Re: The Game of Life

From: Jerry Clark <Jerry.Clark.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 11:40:19 +0000

Ask it.

Have you ever read 'The Intentional Stance' by
Daniel Dennett?

Jerry

Fred Chen wrote:

> How would you verify your Life pattern has achieved SAS status?
>
> Jerry Clark wrote:
>
> > More relevantly, it is posulated as highly likely that, starting with a random
> > Life
> > formation, SAS's will evolve of their own accord. One proves this by showing
> > that
> > our UTM is also a universal constructor (can take a coded blueprint and build
> > out
> > of it a machine at least as complex as itself). UTM is also a universal
> > destructor
> > and therefore mobile. Eventually you get evolution and SAS's.
> >
> > This is "SAS's for free" and a much more interesting result than the fact that
> > one
> > can build a UTM in the life universe that simulates e.g. this universe.
> >
> > Such 'Life' evolution raises an interesting question: These SAS's would build
> > universities and
> > study mathematics, computer science and physics. Some J.H.Conway of the Life
> > universe would discover the amusing and diverting Life game, and start
> > discovering
> > gliders, glider guns, space rakes etc. Sooner or later a physicists would hear
> > about
> > this new development and the realisation would be made that their universe
> > *is* a
> > Life simulation. Such a discovery would of course revolutionise the study of
> > physics
> > for these SAS's.
> >
> > More interestingly still: when are *we* going to discover some CA or similar
> > which
> > turns out to be *our* universe? In my lifetime I hope.
> >
> > Fred Chen wrote:
> >
> > > hal.domain.name.hidden wrote:
> > >
> > > > Fred Chen, <flipsu5.domain.name.hidden>, writes:
> > > > > When this game is run, complex patterns can emerge from simpler ones in
> > > > > a dynamic fashion. So, my question is, can this game generate SAS's?
> > > >
> > > > It has been found that "Life is Universal", meaning that you can
> > > > construct a Universal Turing Machine out of the Life rules. It would
> > > > then be possible to program it to simulate any mathematical or logical
> > > > system, hence SAS's should be possible.
> > > >
> > > > Hal
> > >
> > > You are right. You can construct a UTM based on Life rules.
> > >
> > > Fred
Received on Wed Dec 08 1999 - 02:40:23 PST