Introduction Simulation ≫In the Boat≪

Abstract

Before the widespread use of the digital machines, relationships and activities in the scientific-engineering approach were largely determined by the human mind, its formalization and analytic powers. The scientist or engineer who approaches a real world process tries to gain insight or an understanding of the phenomena on the process under study. One of the very powerful methods consists in trying to obtain an abstract or formal model or representation of the process. The activity is defined as model building and formalization. In essence the procedure requires abstraction and simplification. Simplification is necessary to restrict the complexity of the representation. One only chooses those properties within given boundaries of space or time which are believed to be connected with each other but unconnected with other properties or other parts of the world. Basically the model builder proceeds by hypothesis, induction and deduction. The complete body of methods is called modelling methodology.