Lucas Bergkamp (via Judith Curry);
In short, consensus is not necessarily irrelevant, but consensus needs to be understood to determine how much weight it should be given, and how it compares to other scientific opinions. Unthinkingly rubberstamping consensus science is not a good practice. In a court room, a claim that there is scientific consensus raises several questions. First, what is the basis for the claim that there is consensus? In other words, how do we know there is consensus at all, and how strong is the evidence supporting the consensus? Second, what is the nature and extent of the scientific consensus? This examination covers issues such as precisely on which findings and facts is there consensus and why, and on which findings and facts is there disagreement and why. Third, how was the consensus produced, i.e. in what kind of environment? Of course, consensus that is based not on persuasive argument, but on silencing dissent by inappropriate means, is not worth anything. Likewise, if an area of science is politicized, consensus may not signal the state of the science, but political dominance.