au to·di·dact n.

A self-taught person.

From Greek autodidaktos , self-taught : auto- , auto- + didaktos , taught;

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sim·u·late v.

To create a representation or model of (a physical system or particular situation, for example).

From Latin simul re , simul t- , from similis , like;

=

(If you can get past the mixing of Latin and Greek roots)

sim·u·di·dactic adj.

To learn by creating a representation or model of a physical system or particular situation. Particularly, using in silico computation to understand complex systems and phenomena.

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This concept has been floating around in my head for a little while. I’ve written before on how I believe that simulation can be used to improve one’s understanding of just about anything, but have never had a nice shorthand for this process.

Simudidactic inquiry is the process of understanding aspects of the world by abstracting them into a computational model, then conducting experiments in this model world by changing the underlying properties and parameters. In this way, one can ask questions like:

What type of observations might we make if x were true? If my model of the process is accurate, can I recapture the underlying parameters given the type of observations I can make in the real world? How often will I be wrong? Will I be able to distinguish between competing models given the observations I can make in the real world?

In addition to being able to ask these types of questions, the simudidact solidifies their understanding of the model by actually building it.

So go on, get simudidactic and learn via simulation!