Book contents
- The Cosmic Microwave Background
- The Cosmic Microwave Background
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Physical cosmology: A brief introduction
- Part II Discovery of the CMB and current cosmological orthodoxy
- Part III What constitutes an unorthodoxy? An epistemological framework of cosmology
- Part IV Moderate unorthodoxies: The CMB with the Big Bang
- Part V Radical unorthodoxies: The CMB without the Big Bang
- Part VI Formation of the orthodoxy and the alternatives: Epistemological lessons
- 24 History and epistemology
- 25 What about the alternatives?
- 26 Pragmatic aspects of model building and social epistemology of cosmology
- 27 Large-scale numerical simulations in cosmology
- Part VII Other philosophically relevant aspects of the CMB
- Book part
- Notes
- References
- Index
27 - Large-scale numerical simulations in cosmology
Beyond the theory–observations distinction?
from Part VI - Formation of the orthodoxy and the alternatives: Epistemological lessons
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 July 2024
- The Cosmic Microwave Background
- The Cosmic Microwave Background
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Physical cosmology: A brief introduction
- Part II Discovery of the CMB and current cosmological orthodoxy
- Part III What constitutes an unorthodoxy? An epistemological framework of cosmology
- Part IV Moderate unorthodoxies: The CMB with the Big Bang
- Part V Radical unorthodoxies: The CMB without the Big Bang
- Part VI Formation of the orthodoxy and the alternatives: Epistemological lessons
- 24 History and epistemology
- 25 What about the alternatives?
- 26 Pragmatic aspects of model building and social epistemology of cosmology
- 27 Large-scale numerical simulations in cosmology
- Part VII Other philosophically relevant aspects of the CMB
- Book part
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
Computer simulations have played a crucial role in modern cosmology, a role anticipated and pioneered by F. Hoyle. Their interrelation with theory and observation is invaluable in developing theoretical positions, testing general features of isotropy and homogeneity at various scales, and probing the anomalies. The simulations also make up for the inability to experiment with different structures of the universe and substantially different physical universes. Yet various selection effects and the numerical intractability of certain alternative explanations limit the value of simulations. This is a serious epistemic worry that can be addressed with the lessons learned from the alternative explanations of the CMB.
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- The Cosmic Microwave BackgroundHistorical and Philosophical Lessons, pp. 148 - 152Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024