wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (02/25/85)
Just read THE RECURSIVE UNIVERSE, by William Poundstone (1985, 252pp, William Morrow & Co.) -- subtitle: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge. I recommend it as being of interest to those of you with an interest in either cosmology, physics, or the game "Life". Poundstone uses "Life" (and some related constructs, like Von Neumann's self-reproducing cellular array) to demonstrate how relatively simple fundamental physical laws can give rise to something as complex as our universe. It also is a great intro to "Life", for those of you who might find this game something worth experimenting with. I had read the initial info on it in Scientific American back in 1970 and '71 (gee, that makes me feel old...), played with it a little, and then shelved it in dead storage in the back of my mind. Seeing how many interesting things have been done with it, as outlined in this book, is inspiring. The book contains BASIC and IBM-PC assembler version programs to play "Life" on small machines. (By the way, is there a C version [or several] floating around the net, maybe set up for various graphic terminals in addition to text terminals?) The book is well worth checking out of your local library, even if you don't find the topic worth buying a copy (price has been clipped from this library copy.) Regards, Will Martin USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA