Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
12
Beyond the Primer: Hypotheses,
Measurements and Models of
Everywhere
. . . although co-production involved both academic Scientists and local members becoming
scientists, there were still some roles, of retained expertise, that were left intact. The aca-
demic scientists, for instance, had to code the model and handle some of the large datasets
required by the model. Local scientists had detailed knowledge of particular places and
issues that a Scientist could not possibly bring to their work. The difference was that, in
theory, any of these elements could be subject to wider interrogation and the means by
which this interrogation happened was the practice of doing flood risk science and not only
discussing or debating scientific reports.
Stuart Lane
et al.
, 2011
Scientists have no monopoly on wisdom where this kind of trans-science is involved: they
will have to accommodate to the will of the public and its representatives. The republic of
trans-science, bordering as it does on both the political republic and the republic of science,
can be neither as pure as the latter nor as undisciplined as the former. The most science
can do is to inject some intellectual discipline into the republic of trans-science; politics in
an open society will surely keep it democratic.
Alvin Weinberg, 1972
12.1 Model Choice in Rainfall-Runoff Modelling as Hypothesis Testing
It should be apparent from the previous chapters that a very wide range of models are available to
any rainfall-runoff modelling application without any clear basis for making a choice between them.
