The story of King Canute, who lived from about 944 to 1035, serves as a lesson for leaders of today. Especially in regard to understanding the power of nature, and, yes, scientific understanding.
Canute, a legendary Viking leader, became King of England in 1016, King of Denmark in 1018 and King of Norway in 1028. He also was ruler over Scotland. He died in England, at a place called Shaftsbury. His bones are in Winchester Cathedral.
According to legend, Canute was plagued with Courtiers (companions and advisors) who continually told the king that he was lord of all of his realm, including the oceans. He was apparently advised that he, as King of England, was entitled to sit on the ocean without getting wet. He was also advised that he could command the oceans and the oceans would have to obey.
King Canute, being more aware of the way the world really is than his group of sycophant followers, is reported to have vigorously ordered his kingly chair to be taken to the seashore before the tide was due to come in. What happened next was reported about 30 years after Canute's death by Henry of Huntingdon in "Chronicle."
When the tide began to rise, the king spoke to the rising sea. He told the sea, "You are part of my dominion, and the ground that I am seated upon is mine, nor has anyone disobeyed my orders with impunity. Therefore, I order you not to rise onto my land, nor to wet the clothes or body of your Lord".
The tide continued to rise, much to the surprise of his lesser government officials and advisors (Courtiers). The ocean violated his orders, ignored his implied threats and the tide continued to rise. In fact the water rolled in under his royal chair and soaked his royal feet and legs.
As he moved back towards his kingly residence, Canute is reported to have said: "All the inhabitants of the world should know that the power of kings is vain and trivial, and that none is worthy the name of king but He whose command the heaven, earth and sea obey by eternal laws". He is also reported to have ceased wearing the royal crown. Instead, King Canute placed the crown "above a picture of the Lord nailed to the cross, turning it forever into a means to praise God, the great king."
Fast forward to last November and December to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France.
The Paris Agreement was a consensus of representatives of 196 parties, including 195 countries. Basically, the result was a non-binding agreement (for what a non-binding agreement is actually worth) to reduce "greenhouse gases" close to the levels of about 1760 before machinery, steam power, factory growth and manufactured items. Or what some may think they were, pretending that the Medieval Warming Period (about 950 to 1250 A.D.) and the Little Ice Age (about 1300 to 1870 A.D.) did not exist.
These leaders apparently did not take seriously the statement of George Santayana, who said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." As a result, they ignore King Canute's statement "All the inhabitants of the world should know that the power of kings is vain and trivial..." and that nature is not under human control.
The understanding of science also seems to be sorely lacking in these leaders, since computer programmers and group consensus are taken more seriously than the actual Scientific Method.
No computer application can possibly have all of the relevant scientific information needed to predict the future climate in its programming, since no human actually knows all of the relevant scientific information needed for that prediction. When I was programming, it was called "Garbage in, garbage out."
"Group consensus" about scientific matters is even more problematical, as is evident from the actions of Pope Urban VIII regarding Galileo in the 1630s. The consensus of the Pope and the College of Cardinals was that the Aristotle's earth-centered theory of the universe was "settled science." Galileo, in supporting Copernicus' sun-centered theory, was found guilty of heresy and sentenced to life in house arrest. It took 200 years, but Galileo's scientific research became the "working theory," which is as close as anything can come to being "settled science." Since science itself is skepticism, always looking for more facts, new facts can at anytime bring about a new hypothesis. Then there is a new working theory, which is only the latest among many.
It is possible the story of King Canute is only a myth. But it is certainly no more of a myth than the idea that world leaders assembled in Paris could actually affect any "climate change" of the natural world with a "non-binding agreement."