Predcon1
03-29-2002, 11:20 PM
On Artificial Life
The Insanely Interesting Science Born of a Head Injury
The Laboratory of Life celebrates the origins of the study of A-Life.
In 1975 an eccentric Programmer named Christopher Gale Langton suffered a sudden drop of wind velocity while hang gliding over Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Critically injured, with near fatal head and body injuries, Langton had a very curious "vision" of the nature of Life itself: that Life was "a property of the organization of matter, rather than a property of the matter so organized", and that complex devices, such as computers, were a primitive extension of the driving force of Life to organize and expand itself.
Reading voraciously during his arduous recovery, Langton sought to come to an understanding of the implications of his vision. Upon his release, he knew, but could not name, the passion that now consumed him: to bridge the wall between computation, and biology. Working on an Apple II he bought with borrowed money, Langton struggled to prove the validity of his unrespected dream. Blocked and frustrated, Langton discovered the work of John von Neumann, a Mathematician famed for his works in computer science, game theory, and atomic weaponry. In his final years, Neumann worked on an obscure topic: Cellular Automata. Automata are self-operating machines, either physical, or informational in construction, which Neumann believed were an effective metaphor for the processes of life; to understand one is to gain insight into the other. Before Neumann's death in 1957, he proposed an Automata game played upon a grid. The rules of the game allowed the "q" or "p" shaped formation of filled cells upon the grid to reproduce itself indefinitely, an analog of the function of DNA.
Finally, Langton came across the work of J.H. Conway.
In the 70's, mathematician John Horton Conway painstakingly developed a unique implementation of cellular automata while working at the University of Cambridge. This invention was the famous game of 'Life'. Conway took several years to select his rules with great care to avoid two extremes: patterns that grow too quickly without limit and patterns where many would fade away. By striking a delicate balance he constructed a model of surprising unpredictability and one that produced an incredible variety of activity. The game of Life was first presented to the general public in a series of articles submitted to Martin Gardner's Mathematical Recreations columns within the magazine 'Scientific American'.
Here's (http://atoys.com/labolife.html) the game.
Please give feedback.
FYI, this was originally an Amiga game. I have yet to upload it onto BTTR.
John Conway's Rules of Life
1. If a cell has exactly two living neighbors, then it will remain the same, dead or alive.
2. If a cell has exactly three living neighbors, then it will become alive regardless of its previous state.
3. In all other combinations of living neighbors, the cell dies.
Altogether, these cellular automata concepts gave Langton the direction he needed. After duplicating Neumann's "Loops" and Conway's "Life", Langton set out to organize interest in the idea of simulating living systems. He became a tireless champion of his dream and enlisted the help and interest of others. On September 21, 1987, over 150 programmers, scientists and technicians from numerous fields, all assembled in Los Alamos New Mexico to establish a new science: Artificial Life. "A-Life 1" was a magical event. Thirty talks, on more than 20 demonstrations of Automata, simulations of evolution, genetic algorithms, computerized ecosystem simulations, even the occasional Robot. Langton himself, finally rewarded for his efforts, was almost in tears as he read his own presentation. Thus the study of A-Life was born.
Accursed Toys' "Laboratory of Life" is a specially enhanced version of J.H. Conway's classic game. "Life" is a simple game that has enormous possibilities. This Accursed Toys version provides previously unheard of ways to modify and play with Conway's original creation. Not only can the rules be altered and the environment tinkered with, but 'Blind Spots' can be selected as well. In addition to this, special wall objects with affecting properties are included, as is an option for random 'Lightning' strikes which insure mutation. On top of these tools for study is our own most special creation: the very first adaptation ever of the game of 'Life' which genuinely makes it a 'game.' Both playable and with scoring, Accursed Toys 'True Game' version of 'Life' rewards players who directly interact with and nurture the digital cells of Conway's masterpiece!
The Accursed Toys' version of the essential A-Life classic allows greater flexibility of play and study than any previous version we are aware of. As with all our efforts, great attention to aesthetics is also kept.
With this effort they hope to honor the diligence and nobility of intellectual heroes such as Christopher Langton, the Hacker-Scientist who had the courage to fight narrow minds and established ideas, so that we all might gain the enormous insights provided by the study of A-Life.
"In some sense, the idea is having me now instead of me having the idea, there are these other forms of life, artificial ones, that want to come into existence. And they are using me as a vehicle for its reproduction and its implementation." - Christopher Gale Langton
The Insanely Interesting Science Born of a Head Injury
The Laboratory of Life celebrates the origins of the study of A-Life.
In 1975 an eccentric Programmer named Christopher Gale Langton suffered a sudden drop of wind velocity while hang gliding over Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Critically injured, with near fatal head and body injuries, Langton had a very curious "vision" of the nature of Life itself: that Life was "a property of the organization of matter, rather than a property of the matter so organized", and that complex devices, such as computers, were a primitive extension of the driving force of Life to organize and expand itself.
Reading voraciously during his arduous recovery, Langton sought to come to an understanding of the implications of his vision. Upon his release, he knew, but could not name, the passion that now consumed him: to bridge the wall between computation, and biology. Working on an Apple II he bought with borrowed money, Langton struggled to prove the validity of his unrespected dream. Blocked and frustrated, Langton discovered the work of John von Neumann, a Mathematician famed for his works in computer science, game theory, and atomic weaponry. In his final years, Neumann worked on an obscure topic: Cellular Automata. Automata are self-operating machines, either physical, or informational in construction, which Neumann believed were an effective metaphor for the processes of life; to understand one is to gain insight into the other. Before Neumann's death in 1957, he proposed an Automata game played upon a grid. The rules of the game allowed the "q" or "p" shaped formation of filled cells upon the grid to reproduce itself indefinitely, an analog of the function of DNA.
Finally, Langton came across the work of J.H. Conway.
In the 70's, mathematician John Horton Conway painstakingly developed a unique implementation of cellular automata while working at the University of Cambridge. This invention was the famous game of 'Life'. Conway took several years to select his rules with great care to avoid two extremes: patterns that grow too quickly without limit and patterns where many would fade away. By striking a delicate balance he constructed a model of surprising unpredictability and one that produced an incredible variety of activity. The game of Life was first presented to the general public in a series of articles submitted to Martin Gardner's Mathematical Recreations columns within the magazine 'Scientific American'.
Here's (http://atoys.com/labolife.html) the game.
Please give feedback.
FYI, this was originally an Amiga game. I have yet to upload it onto BTTR.
John Conway's Rules of Life
1. If a cell has exactly two living neighbors, then it will remain the same, dead or alive.
2. If a cell has exactly three living neighbors, then it will become alive regardless of its previous state.
3. In all other combinations of living neighbors, the cell dies.
Altogether, these cellular automata concepts gave Langton the direction he needed. After duplicating Neumann's "Loops" and Conway's "Life", Langton set out to organize interest in the idea of simulating living systems. He became a tireless champion of his dream and enlisted the help and interest of others. On September 21, 1987, over 150 programmers, scientists and technicians from numerous fields, all assembled in Los Alamos New Mexico to establish a new science: Artificial Life. "A-Life 1" was a magical event. Thirty talks, on more than 20 demonstrations of Automata, simulations of evolution, genetic algorithms, computerized ecosystem simulations, even the occasional Robot. Langton himself, finally rewarded for his efforts, was almost in tears as he read his own presentation. Thus the study of A-Life was born.
Accursed Toys' "Laboratory of Life" is a specially enhanced version of J.H. Conway's classic game. "Life" is a simple game that has enormous possibilities. This Accursed Toys version provides previously unheard of ways to modify and play with Conway's original creation. Not only can the rules be altered and the environment tinkered with, but 'Blind Spots' can be selected as well. In addition to this, special wall objects with affecting properties are included, as is an option for random 'Lightning' strikes which insure mutation. On top of these tools for study is our own most special creation: the very first adaptation ever of the game of 'Life' which genuinely makes it a 'game.' Both playable and with scoring, Accursed Toys 'True Game' version of 'Life' rewards players who directly interact with and nurture the digital cells of Conway's masterpiece!
The Accursed Toys' version of the essential A-Life classic allows greater flexibility of play and study than any previous version we are aware of. As with all our efforts, great attention to aesthetics is also kept.
With this effort they hope to honor the diligence and nobility of intellectual heroes such as Christopher Langton, the Hacker-Scientist who had the courage to fight narrow minds and established ideas, so that we all might gain the enormous insights provided by the study of A-Life.
"In some sense, the idea is having me now instead of me having the idea, there are these other forms of life, artificial ones, that want to come into existence. And they are using me as a vehicle for its reproduction and its implementation." - Christopher Gale Langton