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Simulation Articles from McKinsey

An insightful and provocative series of simulation articles (40 page PDF document) from McKinsey & Company that explain how simulations can be the key to successful strategic change. Articles include--

• Is Simulation Better Than Experience? Three McKinsey consultants argue that experience may not always be the best teacher. The reason is that in real-life, cause-and-effect relationships are blurred because real-time is too slow. Using simulation to collapse time and space may be the best way to change people's understanding and behavior.
• Games Managers Should Play presents practical tools developed from game theory to help managers make better strategic decisions when ...
  
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Spreadsheet Simulations and Prototyping

Michael Schrage describes how spreadsheet prototyping revolutionized computing. Schrage claims that a genuinely creative spreadsheet simulation evokes a "suspension of disbelief" that activates the adrenal glands along with the mind. Models turn out to be more about mediating interactions between people than mediating interaction between information. Spreadsheet simulations are also successful because they have a short "Mean Time to Payback." Dan Bricklin, cocreator of VisiCalc, attributes the success of the spreadsheets to the financial analysts who believed that the system paid for itself in under a week.

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Virtual Knee Surgery

The Center Of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio has created a simulation that teaches students how knee surgery is performed. In addition to being entertaining, the simulation interactivity increases knowledge retention. Warning: some of the procedures in this simulation are rather graphic.

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SimCity Classic

Maxis now offers SimCity classic as a free web simulation (free registration required). Play Will Wright's classic urban planning simulation that redefined personal computing simulations and simulation interactivity. Mike Perry developed this ActiveX version for the web.

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Road Traffic Simulation

You've experienced traffic from the driver's seat, now experiment with its causes using a simulation developed by Martin Treiber and Ansgar Hennecke. Watch what happens to cars and trucks on a ring-road, when lane closes, with traffic lights, on an on-ramp, or on an uphill grade.

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