Literary notes about Simulate (AI summary)
The term "simulate" in literature is often used to denote an act of imitation that falls short of true authenticity, suggesting a representation that is not entirely genuine or enduring. For instance, voices are portrayed as empty echoes—a mere opening of mouths to simulate sounds rather than to express actual communication [1]—while physical gestures are compared to withering branches merely arranged to simulate life [2]. At a deeper level, simulation is seen as a substitute for genuine qualities; the replication of life or strength, for example, is invariably temporary and can be a source of weakness [3, 4]. In other contexts, simulation serves a more strategic purpose, such as feigning an accident to mislead observers [5] or even adopting a false identity to access forbidden spaces [6]. The nuance of simulation extends to sensory and behavioral realms as well, where replacements may only superficially resemble the original in appearance or taste [7], and a thoughtful act may be nothing more than a mimicry intended to deceive [8]. Even in classical observations, simulation is understood as a subtle act—one that might mask vulnerability, such as feigning blindness to avoid danger [9].
- “The people who chat resemble mutes who merely open their mouths to simulate sounds, so afraid are they that their voices might escape.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - He may tack on some movements, but they will look like the wilted branches nailed to a tree to simulate life.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - We cannot imitate life, we cannot simulate strength for long, nay, what is more, a mere imitation is a source of weakness.
— from Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore - When connected, they simulate reflective thought; indeed, they usually occur in minds of logical capacity.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - So he determined to have the wood cut down and to simulate an accident.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - So skilful was he that he could even simulate the form of the master of a house and go freely into the women’s quarters.
— from Korean folk tales : by Pang Im and Yuk Yi - The substances used to replace it are mostly like it only in appearance, and barely simulate it in taste.
— from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers - The same observations are to be made in regard to dishonest witnesses who, when pressed to think hard, only simulate doing so.
— from Criminal Psychology: A Manual for Judges, Practitioners, and Students by Hans Gross - Shaftesbury, Characteristics , i., 153.] 117.—The most subtle of our acts is to simulate blindness for snares that we know are set for us.
— from Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims by François duc de La Rochefoucauld