Skip to main content

Abstract

We start by giving two basic examples of the use of mathematics for describing practical situations. The first example is a problem in household economy and the second is a problem in surveying, both of which have been important fields of application for mathematics since the time of the Babylonians. The models are very simple but illustrate fundamental ideas.

The best material model of a cat is another, or preferably the same, cat. (Rosenblueth/Wiener in Philosophy of Science 1945)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Eriksson, K., Estep, D., Johnson, C. (2004). Introduction to Modeling. In: Applied Mathematics: Body and Soul. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05796-4_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05796-4_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-05659-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-05796-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics