On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 1:06 PM, Pat Gunning <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > What I find remarkable about the DeLong's comment that Humberto posted is > his implicit view that students should learn MODELS. The real lesson of > recent events, it seems to me, is that in spite of 50 years of teaching > models; there is no model that matches the reality that was experienced. > What I find remarkable is that Pat Gunning, and perhaps some others on this list, have a view of "models" that is hopelessly confused and at least a quarter century out of date. For a short reading guide, Pat and others might consult: Models as Mediators: Perspectives on Natural and Social Science by Mary Morgan and Margaret Morrison (eds.) 1999 "Models" (2008) by Mary S. Morgan in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, eds: S.N. Durlauf and L.E. Blume (Palgrave Macmillan), online. Models: The Third Dimension of Science by de Chadarevian and Hopwood (2004) Science Without Laws: Model Systems, Cases, and Exemplary Narratives by Creager, Lunbeck and Wise (eds.) 2007 Since Morgan is a past President of HES, one would have thought that her work was fully known by all in HES, but I guess not. -- E. Roy Weintraub Professor of Economics Fellow, Center for the History of Political Economy Duke University www.econ.duke.edu/~erw/erw.homepage.html