Meaningful climate science

Abstract Within the climate science community, useable has been understood as quantitative, usually a best estimate together with quantified uncertainty. Physical scientists are trained to produce numbers and draw general, abstract conclusions. In however, people relate much better stories events they have experienced, which inevitably contingent particular. Sheila Jasanoff argued elsewhere that process of abstraction in “detaches knowledge from meaning”. Perhaps is, then, meaningful science. We argue here development can be achieved by adopting storyline approach variability change. By ‘storyline’ we mean physically self-consistent unfolding past or plausible future pathways. Storylines represent combination qualitative quantitative information, where element represents packaging contextualization aspects, ensures data meaningfully interpreted. Viewed this perspective, show physical storylines aligned several well-established vehicles for translation between diverse communities: narratives, boundary objects, journeys. They therefore used ‘pidgin language’ enrich set tools available bring meaning knowledge. “And what is use book”, thought Alice, “without pictures conversations?” (Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures Wonderland).