An engineer, a mathematician, and a geologist interview for a job. The manager asks the mathematician:
Whats 2+2? He answers 4. Manager says, thank you, we’ll let you know.
Next interview he asks the engineer:
What’s 2+2? Engineer answers 4.0. Manager says we’ll let you know.
He asks the geologist:
What’s 2+2? The geologist leans over and whispers across the desk, “What do you need it to be?”
Hired.
This is exactly what happens in so-called climate science, and clearly epidemiology.
100%
However, a proper response to 2+2=4 is not “It depends on whether the 2’s are accurate. They could be 6’s.”