Tok - a Model

A model is a simplified representation of some aspect of the world. In what ways may models help or hinder the search for knowledge?

It is often difficult to grasp certain knowledge within a subject. There can be so many laws or variables that need to be considered that a brute-force approach will simply not be sufficient enough in understanding something. So this is where models come in and prove themselves useful. Models are often representations that help simplify a complex aspect of the world, whilst still incorporating much of the knowledge within that aspect. Thus, models seem to help our understanding and search for more knowledge. Nonetheless, it can also be argued that these models, which at first may seem as the key to further knowledge, actually hinder our search for it.

Models are used in various fields. In natural sciences, a good example of a model can be found in physics. Natural gases are influenced by many factors such as pressure, temperature and volume; and a change in each affects the properties of the molecules that make up the gas. To help us explain the changes a gas might undergo due any of these factors, an ideal gas model has been created. With this we can easily understand and predict how a gas acts in different environments; for example that if a gas is under high pressure, the molecules gain more energy leading to an increase in temperature of the gas. In effect, this model allows for easy access to knowledge within this aspect. Additionally, human sciences too have models. The economic model of comparative advantage founded by David Ricardo in 1817 allows economists to judge in which good a country should specialize. It works of the principle that a country should export, and thus specialize, in those goods that it can produce at lower costs relative to the other countries also in competition of those goods. Both models in either area of knowledge provide a good foundation of the knowledge required to predict outcomes within...