Wrong but Useful: How all knowledge is approximate

“All models are wrong, some are useful.” The Mathematician George Box said this in the 60’s and it is not just true about math. It’s true about being human.

All knowledge is an approximation. I find this a very useful way to think about the entire Human Endeavor. It seems clear to me that science, at least, is best thought of as an asymptotic approach to some absolute truth. A truth that, in the end, is not comprehensible with the tools we have been given. We approach, but never arrive. We develop better and more useful models, many of which are hugely valuable (see: antibiotics), but all of which are ultimately wrong.

There’s a great joke in science about a mathematician, a physicist, and an engineer discussing Zeno’s paradox — you know, the one about the starving man who is across the room from a great feast but can only get halfway to it with each step. The mathematician says “what a tragedy, he will never get there!” The physicist shakes his head. “He will get there, but it will take an infinity of time.” The engineer takes out his slide rule and calculates. “Looks like in about a half hour he’ll be close enough.”

We are that engineer. Just because we are close enough for many things does not mean we have arrived. And just because we never arrive does not mean we should stop trying.

Originally published at https://medium.com on September 10, 2020.