Not just machine learning. I remember learning in ecology that if the computer models didn't match with reality. Reality was probably wrong the model just neede

Not just machine learning. I remember learning in ecology that if the computer models didn't match with reality. Reality was probably wrong the model just needed better variables. I remember thinking how incredibly stupid that was at the time. Now I realize that's the way it works with everything and has for a while. The problem with modelling real world systems is there are too many variables and we have no way of knowing just how many their are and what effects they all actually have on a system. We can never make a complete model yet we act and make decisions as a society as though our models are complete and infallible.