ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

28 Toward Ultimate Computing
Figure 1.11Two dimensional Ising generator evolves to stable state of opposite
spin states aligned horizontally, and like spin states aligned diagonally. This
stable configuration is similar to MT automaton simulation (Figure 1.12).
Computer generation by Conrad Schneiker.
Cellular automata are frequent topics of Scientific American’s Mathematical
Games columns. Written by Martin Gardner and, more recently, A. K. Dewdney
these columns have intermittently focused on the game of “Life,” a cellular
automaton invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway in 1968
(Gardner, 1970). “Life” is played on a large two-dimensional grid of square cells.
Each cell has eight neighbors, four at the edges and fourat the corners, and exists
in one of two states: “dead” or “alive.” At each generation, cells may die or come
alive, their fate determined by the number of living neighbors. For example a
living cell with fewer than two living neighbors, or more than three, will not
survive (due to lack of sustenance or overcrowding, respectively). A dead cell