My son Francisco was in pre-primary school, I went to his class to talk about my job as a climatologist and, to make the presentation more attractive to the kids, I did some experiments that illustrated unexpected air behaviors. As if it were a liquid, I poured a vial of smoke-blackened air, previously placed in the freezer, into another vial containing air from the classroom. And I also showed that if you blew hard into a tube made from notebook paper, the tube would collapse instead of expanding. Francisco told me that his friends had commented that his father was not a scientist, but a magician. I was naturally disappointed as the aim was to promote science.
The attribution of magical causes to anything that seems unusual or exceptional is as old as humanity. Promulgated in 1484 by Innocent VIII, the bull “Summis desiderantes affectibus”, which listed the spiritual and secular crimes of witchcraft, led to a witch hunt in Europe that lasted until the dawn of the 17th century. In order not to leave the domains of meteorology, I will just say that, of the thousands of cases initiated in the province of Lorraine in the last decade of the 16th century, around a fifth mention the “invocation of hail” and the same proportion is observed in acts of accusation in Zurich throughout the 16th century.
It is interesting to note that the events mentioned occurred during the Renaissance and not during the Middle Ages, the supposed “dark ages”. However, things didn’t stop there. In 1735, in the middle of the Age of Enlightenment, the English Parliament enacted the “Witchcraft Act” in which all those who practiced witchcraft were condemned, in particular those who made predictions about the future. The law would only be repealed in 1951, so the English meteorological service, founded in 1854, would have practiced illegally for 97 years.
The association of meteorological disasters with witchcraft practices can be understood in light of the triune brain theory. Survival and emotional reasoning, linked to the reptilian and lower mammalian functions of the brain, are essentially linear so that extraordinary phenomena must have extraordinary causes. Devastating events such as droughts and floods, hurricanes and storms, tornadoes, thunderstorms and hailstorms, will necessarily be associated with supernatural causes so that all those who deal with their observation and prediction, whether meteorologists or climatologists, will have close relationships with the forces of evil. Hence the belief that the “big shots” are also capable of directing the storms is a small step away.
It is no wonder, then, that at the end of last month, Trump supporters accused meteorologists supporting the Democratic Party of having diverted hurricanes Helene and Milton to areas affected by the Republican Party, which, 15 days apart, struck the southeastern United States. In the 21st century, in the supposed information age, it is tempting to seek explanations more linked to the rational function of the brain. Harlan Ellison’s observation that the two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity is especially appealing, especially because, as John Cleese noted, when you are very, very stupid it is not possible to conclude about our stupidity to the extent in which to assess the degree of aptitude for a given task it is necessary to have knowledge that allows it to be carried out correctly.
Although attractive, this line of reasoning raises the unpleasant doubt that my knowledge is not solid enough for me to be able to assess the correctness of my considerations. On the other hand, the controversial times we are going through seriously raise the hypothesis that the devil is on the loose.
Everything seen and considered, between the possibility of being stupid or being in league with the scoundrel, I prefer the second option. I, sorcerer, confess! I say this, even at the risk of being accused of having diverted hurricanes Ophelia and Leslie to Portugal in 2017 and 2018. It is, however, a calculated risk: if I am sued, I can always hire a good lawyer, another demonic profession, who will ensure that the process has no practical effects or ends in a timely manner.
