Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Today's cool web find
This paper details a Turning machine (a building block for a universal computer) made entirely of very simple cellular automata. It's just a grid, where the cells blink on if two neighbors are on, blink off if three neighbors are on, and stay as they are otherwise. It turns out the given the right starting grid and those simple rules, you have a computer capable of processing input, storing data, and producing output. Amazing.
The rules are called the "Game of Life". Daniel Dennett notes that other people have produces self-replicating structures in Life. He thinks these two creations make the evolution of sentient beings a lot less mysterious, and I think he has a point.
The rules are called the "Game of Life". Daniel Dennett notes that other people have produces self-replicating structures in Life. He thinks these two creations make the evolution of sentient beings a lot less mysterious, and I think he has a point.
