Low Pressure Systems for Dummies

diagram of a low pressure system

When it comes to freelancing on the internet, many a money-grubber quickly realized the need for a pseudonym. Perhaps it was so the boss wouldn't figure out that they were gigging on company time, or maybe so prospective employers wouldn't google them and find out that they were dumber than dirt. A favorite technique was to use one's first name and phonetically spell the initial of the last name (see Annette Vee or Cheryl Ess). The researcher who turned up today's DotD says he'd use fake name, too, if he were as uninformed as Vee Enne (real name Victoria Nicks) turned out to be in "What Happens When the Barometric Pressure Falls?" which you can find at Sciencing.com.

Right up front, as any middle-schooler who remembers that general science course can tell you, when the pressure falls it's probably gonna rain. Se we searched (in vain) through Enne's post, and we found no mention of "rain," "storm" or "precipitation." So what did Vee have to say? Well, this:

Enne opened by defining barometric pressure, which she says "takes its name from the barometer": that claim's hard to defend, since the word "barometer" is simply a construct of the Greek words for "measure" and "weight." She then sideswiped the real answer by saying, "There are several different types of weather phenomena that are associated with a fall in barometric pressure. One weather system that results in lower barometric pressure is a low pressure trough, which is a long area of low barometric pressure." Besides being circular, Vee confused cause and effect here... Enne then explained that "...wind can also contribute to a fall in air pressure. When the wind blows moist air into an area, the air pressure in that area will drop in response to the change..." which, again, confuses cause and effect

Though perhaps competent when it comes to articles about computer networks, a field in which Vee Enne claims to have training, it's quite clear that she knows nothing about meteorology. Not only did Enne fail to provide the simple answer wanted by the OQ, she also misinterpreted most of what she copied from other sources. Those two things are exactly what our researchers look for in a Dumbass of the Day candidate. We won't mention that she deserves another one for that stupid pseudonym!

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