9 ms·

I think being overly concerned with an accurate representation of a concept is less important than conveying information. A Venn diagram may not be a perfect a

I think being overly concerned with an accurate representation of a concept is less important than conveying information. A Venn diagram may not be a perfect analog for joins but they relay the concept quite well.

okl 8y ago
I don't think that is true. If you base your understanding on an inaccurate representation, then you may later on run into problems trying to fit new information into your inaccurate thought-model. For example explaining electric circuits with water analogies (like described here: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/voltage-current-resistance-and-ohms-law/voltage https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/voltage-current-resista...) cannot account for EMF.
- paulgb 8y ago
  Every model or analogy has this problem, but it doesn't make models and analogies useless for learning.
  - nkozyra 8y ago
    Exactly. Abstractions are lossy. The goal here is comprehension, I don't see how the models here differ in that regard.