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MENTAL MODEL · M13260

Models in Science

Models in Science
TechnicalHigh supportScientific Methodology
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Updated 2026-09-10

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Models occupy a central place in many sciences: the cosmological inflation model, general circulation models of climate, the DNA double helix, evolutionary models in biology, agent-based models in the social sciences, and general equilibrium models of markets. A model stands in a representational relation to a target system, isolating a few relevant factors while deliberately distorting or ignoring the rest.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

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- Controlled simplification: keep only a few relevant factors so a complex system becomes derivable. - Transfer by analogy: translate conclusions inside the model back to the target system. - Run substitutes: probe different settings on the model in place of infeasible real experiments.

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Anchor fast decisions

A model yields knowledge because it stands in a relation of similarity or isomorphism to the target, so what is derived inside it can be translated back. At the same time the model is deliberately simplified: it keeps a few relevant factors and drops the rest, and this controlled falseness is exactly what makes a complex system computable and understandable.

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Source support: Explicit

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    plato.stanford.eduhttps://plato.stanford.edu/entries/models-science/ZH · Explicit
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