Beautiful, elegant models March 27, 2014
Posted by mareserinitatis in engineering, geology, physics, research.Tags: engineering, interdisciplinary research, modelling, models, simulations
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I’m interested in the different uses of the word model. Of course, the most common reference (outside of science and engineering) is to someone who wears expensive clothes. Upon encountering such a model, most of us in the sciences and engineering wonder how they could charge so much for so little fabric.
In science and engineering, however, I’m discovering that I don’t like the use of the word because it’s ubiquitous and therefore nearly useless. The problem I’ve run into is that everyone uses it but not necessarily for the same things. In one field (or to one person), it means the equations describing a phenomenon. In another field, it’s a computational model incorporating those equations in a specific configuration. In yet a third field, it can describe a computational framework. Then there are models that are simple calculations to describe inputs and outputs of a system. And finally, I’ve also heard someone refer to it as a non-quantitative description of a process.
I’m slowly realizing that a model depends on what you and your field emphasize. It’s used to describe an abstraction or an idea of the process, but what you’re describing as a model is extremely dependent on your training.
I think I may go back to using it to describe the walking mannequin.
I also blog at Engineer Blogs, home away from home to some of the best engineering blogs.
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