How do we know what we think we know?

Thread Started on Dec 7, 2009

Hat tip to Hans von Storch for pointing out this comment in the Climategate emails. It was sent by paleoclimatologist Ed Cook to the CRU's Keith Briffa, outlining his opinions on the current (2003) state of knowledge of past temperatures:

The results of this study will show that we can probably say a fair bit about <100>100 year variability was like with any certainty (i.e. we know with certainty that we know fuck-all).

Read that carefully people. We know a fair bit about the temperatures in the last 100 years, but only for the extra-tropics. Before that, we know nothing. Nothing.

Nothing.

Read the whole email here http://www.eastangliaemails.com/emails.php?eid=356&filename=1062592331.txt. It's astonishing."