Modeling is an important skill for hydrogeologists, both in academia and industry.  Unfortunately, models are also perhaps the most often misused tools (after hammers and crescent wrenches).  This course will provide the background necessary to design and implement a defensible model, a “…plan of action designed in order to achieve some end; a purpose together with a system of measures for its accomplishment” (Rear Admiral Joseph C. Wylie, Military Strategy: A General Theory of Power Control).

Topics will include:

	Conceptual model, perceptual twaddle.  What's the difference?
Boundary conditions: When have things gone too far?		What do all those numbers mean?
Can my model tell the future?	How do I know if my model is telling me the truth?
	Parameter sensitivity: I didn't mean to hurt its feelings!	Numerical instability: What is it, and how do I get rid of it (short of Prozac)?

And much, much more!

Don't embark on your own Ho Chi Minh Trail without the training provided in this class!  Take the advice of the experts:  "A guerrilla unit should be throughly familiar with the terrain of its region of action" (Mao Tse-Tung, Basic Tactics).
 
 

"A small notebook and pen or pencil for taking notes...ought always to be a part of the guerrilla fighter's equipment" (Che Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare).