Michael Crichton: Fear and Complexity [State of Fear + Why Politicized Science is Dangerous]

Michael Crichton ^ | November 15, 2005 | Michael Crichton

[ssaftler]

I hope he made enough dough off The Andromeda Strain and Airframe to carry him.

Isn't he an Executive Producer for "ER"? I'm sure that puts a little spending money in his pocket from time to time.

[generally]

Thanks for your reply. I'll go with "conservationist" (sounds a lot like "conservative") and see if that helps. I cringe when I hear the right talk about "envirowackos", though I understand what they're talking about. Just because the ELF or EarthFirst crowd are nuts or some in the other groups are corrupt and/or stupid, does not mean that the entire concept of conservation is worthless. That is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

[osagebowman]

Thanks Suzi Q, guess I'll pick that one up at the library, once I'm finished reading Narnia.

[Sam Cree]

Yeah, I liked the book, it makes lots of good points. I have to agree with the poster who wondered how many future movie contracts Crichton will be offered. He is a proven money maker though, so I can imagine he'll sell others, if not this one.

My favorite Chricton movie is "The Great Train Robbery" with Connery.

[AZ_Cowboy]

I didn't know if you had seen this or not. It might work for the Global Warming list.

[StarCMC]

Is this the thread BIGLOOK??

[StarCMC]

Wow Sarge -- try THIS article on for size today if you get bored over there! *G*

[BIGLOOK]

Bingo!

Crichton gives many good lectures. I have simply added his site to my favorites.
You can peke your kids' interest by showing them "Jurassic Park" and telling them this guy's the story teller. Good luck!

[StarCMC]

I copied the whole story to a word doc. so I can read it at will -- when I have time to digest. It looks fascinating!!!

Thanks for the heads up!!

[BIGLOOK]

It only looks long. 20=30 minutes read....gawking at graphs.
BTW, Next time you get an letter with pretty stamps and a solicitation for a donation to preserve the environment from Sierra Club or a like organization, keep the stamps and save your money. The only credible organization is the Audubon Society; the rest are pick pockets.

[Fawnn]

false information can be a health hazard as damaging as radiation

Sounds to me like a reason to demand that the media be held responsible for the "facts" that they report. ;)

State of Fear was a good read. Like in most techno-thrillers, the hero has an incredible ability to overcome the odds and survive, but setting that aside, I found the book to contain all sorts of astute information.

[Tolik]

The pleasure is all mine

:^)

[StarCMC]

We don't donate to ANY conservational causes because I trust NONE of them. Two doors down from our office is the "Nature Conservancy." They have hoodwinked one of our most conservative clients and it drives us NUTS. Actually, if there is anyone reading this who knows about such things, can you tell me if this is truly a possibility -- to me it sounds like a way to make a land grab!!

They have told him (and he owns a TON of land) that there is a grass spore that floats in the air. It doesn't grow anywhere and they are trying to catch it in the air. It's a prairie grass or something -- one they are supposedly trying to revive. (Don't you love how the folks who believe in evolution don't want to let anything go??) They wanted him to test his air for them to see if it existed in the air near his farm. He did it!! I personally would have told them to go fly. I am assuming they didn't find it - I never heard any more about it. Ugh!!!

[Egon]

Long read, but excellent.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

The foundation of population control exposed! Outstanding!

Most people don't have a clue how dangerous it is to have a bunch of people thinking that we must save the 'fragile planet' from 'overpopulation'. Maybe if they think of Scrooge and Tiny Tim.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Debunking population control:

"Notice that in 1968, when Ehrlich published the Population Bomb, world birth rates were already in decline. Ehrlich was thus urging people to do what they had already been doing for about 10 years in the third world, and about 100 years in the industrialized world. It's not clear whether he knew this or not. But certainly when he said, "The battle to feed all of humanity is over....At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate..." he was simply wrong..."

[Tribune7]

ping

[BIGLOOK]

Yes, it is a land grab.The Nature Conservancy, in order to save the "Beautiful Places", finagles to drive down land values, deny legitimate owners' rights to usage, then buys them up using donated funds. Later on NC sells scenic property to wealthy Hollywood types for profit.......violating their status as a non profit organization but hey, what the hell. They make large donations to lib pols too. In turn, NC gets laws and condemnations to preserve more "Beautiful Places".

Their business is to make a killing......and business is good!

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

This is one outstanding piece, Tolik! YOU nailed it! I read it out loud yesterday to a friend, who was riveted.

Thank you again for all the great work you are doing on this forum. FRegards....

[Buggman]

Excellent article. Ping for a second read later.