“All models are wrong, but some are useful.” - George Box
All models are ‘wrong’ in the sense that they are not the things they represent, nor do they convey all aspects of the things they represent. There is always data loss. The map is not the territory.
Words themselves are models, approximations of the things to which they point. And though words may always fall short definitionally, there is value in the endeavor of trying to find the right ones, the ones that transmit what is with high fidelity. There is something beautiful in the pursuit of a thing with the full awareness of the ultimate failure of that pursuit.1
Knowingly or unknowingly, we are using models all the time. Models, verbal or non-verbal, allow us to interface with and make sense of reality. They aren’t just inert propositions, they are generative perspectives. They have weight in the world with respect to how we navigate and make decisions. As Gil Hedley puts it, how we conceive of a thing has everything to do with how we behave in relation to that thing.
“When you predicate around that word ‘is’ you tell a story. It’s a metaphor. So if I say the body is a machine. Cool machine! The mechanical model. The mechanistic model. Body is a machine. I’m looking at an aggregate of parts that work together to accomplish things and if it fails, if it breaks, I can fix it, replace parts, add parts, remove parts, right? That’s body as a machine, and it’s a very useful model. We’re all beneficiaries of that model. Although sometimes we bump up against that model when someone who is using it in quite an attached way treats you more like a thing than as a conversation partner. I mean, do we really need to hear from a car? Like, I’m changing your tire, shut up. So a model can get in the way as well.”2
Relatedly, how we conceive of models matters. That is, our models of models matter. If I consider a model to be ultimate truth, I grip it tightly and try to force reality to fit my preconceived construct. When it doesn’t fit, I become frustrated. In this effort to box in, this flattening, I inhibit my ability to perceive what is.
“The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again.” - Jiddu Krishnamurti
A more useful model about models is that they are all wrong in some sense. In internalizing this model, I hold my models lightly, knowing there is always an incompleteness to them. When I can hold my models lightly, I am open to the possibility of updating or letting them go when they no longer serve. I am more open to and at ease with the unfolding of life. I open up the possibility for clear seeing.
The song A Little Bit of Everything by Dawes [listen] comes to mind here. It’s been in my heart for the last couple months. “It’s one of those songs that wrote itself and then I had to figure out what I thought about it afterwards. And after singing it a million times, I feel like it’s about the failures of communicating. When we don’t know how to find the root of a darker feeling, or even a feeling of joy, we attribute it to a little bit of everything. And this sort of failure of language - like this song is about some good things and some bad things, and when each person is asked to explain why, they can’t. And I feel like that’s more common than we - than I acknowledge.” And here’s a cover by Lizzy McAlpine.
5 minute clip of Gil Hedley discussing models and the body. Gil’s thinking and work generally has been formative for me in the process of developing my own models.
I always appreciate your inspiring thoughts and shares. i just love Gil Hedleys thoughts and mind as well. Thanks for bringing his compassionate wisdom forward too:))
Beautiful Jason❤️. Thank you for sharing your voice and ponderings, all of which are food for the soul and leaves me with more questions than before I experienced it. May we all continue to search and hold our experiences lightly as we ask and listen carefully.