Current international programs of global planetary change research overemphasize the role of analysis as manifested in the idealized predictions of mathematical models, a strategy that contains potential flaws both scientifically and as a matter of public policy. Similar methodological problems have impeded progress in understanding the catastrophic processes that affect landforms and landscapes at various spatial scales. An increased emphasis on synthetic scientific reasoning through the use of natural indexical signs can provide a more balanced scientific approach to advancing understanding in both these areas.

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