Researchers studying Earth’s biosphere operate within three distinct scientific cultures: variance, exactitude, and coarse-grained. These cultures, which focus on observing details, using models with fine detail, and focusing on underlying principles, respectively, have been operating independently from one another. However, integrating these cultures could accelerate biosphere science and lead to a deeper understanding of the planet’s sustainability.
The lag in developing a predictive science of the biosphere is attributed to unresolved tension between the three scientific cultures. This tension limits the progress of science, the depth of understanding, and the ability to make predictions. By merging these cultures, synthetic, synergistic, and integrated science can address increasingly complex problems and lead to more effective predictions supported by data.
The theory of evolution serves as an example of successful integration of scientific cultures. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace combined variance culture with general principles to develop the theory of evolution. This theory was later elaborated with models and modern computing by the exactitude culture, leading to the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis. Integrating these cultures can challenge assumptions, refine predictions, and guide new data collection.
To move towards integration, the biosphere science community can engage more with historians of science, increase outreach, workshops, undergraduate courses, awards, and funding on transculturalism in science. Scientific journals can promote papers that transcend not just disciplines, but cultures as well. Breaking down artificial academic and intellectual barriers can lead to rapid, revolutionary, and urgently needed scientific progress in biosphere science.
By embracing all three scientific cultures and integrating them, biosphere scientists can advance their understanding of the planet’s sustainability and address the big problems of the 21st century. Reconnecting these cultures and promoting collaboration will lead to more effective predictions, deeper insights, and innovative solutions. It is essential for informing practitioners and policymakers in addressing the challenges facing the Earth’s biosphere.
