Abstract
D.Phil. (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
The knowledge and understanding that a scientist has about the world is often
embodied in the form of a model, which is a representation containing the essential
structure of some object or event. The goal of the scientific method is to reduce the
complexity of our observations on our surroundings (and ourselves) by creating,
verifying and modifying simplified models. In turn, a technical scientist (commonly
referred to as an “engineer”) uses appropriately simplified mathematical models to
predict and control various processes. Yet the central question is as to how close such
models are to reality in spite of considerable simplifying assumptions, and whether or
not they are reliable and credible enough to be accepted as being valid. In the
following, models applied in technical science (commonly referred to as
“engineering”) are examined to find out whether or not such mathematical models are
valid in biology as well. In fact, it is shown, that such models do fall short of a valid
representation of biological phenomena. In turn, the concept of analogy, a method
borrowed from cognitive science, is introduced as another way of knowledge
representation and model construction.