World in fear
World in fear (original title: State of Fear ) is the title of a novel by Michael Crichton from 2004. The novel deals with the alleged instrumentalization of climate research for political and economic interests. The work is considered to be an important climate-skeptical polemic, which gives the appearance of scientific objectivity through the use of footnotes and references.
content
George Morton is an American millionaire who uses his money to support environmental organizations. When he has an accident in a car, environmental activists want to take over his inheritance surprisingly quickly. George's lawyer and good friend Peter Evans goes on the trail of the missing millions. Accompanied by the mysterious agent John Kenner, Peter discovers which dubious projects George's support has gone into and is forced to completely rethink his own point of view.
reception
The novel criticizes an ideological science. In science, these theses are rejected. Although the arguments put forward are plausible at first glance, they are actually bogus arguments that do not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Often they are just plain wrong. In fact, the reading clearly shows that Crichton fell for common pseudo arguments from climate skeptics . Some scientists (including some cited by Crichton) and environmentalists accuse him of misunderstanding facts, at best a misinterpretation of the sources he cites, massive misinformation and denial of the anthropogenic causes of global warming.
The fact that the topic was apparently even more topical due to the seaquake in South Asia that occurred shortly after the novel was published , which no scientist attributed to global warming, also contributed to the attention. Though a fictional work, it received a journalism award from the oil industry- affiliated American Association of Petrol Geologists .
Quote
"Crichton is a great airport book writer, but he is now afflicted with delusions of grandeur. […] This book is presented not just as a thriller but as something really important. In fact, it is totally rubbish, yet it has been used by Crichton as a huge pulpit from which he can spout his views, even though they are nonsense. "
“Crichton is a great airport bookstore writer, but now he's delusional. [...] The book is not just a thriller, but something really important. In fact, it's total rubbish, and yet Crichton uses it as a high pulpit from which to preach his views, even if they are nonsense. "
literature
- Michael Crichton: State of Fear. HarperCollins, 2004, ISBN 0-00-718159-0
- Michael Crichton: World in Fear. Blessing, 2005, ISBN 3-89667-210-X
Web links
- Cord Riechelmann: Pro review in the SZ from January 20, 2005
- Patrick Illinger : Contra review in the SZ from January 20, 2005
- scientifically founded criticism of State of Fear: Michael Crichton's State of Confusion and Michael Crichton's State of Confusion II: Return of the Science in English
Individual evidence
- ↑ See James Lawrence Powell: The Inquisition of Climate Science . New York 2012, p. 170.
- ↑ Mojib Latif : Are we getting the climate out of sync? Background and forecasts. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt 2007, p. 185.
- ^ Myles Allen: A novel view of global warming . In: Nature . 433, 198 (January 20, 2005)
- ↑ James E. Hansen : Michael Crichton's “Scientific Method” (PDF; 105 kB)
- ↑ Union of Concerned Scientists : Crichton's Thriller State of Fear: Separating Fact from Fiction ( Memento of April 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Report of the New York Times on 9 February 2006
- ^ Robin McKie: There is going to be no magic solution . Interview with Robert May in: The Observer . Retrieved December 28, 2013.