Some reflections on computer simulation

(translated into Russian by Alexandra V. Makurova)

Abstract

The present study takes a closer look on such aspects of simulation as the way it is construed, its dependence on rules, the basis of modeling, as well as the representation of these aspects in images. The author concentrates on the specific nature of challenges which arise from expressing the simulations and shaping their form in real time. It will only become possible to start a productive discussion of and lay the foundation for computer simulation aesthetics when the skeptical attitudes toward the notion of ‘simulation’, common among media theorists, have been subjected to a strict examination from the standpoint of their potential applicability, and when, as a result, the respective limits have been clearly delineated. It has to be emphasized that technical definitions need to be complemented with a critical assessment. The fragments here discussed contain no examples of particular simulations; they rather deal with the medium of computer simulation in the most general sense, which is explained with the help of ideas borrowed from the various human and natural sciences.