Conway’s Game of Life

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Life Lexicon

Fly-by deletion

A reaction performed by a passing convoy of spaceships which deletes a common stationary object without harming the convoy. Fly-by deletion is often used in the construction of puffers and spaceships to clean up unwanted debris.

For c/2 convoys this is not usually difficult since the LWSS, MWSS, and HWSS spaceships have such useful sparks. However, some objects are more difficult to delete. For example, deleting a tub appears to require an unusual p4 spaceship.

Game of Life pattern ’fly-by_deletion’

The deletion of a pond appears to require a convoy which is 89 cells in width containing a very unusual p4 spaceship which has 273 cells. There are small objects which have no known fly-by deletion reactions. However, as in the case of reanimation, hitting them with the output of rakes is an effective brute force method.

Game of Life Explanation

The Game of Life is not your typical computer game. It is a cellular automaton, and was invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway.

This game became widely known when it was mentioned in an article published by Scientific American in 1970. It consists of a grid of cells which, based on a few mathematical rules, can live, die or multiply. Depending on the initial conditions, the cells form various patterns throughout the course of the game.

Rules

For a space that is populated:
Examples

Each cell with one or no neighbors dies, as if by solitude.

Each cell with four or more neighbors dies, as if by overpopulation.

Each cell with two or three neighbors survives.

For a space that is empty or unpopulated:

Each cell with three neighbors becomes populated.

More information

Video’s about the Game of Life

Stephen Hawkings The Meaning of Life (John Conway's Game of Life segment)
The rules are explained in Stephen Hawkings’ documentary The Meaning of Life
Inventing Game of Life (John Conway) - Numberphile
John Conway himself talks about the Game of Life

Interesting articles about John Conway

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