Bickmore’s First Law of Being Reasonable
Reasonable people understand that good arguments can sometimes lead to false conclusions, and bad arguments can sometimes lead to true conclusions.
Bickmore’s Second Law of Being Reasonable
Reasonable people resist bad arguments, even if they agree with the conclusions.
Bickmore’s Law of Debate
Debaters and their audience members who prefer live debates over written, sourced debates couldn’t care less about finding out the truth.
Bickmore’s First Law of the Box
“Thinking outside the box” requires being capable of recognizing “the box.” (Ignorance kills true creativity.)
Bickmore’s Second Law of the Box
“Thinking outside the box” is only laudable when “the box” is not rationality.
Bickmore’s First Law of Being Biased
Bias makes you human. Unchecked bias makes you stupid.
Bickmore’s Second Law of Being Biased
Nitpicking others’ arguments is not the same thing as “critical thinking.” That also involves nitpicking your own arguments.
Bickmore’s First Law of Being Open-Minded
Failing to make critical decisions based on incomplete information is called “spinelessness,” not “open-mindedness.”
Bickmore’s Second Law of Being Open-Minded
A person’s open-mindedness is inversely proportional to how much they lecture everyone else about open-mindedness.
Bickmore’s First Law of Pretending to be Scientific
People who think they are being all “scientific” because they insist that models be perfect to be useful don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
Bickmore’s Second Law of Pretending to be Scientific
People whose “arguments” mainly consist of lauding their own “BS Detectors” and throwing out innuendos are always obnoxious, and usually fools.
Bickmore’s First Law of Monckton
For every person who publicly endorses Lord Monckton’s climate pronouncements for merely irrational reasons, there exists a threshold in Monckton’s behavior which, if crossed, will cause said person to regret their association.
Bickmore’s Second Law of Monckton
Any behavioral threshold posited by Bickmore’s First Law of Monckton will eventually be crossed by Lord Monckton.
[…] the ContributorsAbout This BlogBickmore’s LawsLord Monckton’s Rap SheetThe Church of Monckton Anti-Climate Change Extremism in Utah A […]
By: New Page: Bickmore’s Laws « Anti-Climate Change Extremism in Utah on January 5, 2011
at 10:45 am
I very much like Bickmore’s Second Law of the Box.
By: Anna Haynes on January 6, 2011
at 2:18 pm
Nice. I just discovered your site because of the LA Times piece, and linked to it in my newest post, which seems to relate well to your first two laws: http://new-wood.blogspot.com/2011/01/climate-change-ideology-truth-and.html
By: David Backes on January 8, 2011
at 2:17 pm
Hi David,
Very nice piece. I wish more people would listen to you.
By: Barry Bickmore on January 12, 2011
at 1:39 pm
[…] Bickmore’s Laws […]
By: Orrin Hatch’s Response « Anti-Climate Change Extremism in Utah on January 18, 2011
at 5:59 pm
Genius!!! These laws should be standard learning for children everywhere … and grown-ups when they’ll listen!
By: Richard Milne on November 14, 2011
at 6:58 am
[…] Bickmore’s Laws […]
By: Contrarians File for Intellectual Bankruptcy « Anti-Climate Change Extremism in Utah on November 25, 2011
at 3:25 pm
Typo: Unckecked bias makes you stupid
By: Turboblocke on February 18, 2012
at 2:33 pm
corrected, thanks
By: Barry Bickmore on February 24, 2012
at 2:33 pm
Eli has a friend who works at a place with two Nobel Prize winners. He told Eli that when he has a problem he goes to both of them. One he knows will give him the wrong answer for the right reason, and the other the right answer for the wrong reason. Takes all kinds.
By: Eli Rabett on August 29, 2012
at 12:05 pm
So, if your friend already knows which answers (and reasons) are “right” and “wrong”, why does he bother to ask the Nobel Prize winners? What is the point you are trying to make?
By: OzWizard on September 8, 2012
at 10:00 pm
I think Eli’s friend goes to his smart friends to get off-the-cuff advice, tries out both ideas, and discovers who is right by experience.
By: Barry Bickmore on September 8, 2012
at 10:03 pm
I’d rather know what point *Eli* was trying to make.
What *Barry thinks Eli’s friend might have been thinking* is far too hypothetical and entirely presumptuous (unless you are Eli, working under a pseudonym – or can read Eli’s mind).
Maybe it was just an amusing anecdote. Let’s wait for Eli to step forward and enlighten us both.
By: OzWizard on September 8, 2012
at 11:52 pm
[…] Bickmore’s Laws […]
By: The Monckton Files: Bickmore’s First and Second Laws of Monckton « Climate Asylum on February 13, 2013
at 12:19 am
[…] observation as his own. In fact, Barry Bickmore has a lot of useful, perceptive observations among “Bickmore’s Laws” ( Example: Bickmore’s First Law of Being Reasonable Reasonable people understand that good […]
By: Lauren Green, Fox News, and Bickmore’s First Law Of Being Biased | Ethics Alarms on July 30, 2013
at 9:06 am
[…] Ironically enough, this calls to mind another one of Bickmore’s Laws (His First Law of Being Biased was featured in the original post about Green’s interview) , Bickmore’s Second Law of Being Biased: […]
By: Lauren Green vs Reza Aslan Aftermath: Attack Of The Spinners | Ethics Alarms on July 30, 2013
at 9:44 pm
Monckton constantly accuses his opponents of “ad hominem” attacks on him and the “latin” is very impressive but whats wrong with personal attacks if they are relevant and true. His lack of scientific qualifications is certainly relevant. This reliance on “ad hominery” is phoney and should be exposed. There must be a Bickmore Law therein !
By: terry rogers on October 7, 2013
at 7:40 am
“whats wrong with personal attacks if they are relevant and true. ”
They can be relevant and true only in the case that you are actually attacking a person. It would be better if you directed such attacks at the person privately so as not to be the subject of a libel lawsuit having published personal attacks. Being true is a defense, but it will cost quite a bit in lawyer fees proving the truth of it.
If you believe someone’s claim is wrong, then attack the claim; not the person. Use the claim as an opportunity to preach some of what you believe to be the truth. Don’t waste an opportunity to show the world how smart you are by merely trying to show the world how stupid is someone else.
By: Michael 2 on July 1, 2015
at 4:06 pm
[…] Bickmore’s Laws […]
By: The Monckton Files: A Hero Has Fallen! | Climate Asylum on July 21, 2014
at 3:53 pm
[…] Bickmore’s Laws […]
By: Don’t Let the Core Fall Out: Nitpicking Earth’s Magnetic Field | Climate Asylum on May 1, 2017
at 8:21 pm
[…] Bickmore’s Laws […]
By: Giddyup! Dean Sessions and the Gish Gallop | Climate Asylum on June 14, 2017
at 12:54 pm