"Why do we need sysreps [models] at all? ... There are many reasons... When we are designing a new type of object, one never seen before, we must first make a sysrep in our head, and then usually also on paper, in order to work out the details of the object. Thus the use of some form of sysrep is critical to what we will call the “design process”. In addition, by creating analytical models we can often generalize the results for an entire class of systems, which provides us with important principles for organizing and improving our thinking about a sector of the world. Moreover, if we want to understand the world, this generalizing is not avoidable because of the limitations of the human mind ... In sum, [models] are mental tools of great power for humans."

"Even though some parts of what many people believed were quite inaccurate sysreps [models], when measured by the 20^th-century norms of science, there was a unified, shared overview of the world. Peter Berger (1969), in an excellent book on the functions of religion, describes religion during the Middle Ages as a ‘sacred canopy’. As Berger tells us, this canopy held aloft a unified picture of the world, reassured individuals in the face of the uncertainties and vicissitudes of life, and provided a shared belief system. It served important human functions."

Slots and Values
ref	p 19
source	Unnamed