Innovation is not dead as Dyson eliminates the fan (maybe there is one inside though), showing the power of careful attention to shape.

Rational policy analysis is not an oxymoron, as Peter Gallagher deconstructs the emissions trading scheme (ETS).

John Robb suggests we are living in Extremistan:

That’s Nassim Taleb’s term to describe areas of our experience that defy statistical analysis, modeling and thereby prediction. Essentially, he makes the persuasive case that all of the topics covered by the social sciences (from economics to warfare) are now firmly in extremistan, rather than the gaussian and statistically predictive world of mediocristan.

Climate extremistan?: Global warming intensified the latest drought according to Hennessey and Karoly, but now there is water everywhere.

Climate mediocristan?: My critique of the Drought Exceptional Circumstances Report has been accepted, demonstrating that contrary to the conclusions of the DECR, low rainfall periods have declined in severity and intensity (fewer droughts) based on observations over the last century.

Rasmus at RealClimate asks Why the interest? in Svensmark’s new paper. After stating previously that CRF was not of interest until a causal chain has been established, now that a paper has come out concluding:

From solar activity to cosmic ray ionization to aerosols and liquid-water clouds, a causal chain appears to operate on a global scale.

he has found another set of concerns including unknowns in the physical mechanisms, and questionable handling of data and statistics. Sounds just like AGW doesn’t it?