2 ms·
First, I thought "not so simple!" But it's wonderfully grokkable compared to zooming in on equivalent hardware and watching transistor states unfold.
by mwcz 1y ago
First, I thought "not so simple!"
But it's wonderfully grokkable compared to zooming in on equivalent hardware and watching transistor states unfold.
- kimixa 1y agoI think I see the opposite - a Game of Life logic gate is way harder to understand than just a symbol representing the logic itself. And I see most logic gate transistor implementations as much simpler and so easier.
- ninetyninenine 1y agoRight but the motion of each signal is observable in the game of life version.
- mwcz 1y agoI meant zooming in on the hardware very literally. Watching electrons in a transistor. Logic diagrams are naturally easier to understand than what they describe.
- waltbosz 1y agoIt's a funny coincidence, the game of life computer reminded me of the human computer they built in the book "Three Body Problem", and your comment uses the term "grok" from the book "Stranger in a Strange Land", two scifi books I read recently.
- mwcz 1y agoLet's write an algorithm that ranks HN by number of oblique sci-fi book references!