re: #615 Optimizer

Actually, one of the odd things about the reference to RealClimate is that - according to Charles - the owner of that site is (my words) a screw-up. That he - the “hockey stick’s” Mann - used bad data in making his discredited plot. I personally think the evidence is there to call Mann a collossal fraud, but even in Charles’ more generous estimation the guy should be considered a major screw-up. Ordinarily, I would expect such a source to be condemned with vicious ad hominems here, not quoted.

That’s a ridiculously simplistic and misleading summation of the facts around that controversy. It’s absolutely not as simple or clear-cut as you’re making it sound.

Here’s a fairly good, balanced description of the issue:

en.wikipedia.org