“It’s Only A Model”

| ˈmädl | A schematic description or representation of something, especially a system or phenomenon, that accounts for its properties and is used to study its characteristics.

 

“The map is not the territory.” (A. Korzybski, 1933) A model is not the thing or things it is intended to represent. This means that every model will be an imperfect representation.

“All models are wrong, but some are useful.” (G. Box, 1976) Models can be used for specific or general purposes and are inherently context-sensitive to those purposes. For example, reusing a model intended for teaching a concept may or may not be helpful as one intended to demonstrate an example of a concept.

If you came to this page via a link from elsewhere, it’s likely because the author of elsewhere would like to acknowledge these characteristics (limitations, uses, etc.) of models in whatever context they found themselves in.