Adventures in Model Land

Do you dare to enter the model land? Brave adventurers are sought to explore the mathematical depths of strange new worlds. Your quest will be full of uncertainty, unknowns, and potential misdirections. But the rewards for success are high! Only the wisest will emerge victorious, having uncovered some hidden secret of the universe or been shown tantalising glimpses of possible futures.

Numerical models are used to guide decision-making across almost every part of society, from weather forecasts to predicting flooding, from financial investments to managing outbreaks of disease. Whilst the models try to represent reality, or at least some aspect of it, they make assumptions, are forced into simplifications, and incorporate the biases of their creators and the data they use. Because of this, they create their own version of reality, a concept Thompson (2022) calls ‘model land’.

Adventures in Model Land invites you to bring these worlds to life and to go inside them. Inspired by tabletop roleplay games (TTRPG), we have created an open-source framework to guide you through the process of imagining a model land. Further levels in the framework help you create quests for groups of players to explore the model land, or to reshape existing games to play by the rules of your model. This process is intended to be an enjoyable way to engage with your models but can also lead to greater insights into their limitations and, crucially, their usefulness.

This poster will demonstrate the first level of the Adventures in Model Land framework and provide a link to the document. Members of the project team will be available to discuss your model lands and how you can get involved with the wider project.

Thompson, E., (2022). Escape from Model Land: How mathematical models can lead us astray and what we can do about it. Basic Books.