Reply to comments by G. Shanmugam (2015) and A. J. (Tom) van Loon (2015) on “3D palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Phanerozoic versus sea-level and Sr-ratio variations”

摘要

Abstract I use to say that in science, one cannot say what is right, but one can say what is wrong. And a model is, by definition, wrong, otherwise it is not a model, it is the truth. Being aware that a model aims to mimic the truth but will never be the truth, the only worth questions asking to a model are: (1) How wrong are we? And (2) Why are we wrong? The latter questions the foundations of the model, and is mainly the concerns of A. J. (Tom) van Loon's comments (2015, this issue). The first questions the accuracy of the outcomes, and corresponds more to G. Shanmugam's comments (2015, this issue). I am glad that our paper has aroused so rapidly as much feedbacks and comments, sometimes even before the manuscript is definitely published. We hope this paper will keep on inspiring various axes of research and opening new avenues in geosciences. Detailed answers to the comments raised by A. J. (Tom) van Loon and G. Shanmugam among others would certainly deserve a book, so my reply will just focus herein around the two aforementioned questions.