6 ms·

The Computer Maverick Who Modeled the Evolution of Life (2014)

48 points by wheresvic3 7y ago

anderspitman 7y ago
If you find this interesting, I recommend also looking into genetic algorithms, artificial life (alife), cellular automata, Conway's game of Life, falling sand games, and Karl Sims virtual creatures.
- AllegedAlec 7y ago
  Advanced reading search terms: - Cellular Potts Models - Evolution of evolvability - Replicators and the Error treshold
dang 7y ago
Discussed at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7919850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7919850 A bit from a month ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20439790 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20439790
- bklaasen 7y ago
  Steven Levy's 1992 book "Artificial Life" is well worth a read.
9214 7y ago
I urge anyone who's interested in that kind of stuff to read "Allure of machinic life" by John Johnston [1]. A fascinating read that touches upon all strands of natural computing (soft / hard ALife, wetware, AI, evolutionary computation, swarm intelligence, behavior-based robotics, 1st and 2nd order cybernetics, theory of self-reproducing automata and whatnot) with a pondering touch of Deleuzian philosophy. There's no mention of Barricelli though, but another equally interesting book [2] recognizes his pioneering work on artifical symbiogenesis (and that was back in 1953!), and speculates on its importance in the genealogy of computer worms and viruses. [1]: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/allure-machinic-life https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/allure-machinic-life [2]: https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/58766 https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/58766
yters 7y ago
As a counter perspective check out "Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics" https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Evolutionary-Informatics-Robert-Marks/dp/9813142146 https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Evolutionary-Informatics...
- jdkee 7y ago
  Intelligent design is neither.
  - yters 7y ago
    The book is very readable, and has quite a lot of artificial life simulation analysis and mathematical proof. While it is written by well known members of the ID crowd, the book does not advance any claims about intelligent design. The book analyzes why these simulations work, and clearly presents all its claims, so it is quite accessible for the reader to pick apart and check their validity.
    - gridlockd 7y ago
      Ah, so that's the other part of your misconceptions. As far as I can see, the point made in the (first part of) the book is that informed algorithms (on average) always outperform random searches and that genetic algorithms are akin to random searches. The first part is true, the second part isn't. Evolution isn't random, mutation is random. Selection is very much not random, it is informed by the environment. This drastically reduces the size so-called "search space". Using the term "search" for the outcomes of evolution is a curious choice anyway. Evolution doesn't search for anything in particular, it produces adaptation to an environment. It's a process without end. As for computer simulations, check out the simulated biped that evolved hopping like a kangaroo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2bqz3HPJE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2bqz3HPJE
      - yters 7y ago
        The book is not about biological evolution. They are analyzing artificial life simulations like Avida and Terra. Different topic than what we are discussing in the other thread. The fundamental point is that information is conserved, so if artificial life sims produce information, it must have been inserted into the code at some point, and it is possible to track down these particular insertion points, which the authors do. In information theory the conservation of information theorem goes by various names, such as the data processing inequality and independence conservation. Anyways, I highly recommend the book. Everything is clearly laid out for your own analysis and application.
Scaevolus 7y ago
Nanopond more closely matches what you might envision an artificial petri dish looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yE8Si8rMM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yE8Si8rMM

48 points by wheresvic3 7y ago

If you find this interesting, I recommend also looking into genetic algorithms, artificial life (alife), cellular automata, Conway's game of Life, falling sand games, and Karl Sims virtual creatures.

AllegedAlec 7y ago
Advanced reading search terms: - Cellular Potts Models - Evolution of evolvability - Replicators and the Error treshold

dang 7y ago

Discussed at the time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7919850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7919850 A bit from a month ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20439790 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20439790

bklaasen 7y ago
Steven Levy's 1992 book "Artificial Life" is well worth a read.

9214 7y ago

I urge anyone who's interested in that kind of stuff to read "Allure of machinic life" by John Johnston [1]. A fascinating read that touches upon all strands of natural computing (soft / hard ALife, wetware, AI, evolutionary computation, swarm intelligence, behavior-based robotics, 1st and 2nd order cybernetics, theory of self-reproducing automata and whatnot) with a pondering touch of Deleuzian philosophy. There's no mention of Barricelli though, but another equally interesting book [2] recognizes his pioneering work on artifical symbiogenesis (and that was back in 1953!), and speculates on its importance in the genealogy of computer worms and viruses. [1]: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/allure-machinic-life https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/allure-machinic-life [2]: https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/58766 https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/58766

yters 7y ago

As a counter perspective check out "Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics" https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Evolutionary-Informatics-Robert-Marks/dp/9813142146 https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Evolutionary-Informatics...

jdkee 7y ago
Intelligent design is neither.
- yters 7y ago
  The book is very readable, and has quite a lot of artificial life simulation analysis and mathematical proof. While it is written by well known members of the ID crowd, the book does not advance any claims about intelligent design. The book analyzes why these simulations work, and clearly presents all its claims, so it is quite accessible for the reader to pick apart and check their validity.
  - gridlockd 7y ago
    Ah, so that's the other part of your misconceptions. As far as I can see, the point made in the (first part of) the book is that informed algorithms (on average) always outperform random searches and that genetic algorithms are akin to random searches. The first part is true, the second part isn't. Evolution isn't random, mutation is random. Selection is very much not random, it is informed by the environment. This drastically reduces the size so-called "search space". Using the term "search" for the outcomes of evolution is a curious choice anyway. Evolution doesn't search for anything in particular, it produces adaptation to an environment. It's a process without end. As for computer simulations, check out the simulated biped that evolved hopping like a kangaroo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2bqz3HPJE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2bqz3HPJE
    - yters 7y ago
      The book is not about biological evolution. They are analyzing artificial life simulations like Avida and Terra. Different topic than what we are discussing in the other thread. The fundamental point is that information is conserved, so if artificial life sims produce information, it must have been inserted into the code at some point, and it is possible to track down these particular insertion points, which the authors do. In information theory the conservation of information theorem goes by various names, such as the data processing inequality and independence conservation. Anyways, I highly recommend the book. Everything is clearly laid out for your own analysis and application.

Scaevolus 7y ago

Nanopond more closely matches what you might envision an artificial petri dish looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yE8Si8rMM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yE8Si8rMM