Sgt Scholar

In 1996, I was a freshman in high school, and my science teacher introduced my class and me to the 1980 television series Cosmos, hosted by the astronomer and renowned science communicator Carl Sagan. I was an instant fan. His communication style resonated with me, and I thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal of the intersection among science,Continue reading "Carl Sagan Quotes"

My main man, Alfred Russel Wallace, independently formulated the famous theory of natural selection and disproved claims of dying Martian civilizations, but his legacy is nearly… extinct. *Sad bumbumbcha* In the spring of 1948, the British naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace began his voyage to South America aboard the ship “Mischief” (my homemade movie stage name)Continue reading "Alfred Russel Wallace and skepticism"

AKA: The Nirvana Fallacy, The Perfectionist Fallacy GENERAL OVERVIEW General description This is dismissing realistic solutions that offer real progress and benefits (etc.) merely because they are not perfect (or near-perfect), when such high criteria are not feasible. This deals with decisions, not factual validity. We should draw an important distinction between questions of is and ought. MostContinue reading "The Perfect Solution Fallacy"

We recently passed the fifth anniversary of the departure of the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg from this Earth. I love this quote from her remarks upon receiving Harvard’s Radcliffe Medal in 2015. As a person who has studied both science and communication, I often think of this sentiment because it applies so well to severalContinue reading "Reflecting on Ginsburg’s advice in 2025."

I know you don’t have to read whatever I post, especially if it’s long. Sure, it’s only about a 10-minute read, but I understand free time is scarce, and tempers are high. But if you care about America, I am not asking you to switch worldviews or to hold hands with extremists. No, if youContinue reading "In the wake of Kirk’s death: An open letter to America about political violence"

>>Overview<< General description Ad hoc is Latin for “for this,” but in English, the phrase is used for instances that offer “solutions” to problems that were not foreseen. In argumentation, it has a similar meaning. After holes are poked in a person’s argument, one uses ad hoc reasoning to preserve the original argument by addingContinue reading "Ad Hoc Rescue"

Yes, civility and asking questions are good. But asking questions without any intent to learn is a dick move. Also, "politely" feigning ignorance while spewing BS during a long, exhausting discussion is just a gift-wrapped dick move. By itself, these statements are simple, but (as with many seemingly simple things) there’s a bit more to it than that.

Because anecdotes are useful yet so often misused as evidence, this fallacy article dives deeper into the nuances than many other fallacy articles. Intro/Summary Anecdotal evidence is information and reasoning based on personal experience and observations. In many instances, this is beneficial. After all, these help many of us learn how to navigate social norms—especiallyContinue reading "Appeal to anecdotal evidence"

I was wrong several times, including on things I was deeply convinced were true. It happens to the best of us. It happens. But it's important to be open to being wrong, to change our minds when necessary, and to normalize owning up to our mistakes.

FYI, This blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change, and is about a 14-minute read (excluding this FYI, the extra material, and text describing the images). This heavily builds on previous articles, especially those from Section 2: Climate Basics. I highly suggest reading those first. The series is ongoing; here areContinue reading "Climate Basics 7: How do we know climate change is human-caused?"

FYI, This blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change, and is about an 8-minute read (excluding this FYI, footnotes, and text describing the images). This builds on previous articles in Section 2: Climate Basics. I highly suggest reading the previous articles. You can use the menu options to navigate: science>climate>a patriotsContinue reading "Climate basics 6: How scientists study past climates"

FYI, This blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change, and is about a 9-minute read (excluding this FYI and text describing the images). The series is ongoing; here are links to the main sections currently available. You can also use the menu options to navigate: science>climate>a patriots look at climate change.Continue reading "Climate basics 5: How the greenhouse effect actually increases"

This blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change, and is about an 8.5-minute read (excluding footnotes and text describing the images). This builds on previous articles in Section 2: Climate Basics. I highly suggest reading the previous articles. You can use the menu options to navigate: science>climate>a patriots look at climateContinue reading "Climate basics 4: How Earth’s greenhouse effect actually works (when stable)"

This is a modified version of an earlier post on Facebook. Hello all. I do not expect hard-lined MAGA supporters to like this post, let alone actively read it or even share it. But, for now, that’s not my target audience. Yes, I was right-leaning for years. Yes, I have conservative friends and family. No,Continue reading "Trump’s cabinet picks and Arendt’s warning"

Welcome aboard! The goal of this piece is to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics), critical thinking, and conservation (and more) through the lens of a warrior ethos. This is Sgt Scholar, after all. As with my article on quotes from our Founding Fathers, these quotes are not meant to idolize any public figure,Continue reading "Insightful quotes from prominent veterans on STEM, critical thinking, and conservation"

FYI, this blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change. This builds on previous articles, and I highly suggest reading them first, or at least after reading this article. You can use the menu options to navigate: science>climate>a patriots look at climate change. The series is ongoing; here are links toContinue reading "Climate facts, myths, and fallacies: infographics that clear the air"

FYI, This blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change, and is about a 6-minute read (excluding this FYI and text describing the images). The series is ongoing; here are links to the main sections currently available. You can also use the menu options to navigate: science>climate>a patriots look at climate change.Continue reading "Climate basics 3: an introduction to our atmosphere and its layers"

FYI, This blog article is part of my series, A Patriot’s Look at Climate Change, and is about a 7-minute read (excluding this FYI and text describing the images). The series is ongoing; here are links to the main sections currently available. You can also use the menu options to navigate: science>climate>a patriots look at climate change.Continue reading "Climate basics 2: An introduction to Earth’s energy budget"

This topic is a bit heated, so to speak. So, let's clear the air on a few important terms we will see throughout this series.

[Note: some citations are for coming articles that are currently in the drafting stage]. Abraham, J. P., Cook, J., Fasullo, J. T., Jacobs, P. H., Mandia, S. A., & Nuccitelli, D. A. (2014). Review of the consensus and asymmetric quality of research on human-induced climate change. Cosmopolis, (1), https://www.cosmopolis-rev.org/pdf/2014-1/Abraham_and_al_Cosmopolis-2014-1.pdf Allen, M. R., Dube, O. P., Solecki, W.,Continue reading "Citations to the climate and patriotism series"