simulation

Definition

Acting out or mimicking an actual or probable real life condition, event, or situation to find a cause of a past occurrence (such as an accident), or to forecast future effects (outcomes) of assumed circumstances or factors. A simulation may be performed through (1) solving a set of equations (a mathematical model), constructing a physical (scale) model, (3) staged rehearsal, (4) game (such as wargames), or a computer graphics model (such as an animated flowchart). Whereas simulations are very useful tools that allow experimentation without exposure to risk, they are gross simplifications of the reality because they include only a few of the real-world factors, and are only as good as their underlying assumptions.