So, even thoughno actual gears are being changed, using the paddle-shiftmodulates the torquetoprovide the joltsofaccelerationanddeceleration that wouldhappen ifthere werearealgearbox.
So, even though no actual gears are being changed, using the paddle-shift modulates the torque to provide the jolts of acceleration and deceleration that would happen if there were a real gearbox.