Uncomfortable knowledge
Posted on March 3, 2021 by curryja
by Judith Curry
On the misuse of science and scientific authority.
The latest issue of The Breakthrough Journal is a tour de force. Excerpts from the Introduction to the issue:
Donald Rumsfeld famously opined on the problems of decision-making in the face of “known knowns,†“known unknowns†and “unknown unknowns.†To those three categories Rayner added a fourth, “unknown knowns†— the things we actually know but pretend we don’t. He called this “uncomfortable knowledge,†referring to all that policy makers and institutions forget in order to govern.
To some degree, banishing uncomfortable knowledge from the picture was unavoidable, Rayner argued. Faced with a world of irreducible complexity, humans must construct simplified versions of reality in order to act. But when institutions are unable to integrate uncomfortable knowledge into policy making, the consequences can be grave. This is true not just with regard to short-term policy outcomes, but also to the long-term credibility of the institutions.
https://judithcurry.com/2021/03/03/uncomfortable-knowledge/#more-27179
