Fumento unhinged

Michael Fumento is making even less sense than usual:

Lambert is one of the most obnoxious trolls on the Internet. He produces nothing; he exists to tear down other people to make up for some perceived deficiency on his part. Perhaps it's a deficiency that can be measured with a three-inch ruler; I don't know. Some people buy a flashy sports car in his case, but Troll Lambert uses all his spare time to write fraudulent Wikipedia biographies about people who get more attention than he does (approximately 6.3 billion) and to try to poke fun of them on his blog. In his desperation he often makes an utter fool of himself and this was no exception. Aside from refusing the bet, Troll Lambert claimed that my giving 10 to 1 odds meant I believed there was a ten percent chance of pandemic flu over the next ten years. Right, Troll. And my saying "The sky is sunny" means that I believe Al Qaeda will set off a dirty bomb in Wichita, Kansas. I picked the 10 to 1 figure for the rather obvious reason that people like round numbers and we have a base 10 system. Now, Lambert is an Aussie and maybe Australia doesn't use the decimal system - but I'm pretty sure it does. I know they have chickens over there; Troll Lambert is proof.

PZ Myers is amused, while revere goes through, point by point, all the things Fumento got wrong about the science.

Tags

More like this

"In his desperation he often makes an utter fool of himself and this was no exception."

After reading the above, I can see that it's obviously self-referential.

When they resort to belittling your manhood you know the game's nearly over.

Your're really getting to them, Tim. Keep up the good work!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the technical terms, offering a 1 in 10 bet is saying there is a 10% chance of something happening?

Fumento has a long desperate history as a corporate shill and industry-funded spewer of contrarian nonsense.

He's all over the tobacco documents: http://tinyurl.com/ygdk5t

And here he is being dangled in front of Philip Morris by the Competitive Enterprise Institute as a contrarian worth funding.
http://tinyurl.com/rm2d6

The boy just smells like a dirty ashtray.

I don't get it : why all the interest in Fumento?

He is a prolific purveyor of FUD.

Best,

D

I know they have chickens over there; Troll Lambert is proof.

Does this mean troll's are chickens?

By Meyrick Kirby (not verified) on 15 Jan 2007 #permalink

Does this mean troll's are chickens?

Yes, quite, but that's not all.

I believe the full proof (for "I know they have chickens over there; Troll Lambert is proof") goes something like this:

Given:
Axiom1: Tim Lambert is a Troll (with a capital T)

Axiom 2: Trolls eat chickens.

Axiom 3: You are what you eat.

Axiom 4: Tim Lambert is from Australia.

From axioms 2 & 3, it follows that: Trolls are chickens (Conclusion 1)

From conclusion 1 and Axiom 1, it follows that: Tim Lambert is also a chicken (Conclusion 2).

From Conclusion 2 and Axiom 4, it follows that: Australia has chickens (or at least one, at any rate).

QED

QED

I think you should stop giving Fumento such a hard time. What all the the readers of Deltoid should do is start a collection of cash to buy the meds that Fumento has stopped taking because he can't afford them.

By Joseph O'Sullivan (not verified) on 15 Jan 2007 #permalink

Joseph, do you have any explanation for why Fumento does not buy his meds with his Monsanto money?

Is it difficult for a man to buy meds when his salary depends on his not buying them?
(apologies to anyone who genuinely needs meds.)

I would think that Fumento has medical insurance through Monsanto. If not, he should consider renegotiating his shill contract.

(he should ask for a Monsanto retirement package too.)

I picked the 10 to 1 figure for the rather obvious reason that people like round numbers and we have a base 10 system.

Wow. So his understanding of odds is driven by how many fingers he has.

I'll bet him with 1 to 24 odds, because 24 is the highest number (if you don't know Mr Show don't ask).