Science needs to address its imagination problem - lives depend on it

Hannah Cloke is a writer.

ImagINATION is a powerful human trait that distinguishes us from other animals. Your brain automatically conjures up a rich tableau of images and ideas when you read the wordcircus. You don't need to be a clown to know that imagination is important in science.

The birth of new ideas is required for the advancement of this domain. Einstein claimed that imagination was more important than knowledge in his theories. The point of science is that it allows you to see the future, to look round corners, to extend the capability of human insight, and when researchers test ideas against reality, imagination is hardwired into the process. imagination in science is alive and well.

It has an imagination problem. I gave evidence to two state-level inquiries into the July 2021 floods in Germany. The inquiries are looking into why so many people died in the rain that was forecast several days in advance.