Why do people think they can google things for a few minutes to become an 'expert' on complex systems, claiming they've done their research?

Because many of us are real scientists and have been following this scam long before Google ever existed. I can personally remember when Jimmy Hansen was supporting an imminent Ice Age along with H. H. Lamb. Here is a real expert:

Quote by Will Happer, Princeton University physicist, former Director of Energy Research at the Department of Energy: “I had the privilege of being fired by Al Gore, since I refused to go along with his alarmism....I have spent a long research career studying physics that is closely related to the greenhouse effect....Fears about man-made global warming are unwarranted and are not based on good science. The earth's climate is changing now, as it always has. There is no evidence that the changes differ in any qualitative way from those of the past.”

He was fired by Al Gore long before Google.

Also, realize this, those who you flippantly call 'experts' have many times exposed the outright fraud you saviors of the earth are disseminating. We have caught your side in so many lies, many of you have folded your hand or changed your name. You as a whole have been a disgrace to Y!A, the advancement of science, and all humanity. One thing you must learn, that contrary to what Goebbels said, you cannot lie your way to the truth. At least not on this site at this time. The true scientists on this site have demonstrated that they are not going to sit idly by and let you scam artists take away our freedoms and wealth without some reasonable resistance. You should actually thank the truth tellers on this site, for they are doing their best to preserve what little freedoms we have left.

Ever since the Internet and virtual technology has become so prevalent, people think they can just click a few buttons and skim a few paragraphs to become an expert on a given subject. There is too much mass thinking and not enough deep critical thinking. There needs to be more across the board research done on various topics, and both sides of the argument need to be thoroughly analyzed in order to be considered properly researched. Additionally, there needs to be adequate footnotes and citations, so that people know where the factual references are coming from. Without these, one's argument is just more unproven bias in the constant stream of petty opinions.

well, it's just like Rush Limbaugh claiming to be right and only needing half his brain as he points out 'lies' or books about the Bible saying they have 'the truth' or Conservapedia claiming it is 'trustworthy' or Fox claiming it is 'fair and balanced', and so on. The Conservative Clan sticks together and will only accept 'info' from other conservatives as if that makes them experts and everyone else, including over 90% of scientists, are wrong.

That's not unusual for people to cheat if they can get away with it, and if they have a strong motive for doing so. Take Franz Boncodin, for example. This guy claims to be a scientist, but without any credentials. Motive: money. He's a scammer. Google his name and you'll see what I mean.

Good question. Why do they? I have noticed that alarmists claim to be experts on the climate yet they sure got it wrong the last 18 plus years when it hasn't been warming. They claim that "scientists" suggest that humans are bad and are going to cause catastrophic warming yet all I see are wild claims of consensus from leftwing blogs. The climate is complex and that is why many of us are skeptical of claims coming from people that don't have a very good track record.

It took me a couple of months of hard work (on top of a scientific PhD program) to feel that I had a good enough understanding of global warming to have a valid opinion. That's just one more reason the folks you're referring to torque my jaws.

Partly because that's what our schools are teaching students to do. Partly because conservatives (deniers are conservatives, almost entirely) don't look for information to make a decision. They look for texts to support a predefined idea or doctrine -- and THEIR schools teach them to ignore anything that does not support their ideology.

Just check denialism. FOX news says it's global cooling, then all the deniers unquestionable believe that to be the case. Forget about the dataset from NASA and NOAA.

Yes, and what's really stupid is when people like Maxx act like they would know whether a tipping point has been passed or not. I wonder just what he knows about bifurcation theory.

I agree - people who believe so-called "global warming" is real need to get off of google and learn what science really is. Science isn't about the number of people who vote if something is real, it isn't how strongly you believe something is real, it isn't something that fits your political views.

Science is gaining the knowlege to understand the relationship between co2 and temps, which as today is unknown. And since no one knows if it will be warmer or colder in 5 years and show how they came to their conclusion, global warming isn't real science.