  Returning to the defense of the epistemic power of simulations, there are also grounds for rejecting the epistemological dependence thesis. As Parker (2009a) points out, in both experiment and simulation, we can have relevant similarities between computer simulations and target systems, and that’s what matters. When the relevant background knowledge is in place, a simulation can provide more reliable knowledge of a system than an experiment. A computer simulation of the solar system, based on our most sophisticated models of celestial dynamics, will produce better representations of the planets’ orbits than any experiment.  