[ExI] The Simulators and the Theoreticians (was: [Ethics] Better Never to Have Been)

[spike]

> bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Amara Graps
...
> 
> I find this confidence for simulated results very interesting... and
> surprising. For a person who built some part of her education and
> toolset in the simulation world, I should have been expecting it, but
> I was not. Now in 2007, this simple perspective could indicate the
> direction of our technical successes as well as a kind of proof
> of our modern age.
> 
> 
> Still wondering and pondering,
> Amara
> 
> --
> 
> Amara Graps, PhD      www.amara.com



Thanks Amara, for these very useful and thought-provoking insights.

Euclid's proverbial "there is no royal road to geometry" causes me to look
for applicability here.  We seek a royal road to astronomy in the form of
simulations.  A traditional formal doctorate in astronomy is out of reach
for most, but many of us can develop simulations.  What you are seeing in
your field may be a sign of things to come.  In the future, we may come to
trust simulations more than we trust our own eyes.  Computer simulations may
provide occasional breakthrough insights, but then become widely accepted as
a substitute for thinking and reasoning.

spike