The main difference between stimulation and simulation is that stimulation refers to arousing an organism to act while simulation is an imitation of something.
Although the nouns stimulation and simulation look and sound similar, they have two very different meanings. Stimulation and simulation stem from the verbs stimulate and simulate, respectively. A stimulation drives an organism to act, whereas a simulation is the representation of something.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Stimulation
– Definition, Features
2. What is Simulation
– Definition, Features
3. Difference Between Stimulation and Simulation
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Stimulation, Simulation
What is Stimulation
Stimulation refers to arousing an organism to act. This stimulation can be an object, occurrence, or another being. Stimulation can also refer to how organisms perceive incoming stimuli, as a part of the stimulus-response mechanism. In brief, stimulation drives an organism to act, like a stimulant. For example, think of a teacher who made you excited about a subject you hated before. This teacher must have provided you stimulation to get motivated and make more effort in the object. Too little stimulation can make an organism stagnate while too much stimulation can make an organism unable to adjust or die from stress. A medium amount of stimulation can cause them to adapt.
Figure 1: Children learn brain stimulation.
There are different types of stimulations. The following example sentences will help you to learn these.
A child needs stimulation to play and learn.
The new teaching methods stimulated innovative thinking students.
The wage increase is a way to stimulate workers.
The debate club acted as stimulation for intelligent discussion among young students.
Everyone should experience the mental stimulation of a challenging job.
What is Simulation
Simulation is an imitation of something – for example, a process, situation, or object. In other words, it’s the representation of something, not the real thing. In addition, the verb form of simulation is ‘simulate’. Sometimes, you have to perform simulation as practice in real life – for instance, flight simulation to train pilots. Similarly, simulations of people’s lives shown in movies may be shot in studios.
Figure 2: Simulation of a Car and its motion
Given below are some examples that will help you to understand the meaning of this word more clearly.
The scientists used a clever simulation that was good enough to trick everybody.
Jack and Jill used a model to simulate the effects of an earthquake.
Using simulation, medical students can learn and practice surgical procedures.
They predicated its performance using information gathered from running the simulation.
Their training includes realistic simulation of procedures.
Real-time simulation made the training more realistic.
Sometimes we also use the word simulation in a negative sense to refer to something as fake.
Difference Between Stimulation and Simulation
Definition
Stimulation refers to arousing an organism to act, while a simulation is an imitation of something.
Nature
A stimulation drives an organism to act, causing either a physical or behavioral change, whereas a simulation is the representation of something.
Verb Form
Stimulation stems from the verb stimulate whereas simulation stems from the verb simulate.
Example
Your body responding to medicine is an example of a response to an external stimulation whereas flight simulation to train pilots is an example of simulation.
Conclusion
Although the nouns stimulation and simulation look and sound similar, they have two very different meanings. The main difference between stimulation and simulation is that stimulation refers to arousing an organism to act while a simulation is an imitation of something. In brief, a stimulation drives an organism to act, whereas a simulation is the representation of something.
Reference:
1. “Simulation .” Vocabulary.com.
2. “Stimulation .” Vocabulary.com.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Child-children-game-baby-3046491” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “SIMULIA realistic wind simulation” By SIMULIA MMR – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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