Editing Toy model (section)

{{Short description|Deliberately simplistic scientific model}}
{{For|actual toys|model figure|action figure}}
{{More references|date=December 2009}}
{{Wikt}}
In [[scientific modeling]], a '''toy model''' is a deliberately simplistic model with many details removed so that it can be used to explain a mechanism concisely. It is also useful in a description of the fuller model.

* In '''"toy" mathematical models''',{{clarify|is this in mathematics in general, or mathematical physics?|date=December 2016}} this is usually done by reducing or extending the number of dimensions or reducing the number of fields/variables or restricting them to a particular symmetric form. 
* In '''[[Economic model|economic models]]''', some may be only loosely based on theory, others more explicitly so. They allow for a quick first pass at some question, and present the essence of the answer from a more complicated model or from a class of models. For the researcher, they may come before writing a more elaborate model, or after, once the elaborate model has been worked out. Blanchard's list of examples includes the [[IS–LM model]], the [[Mundell–Fleming model]], the [[RBC model]], and the [[New Keynesian model]].<ref>3.	Blanchard O., 2018- '''On the future of macroeconomic models''', ''[[Oxford Review of Economic Policy]]'', Volume 34, Numbers 1–2, 2018, p.p.52-53.</ref> 
* In '''"toy" physical descriptions''', an analogous example of an everyday mechanism is often used for illustration.

The phrase '''"tinker-toy model"''' is also used,{{fact|date=December 2016}} in reference to the [[Tinkertoy]]s product used for children's [[constructivist learning]].