This repository contains a number of blog posts on various aspects of unknowns. Integration and Implementation Insights (also known as i2Insights) is a community weblog (blog) for sharing methods, frameworks, processes, concepts, theories and competencies to better understand and act on complex societal and environmental problems (problems like refugee crises, global climate change, and inequality).

The purpose of this publication is to provide the background rationale and support for WHO's working paper Dealing with uncertainty – how can the precautionary principle help protect the future of our children?, prepared for the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health held in Budapest, Hungary, in June 2004. The debate around the precautionary principle has provided many insights into how to improve public health decision-making under conditions of uncertainty.

Saltelli A. (2022). Reckoning with uncertainty, social sciences lessons for mathematical modelling. In Dhersin, J-S., Kaper, H., Ndifon, W., Roberts, F., Rousseau, C. and Ziegler, G. M. (Editors), Mathematics for action: supporting science-based decision-making, UNESCO [62236]. (Online)

Mathematical models can serve society well, as in the example of meteorological forecast models. But not all models are useful. Simple rules can benefit both models and their relationship with society. Model results are conditional on modeling assumptions. The potential outcomes that models project depend on the assumptions they make. Even the best models are affected by uncertainties that aren’t always easy to recognize, understand, acknowledge, or communicate. Opacity about uncertainty damages trust. Modelers need to more effectively and transparently communicate the proper uses and limitations of their models to decision-makers and the public. Likewise, modelers need to communicate an appreciation for, and the public needs to accept, what the numbers in those models really mean and do not mean.