The Recursive Universe: Difference between revisions

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{{cquote|No winners, no losers, and no end - the Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is no ordinary computer game. Created by British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970, Life debuted in Scientific American, where it was hailed as the key to a new area of mathematical research, the field of cellular automata. Less of a game than a demonstration of logical possibilities, Life is based on simple rules and produces patterns of light and dark on computer screens that reflect the unpredictability, complexity, and beauty of the universe. This popular science journey explores Life's relationship to concepts in information theory, explaining the application of natural law to random systems and demonstrating the necessity of limits. Other topics include the paradox of complexity, Maxwell's demon, Big Bang theory, and more.|source=Contemporary Books (publisher)}}
{{cquote|No winners, no losers, and no end - the Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is no ordinary computer game. Created by British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970, Life debuted in Scientific American, where it was hailed as the key to a new area of mathematical research, the field of cellular automata. Less of a game than a demonstration of logical possibilities, Life is based on simple rules and produces patterns of light and dark on computer screens that reflect the unpredictability, complexity, and beauty of the universe. This popular science journey explores Life's relationship to concepts in information theory, explaining the application of natural law to random systems and demonstrating the necessity of limits. Other topics include the paradox of complexity, Maxwell's demon, Big Bang theory, and more.|source=Contemporary Books (publisher)}}
==See also==
* [[LifeWiki:Bookshelf|The Bookshelf]]-books about the Game of Life


==External links==
==External links==
{{LinkLexicon|lex_t.htm#therecursiveuniverse}}
{{LinkLexicon|lex_t.htm#therecursiveuniverse}}

Revision as of 22:49, 16 December 2022

The Recursive Universe
The Recursive Universe image
Type Book
Author(s) William Poundstone
ISBN 978-0486490984

The Recursive Universe: Cosmic Complexity and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge is a popular science book that was written by William Poundstone in 1985. It deals with the nature of the universe, illuminated by parallels with the Game of Life. This book brought to a wider audience many of the results that first appeared in Lifeline. It also outlines the proof of the existence of a universal constructor in Life, which was first presented in Winning Ways for Your Mathematical Plays.

See also