Modeling Across Disciplines: A conversation with an atmospheric scientist, a family sociologist, and a philosopher about how we can (and cannot) use models to better understand our world.

The world is almost as messy as it is complex. This is a big problem for anyone attempting to understand…well… anything. How are we to tease apart the things that drive the dynamics we care about from the seemingly endless number of things that do not? For most sciences, whether they are concerned with the role dust plays in the climate system or the factors that contribute to healthy romantic and family relationships, one answer is to develop models that focus our attention on select processes and relationships. Yet, as the saying goes, “all models are wrong, but some are useful.” Even the best of us are fallible, error-prone beings who filter the world through multiple layers. Our models will, therefore, forever be limited.

Clearly, there will always be a tension at play between the powers and limits of models. How does this tension play out across disciplines? Are certain kinds of models more precise, or more accurate, or more generalizable in the physical sciences than in the social sciences? Are there dramatic differences and disagreements regarding modeling within disciplines themselves? How does a discipline’s object of concern influence the way models are developed and/or used in that discipline? How might our mental models of the way specific phenomena work influence one’s approach? What is the relationship between theory and modeling, and does this change across disciplines? Please join us as we address these questions and more in an open conversation about modeling across disciplines.

Panelists:
Stuart Evans is assistant professor of geography at UB who focuses on regional climate variability. In particular, his research is organized around rainfall, land-atmosphere feedbacks, and the effects of atmospheric dust.

Ashley Barr is associate professor of sociology at UB. She is primarily a family sociologist whose research examines the role that family and romantic relationships play across a variety of domains, including health, education and deviant and criminal behavior.

Ryan Muldoon is associate professor of philosophy at UB. His research is centered on how political, cultural, and scientific communities can and should respond to diversity.

Moderated by:
Jordan Fox Besek is assistant professor of sociology at UB who works in the areas of environmental sociology, political ecology, historical sociology, and the philosophy and history of science. He is both a theorist and empirical researcher, who primarily uses qualitative methods.

Sponsored by the Humanities Institute Science Studies Research Workshop, UB RENEW Institute, and the departments of Sociology, Philosophy, History, Environment and Sustainability, Anthropology, and Geography.

For zoom access, contact Dr. Jordan Fox Besek at jfbesek@buffalo.edu. You will be emailed a zoom link the day before the panel.