Computer simulation through an error-statistical lens

Wendy S. Parker

pp. 371-384

in: Kent W. Staley, Jean Miller, Deborah G. Mayo (eds), Synthese 163 (3), 2008.

Abstract

After showing how Deborah Mayo’s error-statistical philosophy of science might be applied to address important questions about the evidential status of computer simulation results, I argue that an error-statistical perspective offers an interesting new way of thinking about computer simulation models and has the potential to significantly improve the practice of simulation model evaluation. Though intended primarily as a contribution to the epistemology of simulation, the analysis also serves to fill in details of Mayo’s epistemology of experiment.