Category Archives: The scientific method

The Neoclassical Economics of Climate Change

Posted on June 28, 2020 by

I thought I would advertise a post by Steve Keen, that may be of interest to some of my regular readers. It’s about Neoclassical Economics of Climate Change and is extremely criticial of the assumptions used to drive Integrated Assessment … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, economics, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 39 Comments

A modelling manifesto?

Posted on June 27, 2020 by

There’s a recent Nature comment lead by Andrea Saltelli called Five ways to ensure that models serve society: a manifesto. Gavin Schmnidt has already posted a Twitter thread about it. I largerly agree with Gavin’s points and thought I would … Continue reading →

Posted in ClimateBall, Philosophy for Bloggers, Research, Scientists, Sound Science (tm), The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 73 Comments

Extreme event attribution and the nature-culture duality

Posted on June 19, 2020 by

I’ve been reading a paper by Shannon Osaka and Rob Bellamy called Weather in the Anthropocene: Extreme event attribution and a modelled nature–culture divide. I’ve written about event attribution before, and I’m largely in favour of the storyline approach; given … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Environmental change, Global warming, Philosophy for Bloggers, Severe Events, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , | 138 Comments

The Imperial College code

Posted on May 16, 2020 by

The Imperial College code, the results from which are thought to have changed the UK government’s coronavirus policy, has been available for a while now on github. Since being made available, it’s received criticism from some quarters, as discussed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Research, Scientists, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , , | 609 Comments

Outgoing longwave radiation

Posted on April 30, 2020 by

Something that often strikes me is that when I think I understand something quite well, there often turns out to be an aspect that I haven’t understood particularly well. I sometimes think that this is can be an important thing … Continue reading →

Posted in Global warming, Greenhouse effect, Philosophy for Bloggers, The philosophy of science, The scientific method, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 37 Comments

Models

Posted on April 12, 2020 by

I have a feeling that our response to this pandemic may lead to some reflections on the role of scientific models in the decision making process. I would normally err on the side of defending scientific advisors, but I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy for Bloggers, Research, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , , | 461 Comments

Stay in your own lane?

Posted on April 3, 2020 by

Even though there are scientists who have the kind of expertise that might help us to better understand this pandemic, there’s a tendency to suggest that it would probably be best if they stayed in their own lane. Although I … Continue reading →

Posted in Contrarian Matrix, Philosophy for Bloggers, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , | 250 Comments

Responsible SciComm

Posted on March 25, 2020 by

Yesterday, a group in Oxford released a paper that implied that a signifcant fraction of those in the UK may already have been infected. This was quickly picked up by numerous media outlets who highlighted that coronavirus could already have … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 114 Comments

A physicist for president?

Posted on March 19, 2020 by

Jim Al’Khalili has an article in Scientific American called [a] physicist for president? Jim is a physicist, so he’s probably being somewhat provactive. Also, he’s mostly arguing for someone who applies the scientific method to thinking and decision-making and is … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, physicists, Politics, Scientists, The scientific method, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 51 Comments

Andrew Dessler rebuts Roy Spencer

Posted on March 16, 2020 by

Most of the focus at the moment is rightly on the coronavirus. Since I have no relevant expertise whatsoever, all I’ll say is that I hope everyone is doing their best to stay safe, and listening to the advice that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Policy, Roy Spencer, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , | 67 Comments