We explain what a model is and what formal and informal models are. In addition, the various meanings that this term has.
What is model?
The concept of model comes from Italian model it, being a diminutive of modus, which means manner. The truth is that the term has an immense number of uses, but they all have in common that a model is a way, it is something that is capable of being abstracted and analyzed outside of its simple practical application.
Perhaps for that the best way to start a analysis of the term is stopping us in the systemic models. Those models are simplified representations of the reality, which manage to take it to an area where it is easier to study and compare variables.
Mental models are representations that are made in an imaginary way about reality. Each individual will have their own system of beliefs, values Y thoughts that will lead you to model what you see in different ways. Almost all Sciences One of the main tasks is to model to theorize about issues that unfold in practice.
In general the representations of the models can be made by drawings, graphs or mathematical expressions, but it may also need to be done in writing. These scientific models (including mathematical, physical, economic and medical models) can be characterized in different ways:
- The formal models.They are those that are expressed from a language specific and concrete. They are the only models that have great precision, which makes them much easier to apply and compare exactly. The computing It has meant a quantitative leap in this type of model, with a much greater capacity to simulate scenarios.
- The informal models. They are the ones who also express themselves, but not from a formal and precise language but rather symbolically. They can be manifested in written or verbal form, as well as from causal relationships with symbols such as arrows.
On the other hand, in the scientific world a model is understood as another question: all scientific investigation is framed in a context of weather Y space, that although the scientist wants to abstract himself, he will somehow generate a series of consensuses, a set of practices that define the discipline scientific at the time.
The word paradigm but also 'modelThey refer to those practices, which include the type of questions that the scientist must ask, the way in which the research results are interpreted, the equipment available for conducting experiments and ethical consensus in research. These models are not eternal, on the contrary situations occur that cause them to change completely.
From an artistic point of view, a model is a person who poses for a sculpture, drawing or any visual expression. With regard to fashion, a model is a dress with unique characteristics, which is made by a certain dressmaker and differs from all other clothing of the same brand in particular by its design.
The word model, however, is also used to refer to the person who wears a garment or accessory in order to show it to third parties. It is curious that this term is used since it is stated from many areas that brands look for people with very similar bodies, generally very skinny and attractive. In this way, it is practically arrived at a modeling of the human body.
In the behavior of persons, a model is a point of reference that it will be useful to seek to reproduce it. It is called a role model, and it can occur when one person observes another and feels that they would like to get to where they went, or also when one person acts correctly, and others are expected to imitate their behavior. This is also called citizen model. It even transcends the individuality of people, and one can speak of a model country when someone wants to imitate your policies, or a model company when another wants to repeat an experience that she lived.