A simulation of model-based reasoning about disparate phenomena

This paper argues that an adequate theory of discovery must bring the formal approach of computer science and cognitive psychology closer to the empirical approach of history and the social studies of science. We argue that a computer simulation is analogous to a theory of scientific investigation in that it is comprised of a number of models of activities and entities. We describe a model of experimentation to illustrate an approach to discovery simulation that shows how formal and empirical approaches may be integrated.