{"id":760,"date":"2018-04-04T17:29:06","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T17:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/labmath.org\/?p=760"},"modified":"2018-04-04T17:29:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T17:29:40","slug":"a-mathematical-model-makes-predictions-thats-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/?p=760","title":{"rendered":"A Mathematical Model Makes Predictions.  That\u2019s it."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It bugs me no end when I hear \u201cthe model shows\u2026\u201d\u00a0 In science evidence is the only thing that \u201cshows\u201d anything.\u00a0 The only thing worse is \u201cthe model proves\u2026\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s like asking for directions then turning to your passenger and saying \u201cthat proves it: the only way to get from here to there is that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I first heard of Solomon Wolf Golomb (1932- 2016) a few years ago. He was a mathematician, engineer, and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California.\u00a0 He invented polyominoes, the game that inspired Tetris, among other things.\u00a0 Here are four quotes from Dr. Golomb that I think are very useful when thinking about models, mathematical and otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t apply a model until you understand the simplifying assumptions on which it is based and can test their applicability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The purpose of notation and terminology should be to enhance insight and facilitate computation \u2013 not to impress or confuse the uninitiated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t expect that by having named a demon you have destroyed him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Distinguish at all times between the model and the real world.\u00a0 You will never strike oil by drilling through the map!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/labmath.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/golomb.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-766\" alt=\"golomb\" src=\"http:\/\/labmath.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/golomb-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/labmath.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/golomb-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/labmath.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/golomb.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top:20px;\">\n<p>Image from: &nbsp;  <a href=\"https:\/\/mathmunch.org\/2016\/05\/05\/solomon-golomb-rulers-and-52-master-pieces\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/mathmunch.org\/2016\/05\/05\/solomon-golomb-rulers-and-52-master-pieces\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Check out the man himself at:<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DZ24iQ26mis\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/DZ24iQ26mis<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It bugs me no end when I hear \u201cthe model shows\u2026\u201d\u00a0 In science evidence is the only thing that \u201cshows\u201d anything.\u00a0 The only thing worse is \u201cthe model proves\u2026\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s like asking for directions then turning to your passenger and saying \u201cthat proves it: the only way to get from here to there is that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=760"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":776,"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions\/776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labmath.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}