On demonstrating cooperative phenomena

The benefits of computer simulation can be enhanced by including animated displays showing the behavior of the systems under study together with the capability for responding immediately to parameter changes and other modifications requested by the observer. A modern computer graphics interface is used to facilitate user interactivity at a highly intuitive level. While hardware capability still limits the nature of problems that can be treated in this manner, the approach provides a much richer simulation environment than previously available. A number of examples of relevance to statistical physics are discussed, the majority of which are associated with cooperative behavior in interacting many-body systems.