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James Zhang

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Could life forms be defined by a single algorithm?

I just watched Michael Hansmeyer's presentation on creating shapes algorithmically.

His works were all done by a single simple algorithm and simple starting-states, but they all end up to be infinitely complex in the shapes and effects. So my question is, could we also define our own shapes in a single algorithm, and what possibilities would this yield?

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    Alex Munroe

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    Aug 5 2012: I watched the same video and went through the same thought process after seeing the similarities between the new medical scanners of top-down cadavers and the x-rays of the column. Perhaps an organic supercomputer creating algorithmic life was where we came from, or are we recreating naturally occurring events in nature.
    This would make sense, as I assume with the columns, you would take a simple shape, input an algorithm, and it would grow depending on how it reacts to the algorithm. So you would have a crazy range of output from large insane beasts, to the minute flobs of jelly, but that would mean something had to determine the changes in the "folding points" so that the algorithm could produce different results. That would support a creationist theory completely if it came to light. Cool thoughts!
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      James Zhang 30+

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      Aug 5 2012: The "organic supercomputer" sounds just like a woman giving birth to a child or some form of reproduction. The starting-state would them be the embryo, that continually splits and reproduces. Then the algorithm could be that dna sequence that every cell in our body follows.

      But it's really interesting how we start from an embryo to a human form. Does it have anything to do with the structure of its starting state at all?
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        Alex Munroe

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        Aug 5 2012: The embryo/cell splitting is a really interesting point when you think about our different races, are there minute differences in our algorithms at the beginning stages, causing the small, but obvious, differences we have in our physical structure between races? (which kind of goes with your theory that the algorithm is stored in your DNA)
        That could also just be differences in geography and where we come from, but all in all, really got me thinking.
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          James Zhang 30+

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          Aug 5 2012: Our dna also mutates over time depending on our environment.

          Mutation is caused by free radical electrons from the splitting of electron pairs in the dna. And there are a couple of things that can do this to us: radiation, and oxygen.

          We are constantly getting UV exposure, and we are constantly breathing. Of course nutrients can counteract this mutation by replacing the missing electrons with newer ones.
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          James Zhang 30+

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          Aug 5 2012: But overall, there is definitely some kind of consistency among all human beings, that's really interesting to think about...

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