99 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
99 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ
|
|
ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßÛßßßßßÛÛÜ ÜÜßßßßÜÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÛßß ßÛÛ
|
|
ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛ ÜÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜ ßÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÜÜÜÛÛÝ Ûß
|
|
ßßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÞÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßßÛÜÞÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÞß
|
|
Mo.iMP ÜÛÛÜ ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ßÛß
|
|
ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
|
|
ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ß ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ÜÛ
|
|
ÜÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß
|
|
ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÜÜ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÛÛÞÛÛÛÛÛÝ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
|
|
ÜÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÜÛÛÛÛÜÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÞÛ ßÛÛÛÛÛ Ü ÛÝÛÛÛÛÛ Ü
|
|
ÜÛ ÞÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ßÛÜ ßÛÛÛÜÜ ÜÜÛÛÛß ÞÛ ÞÛÛÛÝ ÜÜÛÛ
|
|
ÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßÛÜ ßßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛß ÜÜÜß ÛÛÛÛÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÛÛÛÛÛß
|
|
ßÛÜ ÜÛÛÛß ßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÜ ßßÜÜ ßßÜÛÛßß ßÛÛÜ ßßßÛßÛÛÛÛÛÛÛßß
|
|
ßßßßß ßßÛÛß ßßßßß ßßßßßßßßßßßßß
|
|
ARRoGANT CoURiERS WiTH ESSaYS
|
|
|
|
Grade Level: Type of Work Subject/Topic is on:
|
|
[ ]6-8 [ ]Class Notes [Essay on Artificial Life]
|
|
[x]9-10 [ ]Cliff Notes [ ]
|
|
[ ]11-12 [x]Essay/Report [ ]
|
|
[ ]College [ ]Misc [ ]
|
|
|
|
Dizzed: 10/94 # of Words:652 School: ? State: ?
|
|
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>Chop Here>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ>ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
|
|
ARTIFICIAL LIFE
|
|
|
|
Artificial life (commonly called a-life) is the term applied
|
|
collectively to attempts being made to develop mathematical models and
|
|
computer simulations of the ways in which living organisms develop, grow,
|
|
and evolve. Researchers in this burgeoning field hope to gain deeper
|
|
insights into the nature of organic life as well as into the further
|
|
possibilities of COMPUTER science and robotics (see ROBOT). A-life
|
|
techniques are also being used to explore the origins and chemical
|
|
processes of metabolism. Some investigators have even proposed that some
|
|
digital "life" in computers might already be considered a real life form.
|
|
|
|
Background
|
|
|
|
The term artificial life was coined in the 1980s by Christopher Langdon,
|
|
a computer scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Santa Fe
|
|
Institute. Langdon organized the first experimental workshop on the subject
|
|
at Santa Fe in 1987. Since then other a-life conferences have taken place,
|
|
drawing increasingly wider attention and a growing number of participants.
|
|
|
|
Theoretical studies of a-life, however, had been in progress long before
|
|
the 1980s. Most notably, the Hungarian-born U.S. mathematician John VON
|
|
NEUMANN, one of the pioneers of computer science, had begun to explore the
|
|
nature of very basic a-life formats called cellular automata (see AUTOMATA,
|
|
THEORY OF) in the 1950s. Cellular automata are imaginary mathematical
|
|
"cells" --analogous to checkerboard squares--that can be made to simulate
|
|
physical processes by subjecting them to certain simple rules called
|
|
algorithms (see ALGORITHM). Before his death, von Neumann had developed a
|
|
set of algorithms by which a cellular automaton--a box shape with a very
|
|
long tail--could "reproduce" itself.
|
|
|
|
Another important predecessor of a-life research was Dutch biologist
|
|
Aristid Lindenmeyer. Interested in the mathematics of plant growth,
|
|
Lindenmeyer found in the 1960s that through the use of a few basic
|
|
algorithms--now called Lindenmeyer systems, or L-systems--he could model
|
|
biochemical processes as well as tracing the development of complex
|
|
biological forms such as flowers. Computer-graphics programs now make use
|
|
of L-systems to yield realistic three-dimensional images of plants.
|
|
|
|
The significance of Lindenmeyer's contribution is evident in the fact
|
|
that so-called "genetic algorithms" are now basic to research into a-life
|
|
as well as many other areas of interest. Genetic algorithms, first
|
|
described by computer scientist John Holland of the University of Michigan
|
|
in the 1970s, are comparable to L-systems. A computer worker trying to
|
|
answer some question about a-life sets up a system--an algorithm--by which
|
|
the computer itself rapidly grades the multiple possible answers that it
|
|
has produced to the question. The most successful of the solutions are then
|
|
used to develop new software that yields further solutions, and the cycle
|
|
is repeated through several "generations" of answers.
|
|
|
|
Evolutionary Modeling
|
|
|
|
Langdon himself picked up on the work of von Neumann by attempting to
|
|
design an "a-life" form on a computer screen. In 1979 he finally succeeded
|
|
in developing loop-shaped objects that actually reproduced themselves, over
|
|
and over again. As new generations spread outward from the initial
|
|
"organisms" they left "dead" generations inside the expanding parameter.
|
|
Langdon noted that the "behavior" of these a-life forms genuinely mimicked
|
|
real-life processes of mutation and evolution. He eventually proposed that
|
|
a-life studies could provide keys to understanding the logical form of any
|
|
living systems, known or unknown.
|
|
|
|
One of the most striking a-life simulations of evolutionary processes
|
|
has been the work of Thomas Ray of the University of Delaware, who in 1990
|
|
set in motion a "world" of computer programs that he called Tierra. The
|
|
world started out with a single ancestor, a program containing 80
|
|
instructions. A-life evolution proceeded as mutations rapidly appeared. The
|
|
new forms included "parasites" that interacted with the original host
|
|
forms, producing further mutations of hosts and parasites that "learned" to
|
|
deal with one another anew in each succeeding generation. Bibliography:
|
|
Braitenberg, Valentino, Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology
|
|
(1984); Langdon, Christopher, ed., Artificial Life (1988); Levy, Steven,
|
|
Artificial Life (1992); Pagels, H. R., The Dreams of Reason (1988); Prata,
|
|
Stephen, Artificial Life (1993).
|