David Deming
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David Deming is an associate professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He graduated from Indiana University in 1983 with a BS degree in geology, and received a Ph.D in geophysics from the University of Utahin 1988. Prior to his arrival at the University of Oklahoma in 1992, Deming held a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the US Geological Survey in California. From 1992 through 2005, Dr. Deming was an assistant and associate professor in the School of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Oklahoma. Deming is the author of more than thirty research papers, and the textbook Introduction to Hydrogeology. He is an associate editor for the academic journals Petroleum Geology and Ground Water, and an adjunct faculty member at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and the National Center for Policy Analysis.[1][2]
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[edit] Deming on Global Warming
Deming has widely criticized global warming predictions, citing "media hysteria... generated by journalists who don't understand the provisional and uncertain nature of scientific knowledge." [3]
On March 1, 2007, Dr. Deming debated Dr. David Karoly a climatology professor at the University of Oklahoma on global warming. Dr. Deming stated “some people want to enlist science in a moral crusade.” Continuing he claimed “science is a disinterested search for truth” and warned against anyone claiming a monopoly on evidence over any scientific subject.
[edit] Academic Freedom Controversy
Dr. Deming, a firm believer in academic freedom, has made statements some have viewed controversial or offensive. To date, Dr. Deming has not been found guilty of harassment or wrongdoing by the University of Oklahoma or the State of Oklahoma. In fact, no harassment charges have been brought in court, and all complaints by the University of Oklahoma were dropped.[4]
In 1998, Deming wrote:
- "There is significant scientific evidence that sex-based differences in spatial and mathematical abilities may be biological in origin. For example, male rats do better in mazes than females. I concede it is possible that those female rats performed poorly because they were distressed by the lack of proper role models, but somehow this seems implausible." The Oklahoma Daily [5]
Two years later, Professor Deming wrote a letter criticizing Yale University student Joni Kletter's February 18, 2000 syndicated article on gun control published in the University of Oklahoma's student newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily. He received a reprimand from Dean of the College of Geoscience, John Snow, after 25 people filed formal complaints about his response in which he compared Ms. Kletter's "easy access" to a vagina to that of a handgun. Citing academic freedom, the university canceled disciplinary proceedings after Deming threatened to take legal action. Deming said his critics had "no more respect for the first amendment than they do for the second." [6] [7]
In 2003, his tenure in the geology department was abrogated and had his office moved to a converted laboratory in the basement, away from other members of the faculty. Deming claims that this was the result of, among other things, an editorial he wrote arguing against affirmative action for women. [8] In July of 2004, Deming filed a lawsuit against several personnel to restore his position. [9] Deming won his lawsuit against the University of Oklahoma. All complaints were droped, tenure was restored, and Deming was given a new office. Regarding his victory in court Deming stated, "My attorneys are to be thanked for doing the entire University a service by defending the University's values better than it did."[10]
[edit] Further Reading
Cognitive Differences Between Men and Women May Be Important, October 7, 1999. [11]
Oklahoma U Crushes A Prof's Free Speech, Frontpagemagazine.com, February 2, 2004. [12]
The Man Without a Department, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 27, 2004. [13]
The Oil Price Bubble, The Washington Times, June 14, 2006. [14]
Are we running out of oil?[15]
The Oil Price Bubble[16]
Petroleum Age Just Beginning[17]
[edit] Further Reading on Global Warming
Global Warming, the Politicization of Science, and Michael Crichton's State of Fear[18]
The Warmest Year on Whose Record?[19]
Don't Enact a Stupidity Tax[20]
Statement of Dr. David Deming: U.S. Senate Committee on Enviornmentalism[21]
Inhofe Correct On Warming, The Washington Times, October 15, 2006. [22]
