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by themodelplumber 1645 days ago
This sounds more like an argument for systems design. You can easily build models and meta-models that help navigate various scopes. For example the concept of the long tail is by definition a widely-scoped way of gaining leverage in a situation where smaller details are important.

Traffic control systems, computer hardware design...these all incorporate the same combinations of depth and breadth of thinking. I think it's wise to keep an open mind and ask whether it's really necessary to exclude a given model or entire set of them.
1 comments
Retric 1645 days ago
It’s not a question of excluding the model, it’s a question of the feedback loop where the model is used to both inform your decisions and validate they where correct.

Goodhart's law is an adage often stated as "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"

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themodelplumber 1645 days ago
> it’s a question of the feedback loop where the model is used to both inform your decisions and validate they where correct.

Who exactly are we criticizing for doing this? Seems a bit like a straw man argument tbh. I'm not even sure how that relates to the more general concept raised above, of a single model of reality being reliable.

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Retric 1645 days ago
If you want just one example, the IMF uses GDP data for critical decisions and to measure the results of those decisions.
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