Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Models are an integral part of the scientific process, subject to all the standards and controls that apply to other scientific approaches like laboratory experiments, or long-term observation and measurement. Popular misconceptions about models abound, though, and probably the most pernicious is that models are inherently unreliable because whoever makes them can manipulate the inputs and relationships so that the model gives them the answer they want. Now that’s not how real scientific modeling works, of course, but the misconception is widespread.
If you have that misconception, you’re going to be more vulnerable to false claims that climate models aren’t reliable.This is one of the arguments that people who are trying to cast doubt on climate science use.
For Earth Day 2021, we've decided to talk to our good friend, John Cook, Research Fellow at the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, about how best to tackle the misconceptions surrounding climate models, and climate change generally.
Models are an integral part of the scientific process, subject to all the standards and controls that apply to other scientific approaches like laboratory experiments, or long-term observation and measurement. Popular misconceptions about models abound, though, and probably the most pernicious is that models are inherently unreliable because whoever makes them can manipulate the inputs and relationships so that the model gives them the answer they want. Now that’s not how real scientific modeling works, of course, but the misconception is widespread.
If you have that misconception, you’re going to be more vulnerable to false claims that climate models aren’t reliable.This is one of the arguments that people who are trying to cast doubt on climate science use.
For Earth Day 2021, we've decided to talk to our good friend, John Cook, Research Fellow at the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, about how best to tackle the misconceptions surrounding climate models, and climate change generally.
