This book examines the historical roots and evolution of simulation from an epistemological, institutional and technical perspective. Rich case studies go far beyond documentation of simulation's capacity for application in many domains, they also explore the "functional" and "structural" debate that continues to traverse simulation thought and action. One here asks if simulation deeply transforms science, or instead constitutes a limited tool that principally extends the repertory of erstwhile practice. Does simulation comprise a novel form of experiment, or rather operate as a mechanism which extends standing forms of experimentation? What are simulation's relations with models or theory, for example? These studies further query to what extent and in what ways simulation may be regarded as a discipline, a special species of instrument, or as transdisciplinary.

Makes essential contributions to the much needed assessment of simulation as scientific instrument Combines epistemological, historical, and institutional perspectives Explores cases from contemporary science, including nanotechnology and climate research

Inhalt
Computer Simulation: Practice, Epistemology, and Social Dynamics.- Imitating Models.- The Shape of Molecules to Come.- From Representation to Production: Parsers and Parsing in Language Technology.- Foundations for the Simulation of Ecosystems.- Models, Models Everywhere.- Layers of Integration.- From Hierarchical to Network-Like Integration: A Revolution of Modeling Style in Computer-Simulation.- The Difference Between Answering a 'Why' Question and Answering a 'How Much' Question.- Struggle Between Specificity and Generality: How Do Infectious Disease Models Become a Simulation Platform?.- Handshaking Your Way to the Top: Simulation at the Nanoscale.- Social Practice.- Locating the Dry Lab on the Lab Map.- Simulation Uncertainty and the Challenge of Postnormal Science.- When is Simulation a Research Technology? Practices, Markets, and Lingua Franca.