Screwing the debate

Lockdown Sceptics has an interesting analysis of Professor Neil Ferguson’s reply to a reader.

I was interested to see Professor Neil Ferguson’s reply to one of your readers. I was surprised he had replied, but no less surprised that anyone had bothered to write to him.

Now, I think it’s a bit unfair to write to someone and then publish that person’s reply, especially if it hadn’t been made clear the reply would be published. However, it has been, and I suppose anyone in public life would have to be naïve to believe that anything they say is immune to being disseminated more widely.

I thought it would be interesting therefore to analyse the reply.

Ferguson comes across as supercilious and evasive, not dissimilar to some orthodox climate scientists in his attitude towards sceptics. To my mind it is worth noting how unprofessional Ferguson’s response was and what this may imply more generally.