To find out what happens to a system when you interfere with it you have to interfere with it (not just passively observe it).
George E. P. BoxRead
Remember that all models are wrong; the practical question is how wrong do they have to be to not be useful.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Models are inherently flawed, and their usefulness depends on the degree of their inaccuracy.
This quote by George E. P. Box highlights the inherent limitations of any model or theory used in scientific practice. It emphasizes that while no model can perfectly represent reality, the critical question to consider is how much inaccuracy can be tolerated before the model loses its practical applicability. This reflects a realistic approach to scientific inquiry, where the focus should be on the usefulness of a model rather than its perfection.
Themes
ModelsScienceAccuracyUsefulnessTheory
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on scientific modeling, one might say, 'Remember that all models are wrong; the practical question is how wrong do they have to be to not be useful.'
More from George E. P. Box
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We must never make experiments to confirm our ideas, but simply to control them.
Claude BernardRead
It is a misfortune for a science to be born too late when the means of observation have become too perfect. That is what is happening at this moment with respect to physical chemistry; the founders are hampered in their general grasp by third and fourth decimal places.
Henri PoincareRead
We live inside our universe and cannot get a bird's-eye view of it from outside. And we cannot even see all of our universe. Distant parts of it are expanding away from us so fast that they are invisible; they go faster than the speed of light. Having bigger telescopes to see fainter stars will not help us here: invisible is truly invisible.
Jocelyn Bell BurnellRead
When the wrong question is being asked, it usually turns out to be because the right question is too difficult. Scientists ask questions they can answer. That is, it is often the case that the operations of a science are not a consequence of the problematic of that science, but that the problematic is induced by the available means.
Richard LewontinRead
Who would not have been laughed at if he had said in 1800 that metals could be extracted from their ores by electricity or that portraits could be drawn by chemistry.
Michael FaradayRead
But when I wasn't working, I was usually at a window looking down at Earth.
Sally RideRead