Thursday, 06 June 2024 07:55

A surplus of experts but a famine for true wisdom

Written by  Farmer's Chaplain Colin Miller
It’s puzzling why people even consider some climate change experts to be credible witnesses. It’s puzzling why people even consider some climate change experts to be credible witnesses.

OPINION: It surely seems to me that in today’s world experts abound. I hear or see the word attached to someone regularly in the media, all too flippantly in my opinion.

Whilst there is obviously a famine for true wisdom, there remains a surplus of experts. To question an expert today, especially if they hold influence with the political class, will line you up for all kinds of nasties.

They seem to pop up pretty much everywhere. The financial world has many, science has them in abundance, the medical world too, and yes, they’re in the farming sector, to name just a few. Oops, I better not forget one of the most common ones today: all the climate change experts. One of my favourites, for sure!

But the science is settled, many say. Yeah right!

Older medical books abound, that told us the human appendix had no function. It was well on its way to disappearing altogether… an evolutionary left-over. So say some encyclopedias. And yep, I learned that in biology at school too. But, surprise, surprise, they were all wrong.

Now, was that disinformation or misinformation I got taught in class?

I have been alive long enough to witness many such mistakes. I agree all humans will make mistakes – that’s a given. Even top sports people have what some may call a brain-fade from time to time. Simple catches get dropped, simple returns get hit into the net. Nobody gets everything right 100% of the time. I get that! But to get the same thing wrong continually; I think it shows something is going on that we may not be privy to.

Of late I have given some thought to what I consider would make a great book title: ‘Headline News From Yesteryear’. There certainly would be no shortage of material to choose from!

Here are some samples taken from the internationally reputed TIME magazine front covers: 1973 - The Big Freeze; 1977 - The Big Freeze; 2001 - Global warming; and 2006 - Be Worried. Be Very Worried. (Yep, more spin on global warming)

Colin Miller FBTW

Farmer's Chaplain Colin Miller.

Here’s one from the AP: ‘UN Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked’. The date you, may wonder? June 29, 1989.

And the opening paragraph – “A Senior U.N. environmentalist official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.”

Hmmmm. That was 35 years ago. Last I checked, we were all still here!

And finally, from yet another climate expert at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen – 2009 I believe – ‘The Artic Sea may be nearly ice-free in summer as early as 2014’.

It surely puzzles me why people even consider these experts to be credible witnesses.

If I had a financial adviser that was consistently wrong over 50% of the time, I am sure you would counsel me to go find someone else! Why continue with the losses? You can do better, you would argue.

The same would be true for a doctor, or a dentist. With the dentist, my advice would be to make the change ASAP, while you still have some teeth left!

I have been around long enough to know the truth can easily defend itself, without the need to censor any opposing lies. Truth never fears the court of public opinion. However, lies fear the truth greatly and will shout it down, or censor it, by any means possible. The difference is stark!

And yes, the One I trust the most is the One who has never lied to me.

Take care and God bless.

To contact Colin: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More like this

Don't hold back!

OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding nothing back when ‘climate scientists’ had a crack at Kiwi farmers recently:

Emissions versus warming

OPINION: Soon New Zealand farmers will be asked to know their greenhouse gas (GHG) number. There are a vast number of GHG calculators available, all giving a different answer and none of them allowing for your pasture to be viewed as a CO2 ‘sequesterer’.

Changing Climate: A taste of the future

A high-resolution vineyard view of ecoclimatic indicators, and how they impact wine quality, can turn “climate insights into strategy”, says climate risk specialist Pete Taylor. “Whether you’re a grower, winemaker, or industry leader, understanding the future is key to staying ahead.”

Featured

IFSO urges flood-affected residents to document damage for insurance

Following heavy rain which caused flooding in parts of Nelson-Tasman and sewerage overflows in Marlborough, the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (IFSO Scheme) is urging homeowners and tenants to be cautious when cleaning up and to take the right steps to support claims.

National

Machinery & Products

Calf feeding boost

Advantage Plastics says it is revolutionising calf meal storage and handling, making farm life easier, safer, and more efficient this…

JD's precision essentials

Farmers across New Zealand are renowned for their productivity and efficiency, always wanting to do more with less, while getting…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Don't hold back!

OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…

Sorry, not sorry

OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter