This week I chose models because beneath societal blindness, misuse of authority, blurred boundaries, and overreach in enforcement lies something deeper: the models we use to interpret reality. Scientific models work because they approximate patterns in the world—but problems arise when we forget they are approximations. When explanations harden into identities, when frameworks are treated as reality itself, humility disappears and correction becomes nearly impossible. This week’s piece explores why models are necessary, why they work even when they aren’t literally true, and why remembering that the map is not the territory may be the quiet discipline that holds everything else together.
A few more minutes for core takeaways.
This week:
Models.
Models explain reality without being reality.
Here are the six core takeaways that forged the depths of this week’s column.
1.
Alfred Korzybski
Born 1879.
Lived from 1879 to 1950, aged 70
Clarity begins when we remember that our beliefs are models, not reality itself. When we hold our maps lightly — testing, refining, and revising them — we think more clearly and argue less blindly.
2.
“We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe.”
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
- 1858
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. reminded us that we are not forged in a vacuum. We are born into a family with a family view, and into a society with a societal view. Long before we can choose our own beliefs, we inherit them. Our traditions, our education, and our early experiences shape how the world first makes sense to us. In this very real way, we are products of our upbringing.
3.
Why do scientific models work if they aren’t literally true?
Scientific models work because they structure aspects of reality like key relationships, variables, and components. Over time, models are refined, expanded, or superseded, not because science fails, but because science progresses models by improving maps, not by claiming direct access to reality.
4.
Why do people confuse explanations with reality?
Humility sharpens perception. When we remember that our models are lenses rather than the world itself, we become less defensive, more curious, and more capable of refinement.
5.
Is the Split in the Idea of Ideas the Same as Kant’s?
Humility begins when we recognize two things at once: we never access reality without interpretation, and not all interpretations are equal. The discipline is not to abandon frameworks, but to sort them carefully — testing which are anchored, which are structured, and which drift untethered.
6.
How did Copernicus show both the power and limits of models?
Copernicus teaches us that replacing one model with a better one is not an admission of past foolishness, but a sign of intellectual growth. The power of a model lies in its explanatory strength; its limit lies in the fact that it is still a representation.
That’s it. The end.