Using computer simulations, scientists could explore areas they never could before, and the results were often amazing. However, for those of us without access to one of those munificent monoliths, there is still some hope.
Many simpler problems are well within the capabilities of modern PCs.
Take, for example, the problem of trying to hit a target with a projectile. Then, you want to change something with the simualtion, such as adding wind or a gravitational attractor. We decided to add walls. When a projectile hits a wall, it rebounds with its velocity halved. First we modified our original projectile firing program to test our ideas.