Page 188 - Probability Demystified

10
CHAPTER

Simulation

Introduction

Instead of studying actual situations that sometimes might be too costly, too
dangerous, or too time consuming, researchers create similar situations using
random devices so that they are less expensive, less dangerous or less time
consuming. For example, pilots use flight simulators to practice on before
they actually fly a real plane. Many video games use the computer to simulate
real life sports situations such as baseball, football, or hockey.
Simulation techniques date back to ancient times when the game of chess
was invented to simulate warfare. Modern techniques date to the mid-1940s
when two physicists, John von Neuman and Stanislaw Ulam developed si-
mulation techniques to study the behavior of neutrons in the design of atomic
reactors.
Mathematical simulation techniques use random number devices along
with probability to create conditions similar to those found in real life.

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