Lesson 2 - Course Objectives

This Course is intended to provide you with an introduction to the GoldSim probabilistic simulation framework.  As such, by the end of the Course, you should achieve the following:

• You will understand the fundamental concepts associated with dynamic, probabilistic simulation.
• You will be able to build simple models using GoldSim.
• You will understand the fundamentals of how GoldSim carries out its calculations.  This is critical; as a general rule, you should not use “black boxes” to build models.  If you don’t understand how a tool works, you should not use it.
• You will learn how to navigate, explore and understand complex models that others have built (e.g., models in the GoldSim Model Library).
• You will learn how to find answers when you have questions about GoldSim.

You will not become an expert (or even a proficient) GoldSim modeler simply by completing this Course.  You will, however, have all the tools necessary to become a proficient modeler.  Becoming a proficient (and eventually, an expert) modeler, of course, will take practice.

Finally, it is important to understand that although this Course will cover all of the key features and capabilities of GoldSim, a number of advanced features will not be covered at all (toward the end of the Course we will provide a brief summary of a number of the most important advanced features that are not discussed in the Course). The objective is to provide a solid framework and understanding upon which you can build. Once you have this, you will be able to expand your knowledge of GoldSim by taking advantage of the many resources the GoldSim Technology Group provides.