4 ms·
This symbol is not ominous; the glider doesn't die. It moves through four states, arriving at this steady state: XX X X X I'm surprised that the
by taylorfausak 14y ago
This symbol is not ominous; the glider doesn't die. It moves through four states, arriving at this steady state:
XX
X X
X
I'm surprised that the author wrote such a lengthy article without making sure that the premise is true. I think he misread the engraving and transposed the stray dot to the left, like so:
X X
X
XXX
That symbol does die.
- GenericAlias 14y ago"Technically the glider becomes a known static shape. But for this active and useful little craft with its wiggly diagonal propagation and useful character, it is as good as death." Though it is fairly easy to miss, it is stated in the article. The author is using "death" to mean that the shapes stop changing, not that the dots disappear- which is not the same meaning you and I thought of at first.
- taylorfausak 14y agoMea culpa. I was confused because Conway's game of life has two states: life and death. Living things that don't move are still lifes [1]. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life_(cellular_automaton)#Tubs.2C_barges.2C_boats_and_ships http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life_(cellular_automaton)...
- wisty 14y agoThe steady state looks a bit like an apple.
- DanielRibeiro 14y agoMore info on it, with animation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_glider http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_glider