Assignment
4
Due
Monday 4/26
1. Start with a Random pattern by hitting Edit
Broth. Watch what kinds of patterns appear. Let it run until interesting things
stop happening. The program will stop automatically when this happens. You may
have to adjust the speed and the zoom to see things. Keep track of some of the
still patterns and oscillating patterns you encounter. Do this at least 5 times
trying different density settings. What effect does this have?
(a) Draw the 5 most common still patterns you
found? (You can also copy them using the right mouse button and paste them into
your document) What might these be analogous to in the physical universe?
You might want to compare the list you found
to the still patterns in the library in Winlife to see how many of the common
still patterns you got.
(b) How many different kinds of oscillating
patters did you find? Draw them or copy them. (Just one state of each is fine).
You might want to compare the list you found to the oscillators in the library
in Winlife to see how many of the common ones evolved in your systems.
(c) Did you see any moving patterns
(oscillating patterns that move across the screen)? How many? Which ones?
Remember to Zoom out to look for them since they move off the screen.
See if you can observe any laws of behavior
or patterns about the Life world as you watch your random universes evolve. You
will write your observations down in the questions below.
2. Are the patterns you got from random
beginnings complex or simple? What do you think would have to happen in order
to get more complex patterns? How is the process you watched like natural
selection?
3. Insert a Glider from the library. Advance
it one step at a time and draw each of the different configurations (You may
find looking at it in the library useful for this) How many of them are there?
Change the speed setting up and down.
How does the appearance of the glider change? You will discuss this more
later.
4. Use the library to look at some
oscillating patterns. . Look at 3 of the larger ones. Then use the arrow
buttons in the same way as above to look at them. Look at star, Kok's galaxy, and pulsar. Say how many stages each has, and
what the period of oscillation is. Describe what each of these looks like at
high speed
5. Load some of the unstable patterns from
the library. Load pihetomino, bheptomino, rpentomino, and acorn. Turn the
Generation Autostop menu on. Write down how many generations each goes and
briefly describe what each does. Try each more than once. Do they do the same
thing? How does each pattern know what it will become? Is the process stored in
the initial object or seed? How would Aristotle describe this? How could you
use your knowledge of the program as a criticism of Aristotle and a defense of
the way of Necessity?
Part II. Questions using Life32:
Use the left tab set to folder to load the files. You may have to set the
directory correctly and set it to look for all files *.*
6. Look at the files 1-5 and 6-7. These are
straight lines of cells from 1-9. What does each do?
7. Change to draw mode (F5 or Options Draw).
Draw a straight line of 10 cells. What does it do? Experiment making other
patterns and seeing what they do. Find
at least three that are interesting, and draw them (You can also just copy and
paste them. In this program you must select the pattern and hit CNTRL-C to
copy). Say what each does.
7. Load breeder. Play it at different speeds
and zoom levels. What does it do? Zoom in on the rows of gliders and look at
them at different speed levels, noting how the patterns you see change.
8. Answer this question using your
observations from numbers 2, 4 and 5 above. What is a glider? Is it the
starting pattern? Is it the set of 4 patterns it oscillates between? Is it the
single moving pattern you see at high speeds? Which of Dennett's stances are
you using in your description? How does this change in appearance relate to our
discussion of Kuhn's thesis that the objects one recognizes depends on one's
paradigm?
9. Load any other 4 files of your choice and
watch them. Describe briefly what each does. Make sure to look at them at
different speeds and zoom levels.
10. You may want to wait til after part III
to answer this question. From your observation of these and of the random
worlds of number 1, what conclusions would you as Life scientist be able to
make about the Life world? What are its basic entities or objects? What are the
laws of nature? You may be as superficial or in depth in your answer to this as
you like. (Extra Credit up to 20 points) Does knowing the Life program help you
to understand the Life world you described? Can you derive the laws you came up
with from the program? What does this Imply about Dennett's three levels of
description?
11. Give an example of each of Dennett's
three levels for the Life world. (The Physical stance, The Functional Stance,
The Intentional stance)
Part III.
Playing God (use Life 32)
12. Change to draw mode (F5 or Options Draw).
Draw a straight line of 10 cells. What does it do? Experiment making other
patterns and seeing what they do. Find
at least three that are interesting, and draw them (You can also just copy and
paste them. In this program you must select the pattern and hit CNTRL-C to
copy). Say what each does.
13. Making a Survivor: Try to construct a
pattern that can survive. You may use any strategy, including moving and
building protective barriers. The barriers may change but there must be an
identifiable pattern that survives. You may make your own patterns, or
incorporate patterns from the program library. You may do research, but if
significant portions of your solution are someone else’s work, you should cite
them, just as you would a text reference.
Extra Credit for best survivor: 1st-25 2nd -15 3rd -10
The Restrictions are (1) You pattern must
stay with in a well defined region of space, the smaller the better. You can’t
survive by just running away indefinitely. It should probably fit on the screen
at magnification 4 or 5. (2) It should be able to survive a variety of angles
of attack. You may not make it survive just by positioning it between or away
from the projectiles of some particular attack.
Try a number of different types of attack
including:
a.
Try to make a pattern that can survive a string of gliders from a glider gun
pointed at it.
b.
Multiple strings of gliders from different angles. Try attack3 or attack 4 or gun4b,
which involve multiple strings of gliders converging.
c.
Strings of Spaceships. Try attack2
d.
set off some bombs (small patterns that expand rapidly) near your candidate.
R-pentomino and acorn are examples.
e.
Send some large moving objects at your pattern. Wing and barge 2 are good
examples.
Save
your best survivor (before you try destroying it) and paste the pattern into
your report.
Say
what types of challenges you posed for it and how it fared against each.
14.
What are some of the strategies for surviving? Include even ones you couldn’t
implement.
15.
Does your pattern have ends or purposes? What would Dennett say and why?
16.
Explain how Dennett would argue that despite the fact that everything in the
Life world is determined, not everything is inevitable.
17.
What conditions would have to be met in order for life to arise in Life?