Black Dog wrote:

It bothers me that people who are refered to as "scientists" (I don't
know if they call themselves that) treat the results of modelling
experiments like they were real data.

That's not at all accurate in my experience. Having spent
most of a career designing circuits by simulation I can
assure you it is obvious that simulations are only as good
as the associated models. Models are developed and
qualified by comparing their behavior to actual
measurements. There is even an old saying that serves as a
warning "simulation is a lot like masturbation, if you do it
enough it starts to feel like the real thing."

-rick-