"It is possible to build a pattern that acts like a finite state machine connected to two counters. This has the same computational power as a universal Turing

"It is possible to build a pattern that acts like a finite state machine connected to two counters. This has the same computational power as a universal Turing machine, so the Game of Life is theoretically as powerful as any computer with unlimited memory and no time constraints: it is Turing complete." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conways_Game_of_Life http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conways_Game_of_Life Also see, "a Turing Machine implemented in Conway's Game of Life": http://rendell-attic.org/gol/tm.htm http://rendell-attic.org/gol/tm.htm