sˈɪns æt ðə pɹˈɛzənt tˈaɪm, mˈoʊst fɪnˈɑːmɪnə ɑːɹ tˈuː kˈɑːmplɛks təbi mˈɑːdəld baɪ pˈɑːɹʃəl dˌɪfɚɹˈɛnʃəl ᵻkwˈeɪʒənz æz kəntˈɪnjuːəs ˈɪnfɪnətdᵻmˈɛnʃənəl sˈɪstəmz, bˌiːdˌiːˈiːz ɑːɹ ɪntˈɛndᵻd æz ɐ hjuːɹˈɪstɪk fˈɜːst stˈɛp ɔnðə tʃˈæləndʒˌɪŋ ɹˈoʊd tə fˈɜːðɚɹ ˌʌndɚstˈændɪŋ ænd mˈɑːdəlɪŋ ðˌɛm.
Since at the present time, most phenomena are too complex to be modeled by partial differential equations (as continuous infinite-dimensional systems), BDEs are intended as a (heuristic) first step on the challenging road to further understanding and modeling them.