07-06-2009, 05:41 PM
Quote:That's why the models need to be precise and the parameters fed in to be exact (and exactly right). Otherwise, the model is just an Etch-A-Sketch -- a complex method to draw what you want drawn.If the system really was chaotic, then sensitive dependence on initial conditions would make what you just said impossible, no?
I think you're overstating the case for a chaotic system here. We might not be able to predict the precise effects of any forcing, but are you really saying that we don't even know that doubling atmospheric CO2 concentrations would cause warming, to within a few degrees Celsius, at least?
-Jester