Very much do not concur. So easy to criticize, so difficult to be imaginative.
:/
Imagination is nice and all but what does that have to do with objective reality? What you can picture in your mind is hardly relevant to what is happening or not.
Do you really believe you hold the key to "objective" reality, and why?
Case in point: What do so-called ice 'area' and 'extent' (and 'volume'??) -- measured by various sensors, computed by various algorithms and models -- have to do with "objective" reality, exactly? What correlation is there with those measurements and what is really happening in the Arctic? If 2014 has identical area and extent (and ?) to some other year (take your pick), do you believe that nothing has changed since then? Or maybe it has changed from on the rocks to slushy? How confident are you in your knowledge?
To answer your question, this is the role of imagination: to think beyond what is currently understood, to see what might be, or at least have some chance to do so. But of course imagination often turns out to be wrong, so it takes some courage to voice it (unlike simply repeating accepted memes), which is why I made my comment. We need as much imagination as we can get, because we are entering, so to speak, uncharted waters...
Imho, There is a lot of backward-looking analysis here. Faux-science, I would call it. 99% of "scientists" just take measurements. But even in established scientific disciplines, those areas with well understood theories and methods -- unlike climate research -- even there the major advances are usually made by creative, outlandish people.
We are trying to assess a rapidly changing system, one which has repeatedly surprised even the most knowledgable observers. Is it then wise to rely on opaque measurements with poorly understood assumptions and limitations. Is that objective or is is simply conservative?
I am merely saying that perhaps we should not be too confident in anything and not be too quick to scoff at ideas that may be outside the box. But I've already said too much on a topic that perhaps does not fit this thread. I can almost feel the disdainful glare... (jk?).