Is There a Meta Model for Climate Change?

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"It's a model in just the same way that the climate models are. So I care as you and your husband, my friend Chris,. no, I care a lot about the climate, other species and the environment." "I know that the broader system involves things like debt and currencies and aggregate human behavior," he says. 'All of these things are likely to play a larger role in our future than concern and understanding about climate change'

On this episode, Dr. Erica Thompson joins Nate to unpack her recent book Escape From Model Land. Erica explores the pitfalls of conventional science models and the opportunities by which models can augment our imagination and collective understanding. What is a model, and how do our worldviews shape the way they’re made - and conversely, how do they shape our worldviews? How can we rethink and bring creativity into something as scientific as modeling to create maps of the future that are both more accurate and - most importantly - more helpful to planning responses?

About Eric Thompson:

Dr Erica Thompson is a Senior Policy Fellow at the LSE Data Science Institute, where she works on a broad programme of theoretical and practical research about mathematical models, their use, interpretation and social context. She recently authored Escape From Model Land (Basic Books, 2022) which explores the opportunities and challenges of augmenting our imagination about the future with mathematical tools.

For Show Notes and More visit https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/55-erica-thompson