斯蒂芬·霍金和伦纳德·姆洛迪诺在他们的书《大设计》中讨论了一种叫做“依赖模型的现实主义”的东西。这是什么意思？这是他们编造的还是物理学家真的这么想他们的工作？

什么是依赖模型的现实主义(model-dependent realism)？

依赖模型的现实主义是一种科学探究的哲学方法，它根据模型在描述实际情况方面的表现来接近科学规律。在科学家中，这不是一个有争议的方法。

更具争议的是，依赖模型的现实主义确实意味着讨论情况的“现实性”是毫无意义的。相反，你能谈论的唯一有意义的事情是模型的有用性。

许多科学家确实认为，他们所使用的物理模型代表了自然界如何运行的实际潜在物理现实。当然，问题是，过去的科学家也相信他们自己的理论，而且在几乎所有情况下，他们的模型都被后来的研究证明是不完整的。

霍金；基于模型依赖的现实主义

斯蒂芬·霍金（Stephen Hawking）和伦纳德·姆洛迪诺（Leonard Mlodinow）在2010年出版的《大设计》（The Grand Design）一书中创造了“依赖模型的现实主义”一词。以下是与该书中的概念相关的一些引用：

"[Model-dependent realism] is based on the idea that our brains interpret the input from our sensory organs by making a model of the world. When such a model is successful at explaining events, we tend to attribute to it, and to the elements and concepts that constitute it, the quality of reality or absolute truth." " There is no picture- or theory-independent concept of reality. Instead we will adopt a view that we will call model-dependent realism: the idea that a physical theory or world picture is a model (generally of a mathematical nature) and a set of rules that connect the elements of the model to observations. This provides a framework with which to interpret modern science." "According to model-dependent realism, it is pointless to ask whether a model is real, only whether it agrees with observation. If there are two models that both agree with observation ... then one cannot say that one is more real than another. One can use whichever model is more convenient in the situation under consideration." "It might be that to describe the universe, we have to employ different theories in different situations. Each theory may have its own version of reality, but according to model-dependent realism, that is acceptable so long as the theories agree in their predictions whenever they overlap, that is, whenever they can both be applied." "According to the idea of model-dependent realism ..., our brains interpret the input from our sensory organs by making a model of the outside world. We form mental concepts of our home, trees, other people, the electricity that flows from wall sockets, atoms, molecules, and other universes. These mental concepts are the only reality we can know. There is no model-independent test of reality. It follows that a well-constructed model creates a reality of its own."

以往依赖模型的现实主义思想

尽管霍金和姆洛迪诺是第一个将其命名为依赖模型的现实主义的人，但这一想法由来已久，并且已经被以前的物理学家表达过。一个特别的例子是尼尔斯·波尔的名言：

"It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how Nature is. Physics concerns what we say about Nature."