Why does Pat ask questions when he does not want to learn anything?

It's called disinformation. He wants to create the impression of unsettled science. This gives cover to those who prefer to deny the realities, because it's more comfortable that way. Like biblical literalists who've "heard somewhere" that the science demonstrating evolution has been questioned; so it has, but the questions have been answered.

For a catalogue of all the usual "questions" about the fact of AGW, and how they've been answered, see among other sources Chs 8, 15 of From Stars to Stalagmites, http://www.worldscibooks.com/popsci/7953.html

I haven't seen enough of Pat's stuff to know if he's a paid node, or an enthusiastic amateur, although excessive blocking suggests the latter.

<<Is is better to confront stupid people or ignore them?>>

IMO, that depends on the level of ignorance/stupidity and their potential influence in this section.

Pat is dishonest, lies, distorts and on top of all that he has no clue whatsoever what he is talking about. He cannot even understand typical denier myths, he has a hard time understanding Marc Morano's idiotic writings as a result of which he mixes them all up.

He cannot even get denier myths right so imagine how his overall expertise on the issue is.

And when he doesn't like an answer (which is 80% of the time I reckon), instead of trying to build a better argument for his position (ie, through research and by providing links), he simply blocks the person he doesn't agree with. He blocked me again last night: "You are the problem Gringo. Welcome to the land of the blocked again."

Hint to Yahoo: when a user blocks someone from participating in questions, that should not apply to past questions. Now we have Pat addressing my added details (with more nonsense) to which I no longer can respond within that question.

I for one will report this block/unblock behaviour of Pat, particularly when he does it by blocking someone who he specifically addresses in a question and who he thus censors.

Returning to your original question, I believe it is better to confront persons such as Pat when their rantings and idiocy are so overwhelming as is the current case. If one ignores that, eventually people will believe the craziest things.

Edit antarticice:

<< I saw a comment from Gringo..>>

After signing up in July, he immediately blocked me. How do I know? Because I was very little online in July due to personal circumstances and almost completely inactive in August and never had the 'pleasure' of discussing with him. When I finally moved to a new home and got an internet connection up again (only last monday) I became active again, only to find out that this new user called 'Pat' had blocked me.

That's a pre-emptive block. Censorship.

He does seem to subscribe to the usual "it's from the IPCC or UN so I don't trust it" crowd

He also seems to block people for no real reason, I saw a comment from Gringo the other day that said he had been blocked without ever actually answering a pat question.

I was blocked as well, but that seems to have been removed, but I note he still won't answer points and dismissing data from real sources as unreliable while quoting blogs as sources would also seem pretty standard denier behavior.

Actually strike the comment about being unblocked, it seems I am blocked again, I guess the answers got to hard for him to deal with so he went back to the jello solution.

I have recently come to the conclusion that it's better to ignore them. Or at least ignore their rants and raves. It's good to post in their threads attempting to explain the science. not for their sake of course. But for the sake of others who may come across the question and have more of a level head than the original poster.

Of course this sort of thing does not work for people who rant against communism and dictatorships and what not and then proceed to silence all those that think otherwise by blocking them.

Edit: He just blocked my again too. And I was actually being nice to him AGAIN and he does this. When he hears things he doesn't like, such as actual science, from our side he attempts to silence us while, at the same time, inflammatory posts from people that agree with him are kept on,.And they are the ones wanting 'greater freedom' and what not then they go and do this. Rio, Peter J, and I'm sure a few others have blocked me as well. My profile is open to everyone as are my questions.

His questions are as bogus as Ottawa Mike's copy-pastes from WattsUP, only dumber and so far numbering only in the dozens instead of thousands.

"Is is better to confront stupid people or ignore them?"

Absolutely, given that most of the denialist regulars here are not just stupid, but arrogant motormouth liars to boot: block them, ignore them, and try to salvage a portion of the category as a non-sabotaged location (without their dishonest disruptions) for Q & A on global warming. This has been my position all along, I'm glad to see that a few realists here are finally starting to see glimmers of light on this. You don't "win" by arguments that brilliantly expose the stupidity and dishonesty of the 4th rate copy cats of Crichton / Watts / Nova / Koch Brothers. REGARDLESS of how you "argue" with these nutbars, THEY win no matter what, simply by steering YA pages away from reality and towards their cookie-cutter tricks and lies. I have not seen one of their pieces of anti-science crap out of a hundred that has not -at least in some close variant if not verbatim- already been definitively rebutted (e.g. on skepticalscience.org, not to mention mountains of peer-review REAL science) YEARS ago.

Pat is just the latest example of hundreds showing what a sick joke this whole category is. To see what an absurd and extreme charade is going on here, try to imagine people putting up -for YEARS!- with a third of the posts in the YA History category being from hardcore anti-semitic deniers of the Holocaust!

Don't feed the anti-science trolls here.

Block, ignore, move on !

... ... ...

Confront them, or else they think their versions of events are "believed" by all. Also there's some power in community in knowing there are others of a like mind.

Some people are just like that.

I'd rather not get involved, otherwise I too would be on his level.

You guys take yourself so seriously you probably couldn't get through 7:39 of brilliant comedy because he's talking about people like you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjmtSkl53h4

Because he is testing you. You are an unscientific blow hard and your responses to his questions prove it.

Gringo: The bible says, "Do not cast your pearls before swine." That is his only way of not casting his intelligence before you. Other than vicious but entertaining put downs, you haven't contributed a gnat's eyebrow worth of intellect to this forum.