Entering Model Land
Creating a Model
Imagine standing at the gates of an unexplored territory: Model Land. You have a vague idea, a problem, or a concept you want to understand or solve: Perhaps the mobility patterns in your neighborhood, the effects of green spaces on the urban climate, or the impact of infection outbreaks on the population.
Before you step inside, you ask yourself: Where do I start? Where do I want to go? What problem forms the basis of my modeling? And what is the ultimate purpose of my model?
You pack your backpack — but what do you take with you? Your assumptions, your data, and your value judgments will inevitably shape your actions. Because when you enter Model Land, it is not only a place of discovery, but also of construction. You are not just a traveling observer — you are the architect of your own model.
Modeling means making choices: What will your Model Land look like? How close will it come to reality? How complex does it need to be? Where are its boundaries?
You might ask yourself:
- From which elements (Primitives) will my Model Land be built?
- How can I handle these elements (Interface)?
- Do I have the fundamental understanding and basic knowledge?
- Do I possess the necessary technical tools?
Validating a Model
Throughout your journey of exploration and construction, you keep checking the stability of your Model Land: Is the model ready for your expedition? Is the model correct — or is it the right one for your purpose? Does the code work? Do the algorithms calculate what you think they do?
Validation plays a crucial role in this journey and should never be overlooked.
Co-Modelling
Validation is not only for detecting potential errors — it is also a chance to incorporate different perspectives and co-creatively build a richer, more diverse Model Land.
Invite other travelers along for the journey:
- As helping hands and critical minds during the building process (Share a Model)
- Or as visitors inspired by your destination (Publish a Model)
You decide: Who gets access? Who doesn’t? Will you involve those your model represents?
As a visionary, planner, designer, explorer, storyteller, and dreamer of other futures, you never travel alone. You always move within a social space full of individual values, assumptions, backgrounds, interpretations, interests, and aspirations — all of which shape your Model Land. And perhaps, before long, your Model Land will start shaping that social space in return.
