Carl T. Bergstrom

Ah yes, of course. I've been trying to figure out who the fuck to blame.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4057045-catch-22-scientific-communication-failures-linked-to-faster-rising-seas/

Catch-22: Scientific communication failures linked to faster-rising seas

Scientists failed for decades to communicate the coming risks of rapid sea-level rise to policymakers and the public, a new study has found. That has created a climate catch-22 in which scientists have soft-pedaled the kinds of catastrophic risks most easily headed off by cutting emissions. While scientific communication has improved in the 2020s, this…

The Hill
Jun 21, 2023 at 5:36amWeb
Show threadCarl T. BergstromJun 21, 2023

Unclear signage led to crocodile attacks, study finds.

(photo: Parks Australia)

Show threadChookMother 🇦🇺🦘Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom I assume you're being ironic.
Show threadJon SealJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom The choices of languages are interesting - English, German and Japanese (?). Are they the only ones who need to know or are they the ones who do not know?
Show threadMatthew ExonJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom @antsymbiosis That's Chinese. German tourists aren't as numerous, but they are significantly more likely than the average to think slomping through a mangrove forest is a more interesting way to spend a vacation than just taking a selfie in front of the opera house and then getting pissed.
Show threadJon SealJun 21, 2023
@mat @ct_bergstrom Thanks - I was wondering if it was Chinese. For a while in the US, back in the 90s maybe, there was a time when German tourists were walking around in bad neighborhoods in the US getting mugged or worse. So, I was also thinking naive adventure might be an issue here.
Show thread[email protected]Jun 21, 2023
@antsymbiosis @ct_bergstrom The concept of wild animals intending to kill and eat us is very foreign to us Germans.
We are traditionally killed by cars.
That’s why we are trained to consider where cars are preying for us and may forget to shake out our shoes for crocodiles and such.
Warning signs in German may be very helpful to improve the situation.
Show threadEquiphileJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom I see the problem. People are warned by the red lines in three of the four squares not to engage in those activities, yet no red line warns the crocs not to eat the people in the first square.
Show threadEmma Byrne PhDJun 21, 2023

@onagirl @ct_bergstrom

It still wouldn't have worked. Crocs are colourblind...

https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/34/3/776/2996351

This is why you need good accessibility engineers. Unfortunately, all usability tests tend to end the same way. Nothing left but a fat crocodile, a pair of empty boots, and a clipboard.

How Turtles and Crocodiles Lost the Parietal “Third” Eye and Their Differing Color Vision Adaptations

The vertebrate eye is a remarkable evolutionary invention, displaying an incredible repertoire, from a soaring falcon’s keen distance vision to the special nigh

OUP Academic
Show threadAlexandre FrankeJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom kinda wondering why you’d clean a fish in the first place, they spend their life bathing.
Show threadbillheywoodJun 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom
Salties scare the crap out of me, they are so obviously always looking for an opportunity to eat you

Anyone who takes risks in or near water where there might be salties is a nutter

Show threadghost_shitJun 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom

If only the sign had said "WATER'S EDGE", a whole bunch of grammar pedants might still be alive today.

Stupid signwriters...

Show threadBen from CDSJun 21, 2023
@ghost_shit @ct_bergstrom They work in public service, maybe feeding the pendants to crocodiles is a public good.
Show threadChrisAdamsEcon Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom I think what surprises people is that you don’t actually have to be in the water to be killed. And “near” is quite a ways from the water’s edge.
Show threadWarren TerraJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom
Penalties Apply
(Assessed by Crocodile)
Show threadAngus McIntyreJun 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom @cstross

This sign, warning of a steep path at a South African crocodile farm, is fairly unambiguous about the potential risks.

Show threadbillheywoodJun 21, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross
No warning for babies in pushchairs 😆
Show threadAngus McIntyreJun 21, 2023

@billheywood

Or, as they're known in those parts, "appetizers”.

Show threadBen RamseyJun 21, 2023
@angusm @tchambers @ct_bergstrom @cstross That, or it’s warning that a lot of summer fun is about to commence. https://youtu.be/ALN7362qBdA
Crocodile Mile Commercial (1988)

YouTube
Show threadEssjay (she / her) 🏳️‍🌈Jun 21, 2023

@angusm

But only for wheelchair users 🤦‍♀️

@ct_bergstrom @cstross

Show threadAlexander ShendiJun 21, 2023

@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross

#accelerando

Accelerating wheelchairs could harm poor, unsuspecting crocodiles?

Show threadMarco van Burgsteden 🍋Jun 21, 2023
@alexshendi @angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross beware of wheelchair riders on their way to hug their favourite croc.
Show threadAngus McIntyreJun 21, 2023
@alexshendi @ct_bergstrom @cstross People can be SO thoughtless and irresponsible.
Show threadtruceburner Jun 21, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross #StickFiguresInPeril
Show threadJonJun 21, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross this looks like a trailer for a James Bond movie. Felix Leiter can still do field work!
Show threadBørgeJun 21, 2023
@angusm I'm not sure who is most at risk in this scenario… @ct_bergstrom @cstross
Show threadMikeKJun 21, 2023

@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross

Looks like a new form of extreme sport to me.

Show threadeuroplus Jun 21, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross or benefits, depending on your place in the will.
Show threadJosh Ourisman Jun 21, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross you must be at least *this tall* to ride the wheelchair crocodile fun slide.
Show threadfletch49erJun 21, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross
😂 😂 😂
Show threadJames OhJun 22, 2023
@angusm @ct_bergstrom @cstross
If only #contractual languag could be this unambiguous. Note well, #lawyers #lawfedi
Show threadGeorge GirtonJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Those hapless sign designers. They should NEVER have consulted scientists 🍸🙀
Show threadsteve mookie kongJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom 🤔
Show threadTheriacJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom

it's pretty clear the first image is saying to greet the croc with your leg so you don't get wet.
Show threadUnHookedJun 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom I feel as though this leads into the rabbit hole of labeling radioactive stuff for the future.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aoy_WJ3mE50

These tunnels are designed for 100,000 years

YouTube
Show threadAndrew.🇵🇸 ☮️ 🇺🇦Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom I’m still a bit unsure what this means.
Show threadDamien Le Berrigaud [IC]Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom @aral I took this picture not far from Cairns a while ago. There were no flags on the beach.
Show threadnailbomb3Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom can't believe they had the balls to run that.
Show threadFifi LamouraJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Nothing to see here, don't look at the oil industry disinfo and lobbying behind the curtain...ah, yes, climate change is clearly the fault of scientists for not yelling loud enough. Now excuse me, I need to go arrest some scientists who are out on the streets yelling about climate change because politicians care more about oil companies than people or the planet. JFC, this is just an insane take (The Hill sucks but this is Dyson level suckage).
Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsJun 21, 2023

@fifilamoura @ct_bergstrom

Shoot the messenger then blame them for not communicating the problem to you, amirite.

Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsJun 21, 2023

@fifilamoura @ct_bergstrom

Couldn't resist.

Show threadjohnnysilverhandJun 21, 2023
@Mikal @fifilamoura @ct_bergstrom you nailed it!
Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsJun 23, 2023

@johnnysilverhand @fifilamoura @ct_bergstrom

I have to say that I have always hated that meme and it never occurred to me that I would someday use it, but it was just too perfect.

Show threadjohnnysilverhandJun 23, 2023
@Mikal @fifilamoura @ct_bergstrom true! I never liked it, too. Only in this case.
Show threadIceNineJun 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom

Awaiting the headline "Oncologists to blame for rising lung cancer in smokers"

Show threadJay Thoden van Velzen ☁️​🛡️​Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom damn scientists and their dense style! ​
Show threadHannekeJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom @ionica What a take…
Show threadRonnoJun 21, 2023
All I can remember, throughout my life, is news articles regarding climate change. A more plausible thesis would be that they overcommunicated, saturating the news and making it therefore less impactful. But failing to communicate? Wow!
Show threadBuy nothing newJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Ignorant rich pricks, marketing of high consumption
Show threadColon Musk, CEO of GaceXJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom "Victim Fails to Resist" sounds like The Onion
Show threadNicole ParsonsJun 21, 2023

@ct_bergstrom

Blameshifting, "shoot the messenger" & "both sides" false narratives are common in disinformation campaigns.

The oil industry funds massive malign influence campaigns about climate change.
https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/its-time-for-charles-koch-to-testify-about-his-climate-change-disinformation-campaign/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/politics/big-oil-disinformation-record-profits-climate/index.html

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/house-report-exposes-extent-of-big-oils-disinformation/

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/08/oil-companies-climate-crisis-pr-spending

https://www.campaigncc.org/climate_change/sceptics/funders

https://www.eco-business.com/news/how-online-disinformation-threatens-climate-change-action/

https://thenarwhal.ca/wildfire-canada-explainer/

The Saudis invested in Google for a reason
https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/2/23707993/google-youtube-ads-climate-change-disinformation

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/07/heres-a-look-at-who.html

https://observer.com/2023/06/google-saudi-arabia-data-center-protest/

It's Time for Charles Koch to Testify About His Climate Change Disinformation Campaign

Over the last two decades, Koch-controlled foundations spent more than $160 million to stymie government action on climate change.

The Equation
Show threadUsername02Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Is this satire? Is this satire? Is this satire? Is this satire? Is this satire? Again... Is this satire?
Show threadReinder Dijkhuis Does ArtJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom They will blame climate activists for climate change if they think they can get away with it.
Show threadRussell 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇦🍉Jun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Laughable if it wasn't so tragic!
Show threadiconnorclastJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom "Scientists don't have sonar so it's difficult for governments to hear them with their heads up their asses/in the sand"
Show threadEleanorJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom
1960s-80s: Ignore the environmentalists - they're just a few crazy hippies.
1990s-2000s: Ignore the environmentalists - there's no scientific consensus.
2010s-2022: Ignore the environmentalists - yes, the planet may be warming, but technology will fix it.
2023: Why didn't they warn us?!?!?!?!
Show threadottoJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom that is infuriatingly stupid. I always noted a whiff of right wing mind-rot whenever I read articles from The Hill. The only reason to NOT ignore them is to be informed as to how misinformed some leaders still are.
Show threadJeroen van BergenJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom Ofcourse there have been failures in communication but that failure is really on the end that should have listened to the primary message. And please excuse me, while I pay my taxes so the Dutch government can continue to subsidize fossil fuels.
Show threadMennoJun 21, 2023
@ct_bergstrom
Ah yes. Reminds me of that story: The Story of the Boy who Cried "There really fucking is a wolf, can't you see it? It's right there!! It's approaching, open your damn eyes!!! Stop looking away!"