How to Think About Consensus

Power Hour with Alex Epstein

A couple months ago, a young researcher named Emily Harari reached out to me about my views about the scientific consensus on climate change. She raised some interesting questions I hadn’t commented publicly on, so I agreed to do the interview if we could share it with my listeners.
This week’s Power Hour features that interview.
Some of the topics we cover are:
- The legitimate and illegitimate view of consensus
- How to learn the actual state of consensus
- The National Climate Assessment
- How consensus statements often misrepresent the state of consensus
- The role of the media in distorting science
- How transparent should consensus discussions be
- The obligation of scientists to stand up to false consensus statements