Introduction

Using models as a means to investigate the world and do science became popular during the 19th century, chiefly within physics when ideas from classical mechanics were being applied to other fields within physics. The idea or concept of a model is however considerably older and derives from the Latin word modellus, stemming from modulus, a diminutive form of modus, meaning a small measuring device. Apart from the scientific meaning the word, “model” also has a colloquial meaning, where it refers to how something should look or how some procedure ought to be carried out. An example of this is decision or allocation models in politics. The difference between such models and scientific models is not that the latter are imprecise or subjective, but rather that they aren’t simplifications of reality. In contrast to scientific models they describe an ideal state of affairs and prescribe how something should look or be carried out. The easiest way to delineate these two conceptions is to view decision models and their like as archetypes, while scientific models function as simplifications.