-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Richard Harris wrote: > I've seen models which could require hundreds of pages to fully describe > and required massive supercomputers to run. At the end of they day, if > you can't explain something, what's the point?
This is an excellent point and is the primary cause for much angst and hand-wringing (as well as pompous diatribes about things like parsimony, over-parameterization, validation and verification, etc.) in the simulation community. At the end of the day, there's only one reason to develop models: to help you think. Models do not predict, explain, or describe (or any other verb) the real world. _People_ predict, explain, and describe. Models are like rocks or trees. They're just more stuff meandering about in the ambient goo around us. As such, I (a person believe it or not ;-) can use a rock to predict some phenomenon. Or I can use a model to predict some phenomenon. So, the basic answer to your question: "If you can't explain something, what's the point?" Well, the point has to be derived from whoever is using the model. If the person is attempting to explain something with a model, then if the model doesn't help the _person_ explain that thing, then it's a misuse of the model. Likewise, if a person is attempting to predict something with a model and the model doesn't help the person predict anything, then it's a misuse of the model. Models are thinking tools, nothing more nor less. - -- glen e. p. ropella, 971-219-3846, http://tempusdictum.com ... given any rule, however "fundamental" or "necessary" for science, there are always circumstances when it is advisable not only to ignore the rule, but to adopt its opposite. -- Paul Feyerabend -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGgqpmZeB+vOTnLkoRAuVmAJ4hZzBX+wwOJQ/YOnF3pfQQRBBXnQCg2Cnb cDL+pDzThosA0DZbClzFpII= =/9bE -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
