Using an example of a computer simulation of the convective structure of a red giant star, this paper argues that simulation is a rich inferential process, and not simply a "number crunching" technique. The scientific practice of simulation, moreover, poses some interesting and challenging epistemological and methodological issues for the philosophy of science. I will also argue that these challenges would be best addressed by a philosophy of science that places less emphasis on the representational capacity of theories (and ascribes that capacity instead to models) and more emphasis on the role of theory in guiding (rather than determining) the construction of models.

A number of proposals have been advanced in recent years for the development of “general systems theory ” that, abstracting from properties peculiar to physical, biological, or social systems, would be applicable to all of them. 1 We might well feel that, while the goal is laudable, systems

Complex networks describe a wide range of systems in nature and society, much quoted examples including the cell, a network of chemicals linked by chemical reactions, or the Internet, a network of routers and computers connected by physical links. While traditionally these systems were modeled

We present the definition of diverse models of physical systems using the Cell-DEVS paradigm. Cell-DEVS is an extension of the DEVS formalism that allows the definition of cellular models. We have developed a tool implementing these theoretical concepts, making easy the definition of cell spaces

/non-Hamiltonian. In this paper a computational complexity theory of the "knowledge " contained in a proof is developed. Zero-knowledge proofs are defined as those proofs that convey no additional knowledge other than the correctness of the proposition in question. Examples of zero-knowledge proof systems are given

Online diagnosis methods require large computationally expensive diagnosis tasks to be decomposed into sets of smaller tasks so that time and space complexity constraints are not violated. This paper defines the distributed diagnosis problem in the Transcend qualitative diagnosis framework

We introduce a system for sensing complex social systems with data collected from one hundred mobile phones over the course of six months. We demonstrate the ability to use standard Bluetooth-enabled mobile telephones to measure information access and use in different contexts, recognize social

We present a broad extension of the conventional formalism of state machines and state diagrams, that is relevant to the specification and design of complex discrete-event systems, such as multi-computer real-time systems, communication protocols and digital control units. Our diagrams, which we

Multiple fault diagnosis is a challenging problem because the number of candidates grows exponentially in the number of faults. In addition, multiple faults in dynamic systems may be hard to detect, because they can mask or compensate each other’s effects. The multiple fault problem is important

Inspired by empirical studies of networked systems such as the Internet, social networks, and biological networks, researchers have in recent years developed a variety of techniques and models to help us understand or predict the behavior of these systems. Here we review developments in this field