The Muted Response of Climate Change Advocates to a Natural Experiment

Thought Experiments and Their Significance

An Introduction to Thought Experiments

Thought experiments, also known as idealized experiments, are valuable tools for understanding complex concepts. They have a rich history of use in scientific exploration. Albert Einstein, for instance, used a thought experiment involving a constantly accelerating elevator with a pinhole through which a light beam could pass to demonstrate the effect of gravity on light.

Understanding the Gravity-Light Thought Experiment

In this thought experiment, you can observe a light beam as it travels from the pinhole in the side of the elevator, across the elevator that is constantly accelerating perpendicular to the original path of the light beam. If gravity affects light, the light beam would bend as it moves across from the pinhole to the other side of the elevator.

Acceleration and Light

The acceleration of the elevator in relation to the light source (pinhole) is key. Acceleration implies the elevator is moving faster and faster perpendicular to the light beam. The light beam moving across a constantly and uniformly accelerating elevator would appear to lower its position with each observation, due to the increasing speed of the elevator. This would result in a curve, not a straight line, indicating that gravity bends light.

Applying Thought Experiments to Visual Perception

Visual Motion at the Retinal Level

Using a similar thought experiment, I attempted to explain that an on-off flicker of light at the retinal level is equivalent to visual motion. This concept is significant when trying to improve the transmission of the visual signal to the brain's cortex.

A Thought Experiment on Light Perception

Imagine a microscopic grid of light receptors, akin to a digital camera sensor array. As a skinny bar of light moves over these receptors, they turn on as the light hits them and off as the light bar moves on. This on-off pattern is the essence of visual motion at the retinal level.

Implications of the Thought Experiment

This means that if I expose the entire receptor array to on-off flickering light at a pace that the complex wiring is tuned to pick up quick changes, the simple on-off flicker for the entire receptor array is recognized as motion without direction in the higher brain structures. This understanding can have therapeutic implications.

Historical and Natural Experiments

Learning from History

Similar to thought experiments, history can provide natural experiments for those who analyze it critically. For instance, the book "Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls" by Schuettinger and Butler provides historical examples of the repeated failure of price controls. These historical natural experiments should inform current policy formation.

The Lockdown as a Natural Experiment

The recent lockdowns provided a natural experiment. The lack of traffic during the lockdowns indicated a shutdown of the economy. This shutdown led to a significant reduction in pollution associated with non-electric automobile travel.

Reduced Carbon Dioxide Production

The lockdowns also resulted in reduced carbon dioxide production, as people were less active and therefore exhaled less carbon dioxide. This unexpected natural experiment involving reduced carbon dioxide production should have provided valuable data for climate change advocates.

The Silence of Climate Change Advocates

Unanswered Questions

Given the reduction in carbon dioxide production during the lockdowns, one would expect to hear about a decrease in CO2 levels and a potential impact on climate change. However, there has been a noticeable silence on this issue. Why aren't we hearing about the results of this natural experiment?

Possible Implications

Could it be that the drastic measures taken during the lockdowns, including shutting down economies and reducing the world's carbon footprint, made no difference to climate change? This question remains unanswered and is worth pondering.

Bottom Line

This article raises important questions about the impact of reduced carbon dioxide production during the lockdowns on climate change. It also highlights the value of thought experiments in understanding complex concepts and the potential insights that can be gained from natural experiments. What are your thoughts on this topic? Share this article with your friends and join the discussion. Don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing, every day at 6pm.