  We report the results of an exploratory study that examines the judgments of
climate scientists, climate policy experts, astrophysicists, and non-experts (N
= 3,367) about the factors that contribute to the creation and persistence of
disagreement within climate science and astrophysics. We found that, as
compared to educated non-experts, climate experts believe that there is less
disagreement within climate science about climate change and that
methodological factors and personal or institutional biases play less
significant roles in generating existing disagreements than is commonly
reported or assumed. We also found that, commensurate with the greater inherent
uncertainty and data lacunae in their field, astrophysicists working on cosmic
rays were generally more willing to acknowledge expert disagreement, more open
to the idea that a set of data can have multiple valid interpretations, and
generally less quick to dismiss someone articulating a non-standard view as
non-expert, than climate scientists.
