ForthNet@willett.UUCP (ForthNet articles from GEnie) (03/21/90)
Date: 03-18-90 (22:59) Number: 3044 (Echo) To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: JERRY SHIFRIN Read: (N/A) Subj: Cellular Automata Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE Copied from the Science conference: Date: 02-21-90 (17:06) Number: 450 To: ALL Refer#: NONE From: PETER LONGO Read: NO Subj: ALL THERE IS, AND MORE. Conf: (60) Science ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In a recent post Fred mentioned the hype that trickled from the first Artificial Life Conference. Well the second Conference commenced this week, and the trickle has become a stream. Tommaso Toffoli and Norman Margolus, whose book on Cellular Automata Machines, and whose accompanying hardware called CAM-6, captured some attention a few years back, have now upgraded their device to CAM-8. CAM-6 was an interesting attempt to make a cellular automata processor on a IBM compatible plug-in board. It was hampered by the fact that it did not really implement a full register shifted and time updated display, and relied on a clumsy version of a clumsy language, namely FORTH. All in all, though, it could produce some interesting biological models, as well as do a fair job at modeling some chemical reactions and percolation phenomena. What, you may ask, does CAM-8 hold in store for us? According to Toffoli, CAM-8 is "computronium", or a flexible "element" capable of mimicking all other elements and particles real or imagined....it embodies the concept of "programmable matter." "In programmable matter, the same cubic meter of machinery can become a wind tunnel at one moment, a polymer soup at the next; it can model a sea of fermions, a genetic pool or an epidemiology experiment at the flick of a console key." All other particles real or imagined, *all* folks, not just some, but every conceivable thing in the universe is now at your fingertips! Programmable matter is here, don't wait, get some now! Strangely, the explanation of programmable matter sounds reminiscent of a quaint device that was used by low-browed barbarians before the coming of CAM-8; it was called the digital computer. I think the Conference has another week to go, who knows what other wonders will be revealed. --- ~ EZ 1.26 ~ ----- This message came from GEnie via willett through a semi-automated process. Report problems to: 'uunet!willett!dwp' or 'willett!dwp@gateway.sei.cmu.edu'