Title: Simulation: Art or science? How to teach it?

Authors: Istvan Molnar, Alfredo O. Moscardini, Reiner Breyer

Addresses: Department of CIS/College of Business, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, 17815, PA, USA. ' School of Computing, Engineering and Technology, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SSR6 0DD, UK. ' Fachbereich Wirtschaft, University of Applied Sciences Ostfriesland, Constantiaplatz 4 – 26723 Emden, Germany

Abstract: This paper discusses the underlying philosophy of simulation education. It discusses the skills needed by the user to simulate and provides a survey of some important simulation methodologies and software tools. Simulation can be seen as a three-step process of building a model of a system, computing/evaluating the model on a digital computer, and transferring the model solution back to the system under investigation. Analysing the three-step process of simulation, we conclude that in different phases of modelling and simulation, different scientific or artistic characteristics are predominant. The paper puts forward the view that simulation is more of an art than a science and that this viewpoint has major consequences for its pedagogy.

Keywords: simulation education; mathematical modelling; thinking; problem solving; science; art.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPM.2009.025824

International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling, 2009 Vol.5 No.1, pp.20 - 30

Published online: 24 May 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article