An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A computer-intensive technique that relies on repeated random sampling of a statistical population to compute its results. Monte Carlo simulation is often used for approximate numerical computations when application of strict methods requires too much calculation, or when it is infeasible or impossible to compute an exact result with a deterministic algorithm.

The term Monte Carlo was coined in the 1940s by physicists (Stanislaw Ulam, Enrico Fermi, John von Neumann, and Nicholas Metropolis) working on nuclear weapon projects in the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The name is a reference to a famous casino in Monaco which, it is said that, Ulam's uncle would borrow money to gamble at. → method.