[AllegedAlec]

> If your model is simple enough to represent the original system accurately, then the original system is not complex.

No, this is just plain wrong, sorry.

I can describe a population fairly well using one or two ODEs. That doesn't mean that a population of individuals is simple. It's incredibly complex. However, at the meso-scale of just looking at population size and growth rate, my model is accurate (enough).

A model doesn't describe a system at all levels. It simulates the behaviours, whether explicit in the system or emergent from other properties, in order to describe its behaviour at a certain level.