By Steven Lade

What do you think about mathematical modelling of ‘wicked’ or complex problems? Formal modelling, such as mathematical modelling or computational modelling, is sometimes seen as reductionist, prescriptive and misleading. Whether it actually is depends on why and how modelling is used.
Here I explore four main reasons for modelling, drawing on the work of Brugnach et al. (2008):
- Prediction
- Understanding
- Exploration
- Communication.