* Cessna 310 wrote, On 4/5/2007 6:31 PM:

After working with others for years developing ANSI and ISO standards,
the meaning of consensus is fairly well understood. It basically means
that though everyone may not agree with the final document, all the
objections and negative votes have been addressed. The "final" standard
is one that everyone can live with.

Using this practical definition, there is no consensus agreement on
whether or not man is the cause of global warming.


That could be why this use of "consensus" is meaningless for
scientific issues. For standards, everyone has already agreed to the
concept that a 100% consensus that "everyone can live with" is more
important than having a "perfect" standard.

In the scientific world, a 100% consensus has no value, and in fact is
undesirable. Scientists look for the truth, not some compromise that
the most people can live with. The skeptics serve an important role
in the process. In this world, the meaning of "consensus" is quite
different.