Did you enjoy 'The Game of Life'? What is interesting is that the 'dancing dots' that you saw weren't created by chance. They followed a definite set of rules.
A square or a 'cell' with a dot is said to be 'live'. If there is no dot, it is 'dead'. The patterns that are created depends on how each 'live' cell interacts with its neighbours.
The game was invented by mathematician John Conway in 1970. Since then, it has fascinated players by how complicated patterns can emerge from a simple set of dots. It has also been used by scientists, engineers, economists and philosphers as a way to explain how the complex processes in our universe are, in fact, run by few simple rules.
Experts even have names for the different patterns that are formed in The Game of Life.
Read more about The Game of Life here.
A square or a 'cell' with a dot is said to be 'live'. If there is no dot, it is 'dead'. The patterns that are created depends on how each 'live' cell interacts with its neighbours.
- Each cell with less than two neighbours neighbors dies, as if by loneliness.
- Each cell with four or more neighbors dies, as if by overpopulation.
- Each cell with two or three neighbors survives.
- Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours comes alive.
The game was invented by mathematician John Conway in 1970. Since then, it has fascinated players by how complicated patterns can emerge from a simple set of dots. It has also been used by scientists, engineers, economists and philosphers as a way to explain how the complex processes in our universe are, in fact, run by few simple rules.
Experts even have names for the different patterns that are formed in The Game of Life.
- Still lives: Are patterns that stop changing into anything new.
- Oscillators: Are patterns that repeat themselves indefinitely.
- Diehards: Are patterns that eventually disappear. Other interesting names include 'spaceships', 'pulsars' and 'puffer trains'.
Read more about The Game of Life here.