”
“No, but…”
“Tell him to go and **** himself”
“OK… hey he’s standing next to that professor in climatology… looks like they’re discussing the latest study on global climate change”
“Oh, that’s some scam bullshit right there. I need to go give that loser a piece of my mind”
It’s not a real conversation, but it’s not a difficult conversation to visualize. I do want to make clear that I’m not picking on truck drivers – I come from a family with some pretty good truck driving roots, with my dad having been an owner/operator as well as a diesel mechanic, and my brother currently working as a long-haul driver. I do mention a high school classmate that does drive, and based on his posts on social media, he spends quite a bit of time listening to conservative radio pundits that want to blame every single problem in the world on liberals.
I didn’t have any classes with him in high school, with the possible exception of gym class. I took woodshop in 7th grade and steered clear of power tools after that until adulthood. There was a core curriculum for all, covering English, Civics, and Math, but our schedules were different enough that we didn’t see each other much. I just remember having had a locker next to the guy in 8th grade, and I have a decent memory for my classmates.
I believe in experts. I have a tendency to trust people that have spent their lives in pursuit of a skill set, whether that skill is programming computers, researching pandemics, balancing the books, or leading a company. I trust long-haul drivers to deliver freight. I trust accountants to do the books. I trust veterinarians to care for my pets.
And I trust NASA Climate Change to tell me the truth about climate change.
I’m sending positive thoughts to my friends in Europe that are coping with record heat.
For those that think global climate change is a myth, or that human beings aren’t responsible. I challenge you to do a little research. Look up the top ten most common greenhouse gases – here’s an article from Popular Science from about 13 years ago. If you have a better source, please share. The other thing I would ask you to do is get information about the presence of those gases in our atmosphere and track the change in those gases since about 1955 or so. In 1955, CO2 parts per million was measured at about 315. Last month that number was about 420, according to researchers on the big island of Hawaii.
I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.
Peace y’all.
