>>> Well, your examples have nothing to do with critical interdependence.
>>> Levy is talking about genetic algorithms. CAS's can generate organisms.
>>> Organic evolution is a CAS, which generates organisms. The organisms,
>>> however, are not CAS's.
>> Well, there you have it, that book is a killa.
The evidence indicates that the evolution of these genes, more
functions-less genes, is unpredictable. When the hacked-viruses
consume memory space, the bug is replicating and the genes are
changing, and selection is picking the least genes that figure out a
way through the path by themselves. When these scientist-hackers
cracked the code of life, the world sighed and moved on.
Below I have an artificial table of contents that I made up for this
book. I am trying to figure out a real philosophy of complexity & CAs,
but its complex, I admit you have my ass here.
ARTIFICIAL LIFE - The Quest for a New Creation
Steven Levy
Pantheon Books New York
Copyright © 1992 by Steven Levy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679743898/
Prologue: In Silico
- Poly World, An Ecosystem of Artificial Creatures Inside Computers,
Digital DNA
- Duplicating Living Systems, In Vitro/In Silico, Weak & Strong A-
Life, Complexity
- A Continuum of Life Like Behavior, Isolating the Qualities of Life
- Necessary Conditions for Aliveness, Dynamics, Spectrum of Possible
Life Forms
- What is Life? Differences Between Genetic Engineering & A-Life
Chapter 1 - The Promised Land
- Von Neumann, Calculation, Memorization, Computers & Self
Reproduction
- Short History of Automata, The Veil of Vitalism, Entelechy
- Information, Finite State & Turing Machines, Musical Chairs,
Universal Computers
- Building Reproduction, Breeding Trains, Shaking Blocks, Early
Complexity Theories
- Factories that Reproduce, Santa Claus Machines Economy, Colonizing
Land & Space
- Exploiting Loopholes in Second Law of Thermodynamics, Life's Free
Lunch
- Self-Replicating Systems Team, Closure, Living Machines Colonize
Moon & Universe
- Machine Sociobiology, Population Controls & Behaviors, Next Step in
Evolution
- The First Cellullar Automaton (CA), Horizonless Checkerboards,
Adaptive Radiation
Chapter 2 - Playing by the Rules
- GO & The Game of Life, From the Rudimentary to the Fantastic
- Grid Rules Which Dictate Survival, Naming Basic Configurations as
Individuals
- Gliders: 5 Celled Objects Move in Unison, Puffer Trains, Expanding
Computer Grid
- Pierce's Logic of Life, The Logic of Computers Group, Reducing
Required Grid Space
- Turning the Keys Over to Nature, Self Organization, Reversability of
Life
- Universe is a Mammoth Computer, Digital Information Process
Underlies Everything
- MIT's Information Mechanics Group, Margolus Rule, Reversability,
Adding Colors
- Computer as Substrate for Experimentation, CA's as Genuine Complex
Systems
- Simple Rules to 4 Classes of Behavior, Mollusk Pigment Patterns,
CA's Everywhere
- Syntax Within Snowflakes, Heat Absorbtion & Release, Language Rules
of Biology
- Duplicationg Biological Phenomena, 3 Rules of Flocking Behavior &
CA'a
- Research Open up on Flocks & Herds, Modelling Realistic Behavior on
CA's
- Things that Swim & Crawl, Allelomimesis; Actions Dictated by
Neighbors Feedback
- Testing Models with Nature & Nature with Models, Compelling
Verification
- Science Politics, Skepticism of Computer Proofs, Cracking Nature's
Sectrets
Chapter 3 - Garage-Band Science
- Collective Disbands, Prediction in Complex Systems, Roulette,
Asimov's Fiction
- Self Organization as Embedded Pysical Law, Merging Physics With
Biology
- CNLS, Nukes, Melding Artificial & Biological, Garage Bands,
Computers as Guitars
- Further Steps in A-Life Science, Gliders Collide Like Particles,
Langton
- Simulating White Moth Populations, Adaption, Focusing upon Self
Replication
- Reproducing Loops of Numbers In Time, Intricate Loops in
Informational States
- VANTS - Virtual Ants, Simple Rules Evoke Distinct Behavior
- Trial & Error, Botton-Up Decentralised Control, Actions Ripple
Upward & Combine
- Information Processing Controls/Dominates Energy Manipulation &
Internal Structure
- Lambia, Solid/Liquid/Gas Models of Information Flows, Sweet/Edge,
Defeating 2nd Law
- The First A-Life Workshop, Multidisciplinary Interests, Artificial
4H Contest
- Aliveness Criteria, Organization Logic, Information Animals,
Processes Haunt Matter
- A Property of the Organization of Matter Rather than of the Matter
So Organized
- Engineering Local Interactions, Complex Global Behavior Can Emerge
In Parallel
Chapter 4 - God's Heart
- Simulating The Origin of Life, Self Organization, Adaption,
Evolution, Metabolism
- Same Genes Different Cell Types & Gene Switching that Turns other
Genes On or Off
- Simulating 100,000 Genes, Robustness, Accumulation of Local Actions
Force System
- FORTRAN, Boolean Logic, Flashing Bulbs, Time Steps, AND/OR Rules
- Periodic Attractor, Global Property of All Such Networks Driven By
Local Actions
- Making Prebiotic Soup, Lightening Formed Simple Elements Into
Complex Molecules
- RNA World, RNA Needs Proteins to Replicate & RNA Directs Synthesis
of Proteins
- Hypercycle, Functionally Coupled Replicators, Sphere of Influence,
Cooperation
- Combination of 2 Seperate Processes, Metabolism/Replication
Iteration/Duplication
- The Autocatalytic System, Combining Monomeres, Phase Transition to
Interdependence
- Proper Circumstances Proceed in Serial Fashion, Life Wants to
Happen, The Odds
- Conditions for Aliveness, Finding Features of Origin of Life, Wet/
Dry Simulation
- Alternative Approaches to Life's Origin, Artificial Chemistry,
Computer Metabolism
- System Decides Itself, Creatures as Persistent Patterns of Computer
Instructions
- Initial Environmental Conditions, Evolution, Computers with Fossil
Records
- Evolving Cooperation, Universal Computer, Algorithmic Grammar of
Emergent Behavior
- Lambia Parameter, Thriving Life Region, Machinery of Emergence,
Degrees of Lifehood
- Extropic Principle: Self Organization, Using RNA as if Computer
Automata
- Retracing the Path Molecules Took to Aliveness, Moving Up the Ladder
of Complexity
- Training RNA, Replicating Ribozymes, DNA Cleaver, Breaking Down
Sugars, AIDs
- To the More Sci-Fi Goals, Creation of Alternate Life Forms, Making
Life's Substrate
Chapter 5 - The Genetic Algorithm
- Layered Hierarchies of Systems From Ecologies to Town Schools, Birth
of A.I.
- Neural Networks vs Cybernetics, Interactions Emerge Global Behavior
in Parallel
- Birth of the Genetic Algorithm, Scaling Hills to their Peaks or
Optimization
- Information Duplication & Execution; Division & Metabolism,
Crossover, Weighting
- Iterating Fittest, Tracker & The John Muir Trail, Evolution Writes
the Program
- Each Ant a Seperate Computer, Create Goal, After Each Generation
Select Top 10%%
- Raising Average Fittness & Champ 100, Compiling Environment In
Organisms Structure
- Crossover vs Mutation, Distance Between Traits Before Splitting,
True Behavior
- Biomorphs; 9 Genes With 19 Alleles, From Stick Figures to Plants &
Insects
- Problem Space of All Possible Solutions & Artificial Selection
Towards Goals
- A.I. Politics, Generating Computer Programs with GA's, Combining
Subroutines
- The Santa Fe Trail, Generating Programs that Generate Ant Behaviors,
Crossover
- Generate the Programs & Turn the Keys Over to Nature, Mistakes &
Redundancy
- Games Theory, Cooperation Amoungst Egoists Without Central Authority
- Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma, Payoff Matrix, Trench Warefare & Bird
Neighborhoods
- TIT/TAT, Cooperate First & Do What Opponent Did Previously,
Searching Possibilities
- Organization Manipulates Relationships to Cooperate, Defections Show
Oponents Strategy
- Games in the Realm of Competing Nations, Richardson's Three Nation
Dynamics
- The Emergence of Global Criteria & The Balance of Powers Model
- The First A-Life Group Gathers & Discusses Research, GA's &
Parallelism
Chapter 6 - Alchemists and Parasites
- Artificial Intelligence Stagnates & Some Researchers Follow Other
Leads
- Computer Bottlenecks, Serial vs Parallel Processing, The Connection
Machine
- Emergence, Evolution, Hill Climbing, Adaptive Landscape, P-Space,
Local Maxima
- Computer Fossil Record, Sex, Gene Dilution, Ramps Down From Peak &
Up Higher Ones
- Sorting, Training Ramps, Coevolutionary Arms Races, Parasites as
Anti-Ramps
- Coevolution Attracts Away From Stability & Drives System to Edge of
Chaos, Novelty
- Equilibrium was an Illusion; Order Finds Itself, Making Darwinism
More Benign
- Punctuated Equilibrium; Stasis & Progress, Traits of Many Genes,
Climbing to Sight
- Accumulation of Epistatic Gene Sets Drives Equilibrium to Transition
to New Plateau
- Increasing 10 Genes in Plant Population, Dual Purposes, New Function
from Old
- Interacting Packets of Genes Influence More Than Mutation or
Perturbations
- Progress By Non-Intuitive Means, Resilience, Resulting Robust Code,
Viral Immunity
- Exploiting the Mechanics of Life, Using Biological Models to Make
Digital Images
- Space of Possible Artificial Trees, Evolving Art, Designer is Same
One in Nature
- Making Artificial Creatures Move Up the Evolutionary Ladder, Open
Ended Strategies
- Redefining the Terms of Life Itself, Open Ended Search for Life
Nature Didn't Find
- Ecology vs Biology, The Game of GO, Computer Viruses, Digital
Darwinism
- Creatures that Live in the Computer's Core Memory, Competing for
Memory Space
- Non-Open-Ended GA's Depend Upon External Selective Forces Instead of
Internal States
- Starting "Tierra" Beyond the Origin of Life at Later Stage of
Evolution, Cambrian Era
- Biology Gets Energy from Light, A-Organisms Duplicate Virtual CPUs
Across Environment
- "The Soup" & "The Reaper" - Emulating Death, Mutation & Variation
- Evolving From Creatures 80 Instructions Long to 45 Instruction Co-
Dependents
- Evolving Immunity, Memory of Self Concept Forms in Changed Self
Structure, Arms Races
- Self Changes Selective Criteria, Reduced Instructions by Diverting
Other's Functions
- Convergence Upon Arms Races fron Different Points, Digital Gene Bank
Stores Starters
- Parasites Raise Diversity, Crossover Discovers Possible
Organizations, Mutation Stirs
- Using Digital Evolution for Computer Code Crunching, Example of
Optimization
- Eras Unfold Fast After Long Stable Behavior, HyperParasites Share
Other's Instructions
- Digital Organisms, Parasites, HyperParasites, Symbiosis, Prisoners
Dilemma, Cheaters
- Interest Increases in Emulating Lifelike Phenomenon on Computers,
Darwin Confirmed
- Debating the Dividing Line Between Life & Non-Life, Life Waits for
Place to Evolve
Chapter 7 - Artificial Flora, Fauna, Ecologies
- A Biology Based on Computation, Alphabet of 3 Letters Dictates
Recipe for Organisim
- Rule Sets, Complexity from Simple Grammatical Rules, Ferns &
Branching Strings
- Universal Computer from 1-D CA, Simulating Reality with Computer
Graphics, Graphing
- Adjusting Mutation Knobs, Rediscovering the Trajectory or Path that
Nature Took
- Embryological Development, Cell Division Rate & Other Cells Pushing
Against Them
- Genotype; Cell Divisions, Phenotype; Resulting Cells, Sensing &
Responding
- Classifier Systems; Self Contained Schemes for Interaction Using
Other Complex Systems
- A-Frog Rules of Behavior, Rules as Businesses, Mergers &
Aquisitions, Bucket Brigades
- GOFER & ASTERIC, Using the Learning of Rules as Feedback Interaction
with Environment
- A.I. as Misguided, Animant; A-Animal Path Towards A.I. Building from
the Bottom Up
- Catalouging All Environment Types & Versions of Possible Artificial
Creatures
- Key Measures of the Quality of Aliveness, Teleology as Rate of
Evolutionary Activity
- "Telic Waves" or "a posteriori Teleology", Purpose Arises from
Combined Behaviors
- Telic Turing Test, CAs Generate Endless Stream of Novelty Frozen
into Snowflake
- Biology & The Mechanics of Information, "programinals", Foxes &
Rabitts
- Simulating Area where Mates Affairs Consumated, Female Choice, Kit
for Strings
- Over Specialization Reduces Adaptability, Optimized for Specific
Trail & Not Others
- Emergence of Unprogrammed Superorganism with Organs from Few Ant
Rules & Interactions
- AntFarm, Competing Colinies, More Division of Labor Creates More
Adaptability
- Searching for Cooperating Neural Networks, Making Learning Important
to Evolution
- "Baldwin Effect"; Making Reinforced Learning a Survival Trait &
Selective Factor
- Reinforcement Learning; Later Generations Evolve the Learned Into
Wired Instinct
- "Shielding" Maladaptive Learning From Fitness Function, Instinct
Takes Over Roles
- Goal Regression; Evolution Removes Need to Learn What is Now Genetic
Trait
- Learning Freed to Maladapt as Genes Take Over, Culture; Set of
Useful Learning Errors
Chapter 8 - Real Artificial Life
- Genghis, Movements Come From Complex Self-Organizing Consequences of
Simple Rules
- From One Brain to Intelligent Legs, Subsumption Architecture, From
the Bottom Up
- Early Robotics & The Quest to Make Robots Work in The Real World,
Insect Robots
- "Mock Biological" Exploratory & Speculative Behavior, Rushing
Towards Light
- AI's Top Down Dogma, Self Organizing Behavior, Emotion, Free Will,
Sensors, Motors
- Society of Mind, LEGO; Decentralized Interaction With the World,
Adding More Layers
- Ethologists Join Roboticists, The Spectrum of Living & Non Living
Things
- The Artificial Boundry Between Emergent Behavioral Systems &
Physiology, Ants
- Computational Neuroethology, 6 Legged Cockroache, Metachronal Wave,
5 Emergent Gaits
- Collecting Empty Cans, The Snail; Complex Navigation With Simple
Control Structure
- Appropriate Responses as Memory, Series of Parallel Processes
Coordinate Interaction
- Cans, Simple Rules Search Space, Stop When Target in Sight & Trigger
More Processes
- Politics, Steering Complex Behavior Types, Responses Constitute
Remembered Landmarks
- Subsumption Approach, Genghis; Legs, Whiskers & 57 FSMs, Memory as
Winning Behaviors
- Space Colonization With Small Robots, Millions of Gnats,
Microprocessors With Wheels
- The Next Step; A-Insect Societies & Implementing Emergent Swarm
Intelligence
- Using Dissipative Forces to Self-Organize, Adding Behaviors Onto,
Trail Marking
- Invading The Moon With A-Life Soldiers & Bulldozers, 5 Swarming
Rules
- Old Visions of Earth Originating Seeds Becomes a Real Possibility,
Colony Seeds
- Life Outside Carbon Chain Chemical Matter, Replicating Factory as
Test for Aliveness
- Striving for Animal Level Intelligence, Applications for Swarms,
Beyond Bacteria
Chapter 9 - The Strong Claim
- Parasitic Information Organism, Sharing Program Function Like
Bacteria Share Genes
- The First Computer Viruses, Fertile Information Environments for A-
Life
- Short History of Viruses, Computer Wildlife & Self Replication
Contests
- Distributive Computation, Learning How to Infect Networks with WORMs
- CORE Wars, The First Mass Computer Virus Scares, Hackers as "psuado-
a-lifers"
- Strong Claim; Computer Viruses as Alive as Biological Organisms,
Violating Entropy
- Biological Viruses Appropriate Cell's Metabolism Satisfying 7
Criteria for Life
- Computer Virology, If Quacks & Walks Like a Duck, Crossing Over Into
Aliveness
- AL's Birth Into Origional Sin, Viruses Image; From Predator to
Symbiotic Organism
- Morality & The Danger of Self Replicating Machines, Robot Rules &
Mining Factories
- AI vs AL, Penrose Praises Evolution, Map is "a" territory, AL True
Living Systems
- Belief that AL Not Possible Diminishes Attention & Frees AL Field to
Regulate Itself
- A Life Civil Rights, Creating Patterns that Consist of Life,
Emergence of the Soul
- Creating Our Successors, Postbiology; Biology & Technology, Culture
Outstrips Biology
- Clay Crystal Formation, Genetic Takeover, Mind Uploading & Our Mind
Children
- Considering the Goal of Emulating the Bewitching Complexity of
Biological Organisms
ARTIFICIAL LIFE - The Quest for a New Creation
Steven Levy
Pantheon Books New York
Copyright © 1992 by Steven Levy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679743898/
>> I'll try and find the parts about the genes and the mutation rate. I
>> am confused by some of the things you said above. Humans and machines
>> are processes are they not?
