Monte Carlo simulation can be used when the model we want to understand is too complex to yield explicit analytic models. Complexity in a system may arise from many underlying architectural characteristics. Through the use of random numbers simulation aims to address the curse of combinatorial explosion that plagues the analysis of complex systems.
In this new blog post we go over a simple simulation exercise where we tackle the challenge that with 51 states and a specific allocation of the 538 electoral votes there are many permutations ("paths to victory") that lead of the desired grand total of 270 or more votes.
Read more about how this simulation was setup (spoiler alert - there is nothing politically relevant here!) what we might expect to see on the basis of the law of large numbers and the central limit theoreme and watch an animated video of how the simulation statistics starts accumulating!
Enjoy
