Abstract
This volume is motivated by practical goals. In particular, it is meant to empower the reader to use computer simulation of biological populations subject to a variety of ecological and evolutionary factors in order to (1) perform inference based on empirical data and (2) explore theoretical aspects of evolutionary biology/genetics. Still, it is worth taking a bit of time to contextualize simulation as both a tool in the arsenal of the modern biologist and an intellectual construct. I provide this context by distinguishing between models and simulations and briefly reviewing the history of computer simulation in science as well as some general thoughts on the epistemological value of simulation experiments and the important role of chance in evolution. Finally, I address the necessary prerequisites for understanding this volume.
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Notes
- 1.
Quoted with permission from Collected Fictions, 1999, translator Andrew Hurley, Penguin Classics.
- 2.
Quoted with permission from the translation by Wieland Hoban, 2013, Polity Books, Cambridge.
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Haasl, R. (2022). Simulation as a Form of Scientific Investigation. In: Nature in Silico. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97381-0_1
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