ignoratio elenchi n.
A logical fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but has nothing to do with the proposition it purports to prove. Also known as “irrelevant conclusion”. [Lat. ignorance of refutation.]
Richard Lindzen, MIT’s most famous (infamous?) science denier, receives our Ignoratio Elenchi award this week for his article "No Such Thing as Perfect Temperature" in Newsweek International. Before critiquing the article’s logical fallacies, it’s worth noting what Lindzen concedes:
"There has been a net warming of the earth over the last century and a half, and our greenhouse gas emissions are contributing at some level. Both of these statements are almost certainly true."
Even Lindzen no longer questions that greenhouse gas emissions are causing global warming. Now let’s examine his other claims.