Computers and Life

Alan Dorin

Faculty of Information Technology, Building 75, Clayton

LIFE, n. What is it? What is it good for? Is it the same today as it was yesterday? Can computers help us get a-life? This seminar will explain why you should be interested in a & b life. Can anything be more important?

 

LIFE, n. A spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not missed. The question, "Is life worth living?" has been much discussed; particularly by those who think it is not, many of whom have written at great length in support of their view and by careful observance of the laws of health enjoyed for long terms of years the honors of successful controversy. [Bierce, Devil's Dictionary 1911]

 

LIFE, n. The first popular cellular automata based artificial life "game". Life was invented by British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970 and was first introduced publicly in "Scientific American" later that year. [Free On-line Dictionary of Computing 2003]

 

LIFE, n. The state of being which begins with generation, birth, or germination, and ends with death; also, the time during which this state continues; that state of an animal or plant in which all or any of its organs are capable of performing all or any of their functions; -- used of all animal and vegetable organisms. [Webster Dictionary 1913]

CSE1370/CSE2370: This is one of a series of occasional talks on varied topics for interested 1st and 2nd year computing students. The talks are associated with CSE1370/CSE2370, a zero-point unit `Advanced First/Second-year Projects'; zero points but it does appear on your academic record. (Note that anyone can attend the talks.) The [projects] are for interested students and run in 2nd semester. Staff members, and postgraduates, will offer project topics in Computer Science, Software Engineering and related fields. But if you have a particular project idea of your own, contact [Lloyd Allison] who will try to find a supervisor for it.