[pdkl95]

> We should be learning alternative models

In addition to learning models from other subjects, we also need to understand that the complexity and often chaotic nature of human behavior might mean some subject can only be modeled superficially.

> economics

Varoufakis[1] and Blyth[2] argue that it might be impossible to create models of the economy. They both warn that there is a seductive quality to math, but that "elegance" is an oversimplification that can easily unravel when given the chaos of the real world.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5AUAIzciLE&t=1355

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmWbkPezgtU

[gshubert17]

It is certainly impossible to create realistic models of the economy, if one's economics is based on assumptions of linearity and equilibrium. Mark Buchanan's book _Forecast_ [0] makes the case for more realistic models, using techniques from the natural sciences, that would have better predictive value.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Forecast-Physics-Meteorology-Sciences...

[xyience]

Is he rich from his superior models?

[gshubert17]

Good question. The book's blurb says he is a science writer; I don't know how rich he is.

I guess it's easier to point out the flaws in linear, equilibrium models, and to point to better results in, say, meteorology, from using better models based on different assumptions, than it is to construct and validate completely new economic models.