automata

From the brief discussion Monday it seemed as though few in the class were totally clear about what cellular automata, graph theory, etc. are. This is refreshing given the fact that no studio presentation seemed complete without trotting out images of these happenstance glitch pixelations a couple of years ago.

While Cellular Automata (or CA) currently enjoys a credibility on par with occult icons such as the sphinx, Ouija boards and the lost city of Atlantis, the rumors are at least partially true. Much of the discreditation stems from a central figure, Stephen Wolfram’s egotistical overreach in claiming to replace every major physical science with one explanation: automata. His 2002 A New Kind of Science is a one-of-a-kind resource for thorough explanations and a cataloging of simple generative systems. They are unfortunately freighted with an overbearing argument and pompous language, but it should not be ignored.

The book is available on line here. Also here is a pdf of a particularly useful chapter addressing generative systems and topology. This is where we’re headed with the Mathematica programming. Think of how the topological relationships come to be. Don't get bogged down in the text. Despite Stephen’s skepticism, this is going to be like jenkem for your geometry.