Myths of Simulation

Certain myths have emerged about computer technology in general, such as the almighty electronic brain that outperforms humans in every discipline or legends about the capability of artificial intelligence. Some of these myths find echoes in the field of computer simulation, like simulation being pure number-crunching on supercomputers. This article reflects on myths about computer simulation and tries to oppose them. At the beginning of the paper, simulation is defined. Then, some central myths about computer simulation will are identified from a general computer science perspective. The first central myth is that simulation is a virtual experiment. This view is contradicted by the argument, that computer simulation is located in between theory and experiment. Furthermore, access to reality is possible indirectly via representation. The second myth is that simulation is said to be exact. This myth can be falsified by examining technical and conceptual limitations of computer technology. Moreover, arguments are presented as to why ideal exactness is neither possible nor necessary. A third myth emerges from the general overstatement of computer technology: Everything can be simulated. It will be shown that simulation can only solve problems that can be formalized and calculated—and can only produce results that are within the scope of the models they are based on.