Part 5/19:
Obscuration occurs when faulty abstractions or models block or distort what we genuinely observe. For example, the possibility that a model fitting current data could also correspond to a 'D' or '8' illustrates how confusion arises when models are not grounded in true mechanisms. The proliferation of multiple plausible models leads to ambiguity, complicating the quest for a theory of everything.
The principle of "all that glitters is not gold" applies here: correlation does not imply causation. Our models may fit data perfectly but still not reflect reality. Many so-called laws are merely correlations—doppelgangers—that hide the true underlying mechanisms.