CREATIVITY AND MADNESSModels are imaginary representations of the world that we build in
order to better understand it. In some ways model building is like latent
inhibition. Models contain only the elements of the environment that
the model builder believes are essential. Other details are discarded.
That makes the world easier to comprehend and, later, to imagine a
variety of ways it might be manipulated for maximum benefit. Model
building isn’t something we’re aware of. The brain builds models auto-
matically as we go about our day, and updates them as we learn new
things.
Models not only simplify our conception of the world; they also
allow us to abstract, to take specific experiences and use them to craft
broad, general rules. From this we can predict and deal with situations
we’ve never encountered before. I may never have seen a Ferrari, but
as soon as I do, I know it’s for driving. I don’t have to examine it, and
run through all the different things I might do with it. It would be par-
alyzing if I had to do that with every car I encountered. Based on my
experience with real cars, I built a model of an abstract car. If a car I’ve
never seen before fits the general outlines of my abstract conception, I
can quickly classify it and know that it’s made for driving.
Recognizing a car may seem trivial, but model building also helps
us with the most cosmic abstractions. Watching how real objects moved
led Newton to develop his abstract law of universal gravitation, which
not only predicts how apples fall from trees, but also the movements of
planets, stars, and galaxies.
MENTAL TIME TRAVELModels can be helpful when we need to choose among a number of
different options. They allow us to run through different scenarios in
our imagination in order to select the best one. For instance, if I need
to get from Washington, DC, to New York City I could take the train
or the bus, or I could fly. To decide which will be fastest, most com-
fortable, or most convenient, I experience each option in my imagina-
tion, and then, based on my inner experience, I make my choice in the