Models are always imperfect, and the ones we choose greatly shape our experience

Picture Jupiter’s moons orbiting the planet. Do you see small dots bouncing back and forth in straight lines as if bound to Jupiter by springs, as Galileo once did? Or an overhead view of small bodies circling the planet in elliptical orbits? Or maybe you see Jupiter and its moons in helical motion, each body careening through space and time on its own set path? None of these models is false – each one presents a truth about reality. But as this short animation from MinutePhysics demonstrates, the models that we embrace significantly shape our perspective, and can lead us to neglect other, equally valid representations of reality.