[ithkuil]

But the comparison is not fair.

Yes the electron microscope can image a lot of details "in parallel" but not all details from all angles, all internal microfractures. You can't easily measure all temperature gradients in all cubic nanometers of the material etc etc.

The simulation is slow because it works at that level and thus as a side effect will also give you that output.

Obviously if you don't need all that information you may find another route to arrive at the results you want

[fnordpiglet]

You could though, it’s entirely fair. All information about the system is available for measurement down to the quantum level across all dimensions, because it’s a perfect fidelity to reality. Regardless of whatever specific tool you choose, in theory I could build tools that measure in near infinite detail the stick. I could not however build a computer that could calculate that detail of the stick with perfect fidelity to reality. It’s a gross approximation no matter what you do. I would however point out that my nbody example is entirely analogous and is perhaps more tractable as to why it’s impossible to compare measuring reality to calculating a simulation. Simulations have the advantage that you can reproduce and tweak it repeatedly without having to configure the universe in a specific way every time. You can hold variables constant, you can change the laws of nature, you can simplify complexities to narrow in on a specific behavior. But simulations are never a replacement for measurement of reality, and the reason is the opposite of what you’re holding out. Reality can be measured to an arbitrary level of complexity literally in real time, even systems that are so complex we can’t consider possibly simulating even approximations of the system.