ABSTRACT
It is curious that geographers who are often regarded by others if not by themselves as practical men should have paid relatively little attention to models or physical constructs either in teaching or research. Exceptions are found mainly in the field of physical geography and in particular geomorphology, but even here geologists and hydrologists have been much more productive. The comparative neglect of hardware models in geography may indicate that they have been considered inappropriate or that we have been a little tardy in realizing their value. It may be that a widespread and traditional preoccupation with the unique has diverted our attention from the problems and rewards of trying to explain the more general. The absence until recently of any rigorous mathematical or symbolic formalization in human geography and to a lesser degree in physical geography has not encouraged a search for understanding by means of analogues.
