Re: [Phys-l] Arguing points (was Climate skeptic...)

[brian whatcott <betwys1@sbcglobal.net>]

On 2/18/2012 3:14 PM, curtis osterhoudt wrote:
> ...My body has a mean temperature over my lifetime of about 310 
> Kelvins, with some perhaps slow first-order trend, and various small 
> deviations up and down throughout the course of a year, day, etc. I 
> certainly shouldn't object to being dunked in ice water for a day, or 
> having a high fever for a week, because those are just little wiggles 
> on top of a lifetime average.


This argument by analogy is perhaps unreasonably powerful:
it is common knowledge that one should object strongly to being dunked 
in ice water - where death would likely ensue within the hour, let alone 
a day.

As to having a high fever  (>102deg F) for a week, the outcome is also 
problematical.

But we, and other mammals are homeostatic - and other creatures are more 
accommodating of extended temperature extrema.

Brian W