Erica Thompson.
Escape from Modelland: how mathematical models can lead us astray and what we can do about it.
Basic Books. 2022
Models are at the centre of everything we do.
Whether we use them or are simply affected by them,
they act as metaphors that help us better understand
the increasingly complex problems facing us in the modern world.
Without models, we couldn’t begin to tackle three of
the major challenges facing modern society:
regulation of the economy, climate change and COVID-19.
Yet in recent years, the validity of the models we use
has been hotly debated and there has been renewed awareness
of the disastrous consequences when the makers of models get things wrong.
Drawing on contemporary examples from finance, climate and health policy, Erica Thompson explores how models work and why we need them. This is not a book that argues we should do away with models, but rather, that we need to properly understand how they are constructed – and how some of the assumptions that underlie the models we use can have significant unintended consequences. Unexpectedly humorous, thought-provoking and passionate, this is essential reading for everyone.