When asked this question at a social function, I am normally a bit hesitant at first to give a response, as the outcomes are generally predictable. When I answer that I am a student studying climatology the responses from people are normally:
- Oh, so you are going to become a weatherman. By the way, why do they keep getting it wrong? Or,
- So, do you believe global warming / climate change is real?
The first question is quite straightforward to address, namely the difference between climatology (the study of climate) and meteorology (the study of weather). I follow this up with some explanations on how some of the models work and how weather has a stochastic component to it. That generally satisfies the person, and the topic changes.
The second is a bit more challenging. I am beginning to understand that although many people are aware of global warming or climate change, they do not understand them in much detail. However, when I start talking to people about them, they start to show a genuine interest in the topics. The thing is that at this point, the conversation rarely stays with one person, and soon I find myself explaining things to a not so small group of interested people. The conversation can get heated when people debate alternative sources behind global warming with me. I am always amazed at how fast the conversation goes from a discussion of occupations between two people, to a group debate.
One unintended benefit of these situations, is that I have had to become better at managing group debates. At first it was awkward, but now it’s getting much easier to ensure that everyone gets a turn and has their question answered to some degree. It’s a far cry from my days studying computer science, when everyone knew what a programmer did, as they invariably had a brother, uncle, or friend who was one. As a student studying climatology, I am generally alone in my field at most functions. But, being the local expert in an area and being able to answer questions from many people, is an immensely satisfying feeling.
cbrodrick
How about the question: “Well, tell me how global warming can be real if we’re experiencing the coldest winter in three decades”. I find various versions of this question get asked a lot, which I try to answer by explaining natural variability – although this seldom settles the debate (and I don’t think that’s due to my inability to describe natural variability and other factors!)
Contrary to, say, computer programming, perhaps because everyone who ventures outside at some point in their lives has experienced weather, they feel that they are in a position to comment/participate in a debate about most things climate- and/or weather-related.
Nkulumo
I still routinely get the “blank” facial expression from my friends along with “oh…that sounds like a weatherman to me” each time i try to explain away the weatherman tag…don’t even start with the climate change debates.