Hi - I'm new to this list, but I think I like it already. William,
could you point me to more information on Dr. Codd's work in
cellular automata? Some how, during my struggle with relational
theory (sounds easy - but Lord it's not!) I don't recall ever being
exposed to this fact about the man. Most interesting!
Thanks
Roger Goswick
-----Original Message-----
From: CLASSICCMP-owner_at_u.washington.edu
[mailto:CLASSICCMP-owner_at_u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Buck Savage
Sent: Monday, July 26, 1999 12:32 AM
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
Subject: Re: Conway's "Game of Life" ... when invented?
Now, cellular automata is my field. John von Neumann invented
cellular
automata at the suggestion of Stanislav Ulam, when the two worked at
the
Los Alamos National Laboratories in the 1940's. See von Neumann's
work,
The Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata, and the book by Arthur
Burks,
Cellular Automata.
John Horton Conway invented life as an alternative example of von
Neumann's
work. There is also the cellular automata invented by E. F. Codd.
The
game of life was first described in the October 1970 issue of
Scientific
American.
William R. Buckley
-----Original Message-----
From: Hans B Pufal <hansp_at_digiweb.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, July 25, 1999 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: Conway's "Game of Life" ... when invented?
>ss_at_allegro.com wrote:
>
>> I was wondering if anyone knows when John Conway invented "life".
The
>> best I've found on the web is "1960s".
>>
>> But...I just saw a movie, "Ocean's Eleven" (starring Frank
Sinatra and
the
>> rest of the Rat Pack) ... and I'd swear that the start of the
credits
looks a lot
>> like a run of life (i.e., several generations of display in the
cellular
automata
>> game) at the beginning, which then segues into pseudo-Vegas neon
signs.
>>
>> The movie is credited as being in 1960.
>
>>From <http://home.earthlink.net/~hilery/life/intro.htm#The Game of
Life>
>:
>
>"In the early seventies, the only references to Conway's work were
those
>originally given in Martin Gardner's "Mathematical Games" column in
the
>October 1970 and February 1971 issues of Scientific American."
>
>I think that Conway developed the game just prior to its
publication in
>Scientific American so seeing it in a film dated 1960 is unlikely.
What
>you saw may have been a different cellular automatom, these were
>investigated if not discovered by von Neumann in the '50's.
>
>Regards,
>
>_---_--__-_-_----__-_----_-__-__-_-___--_-__--___-__----__--_--__-_
__-
>Hans B Pufal Comprehensive Computer
Catalogue
><mailto:hansp_at_digiweb.com>
<
http://digiweb.com/~hansp/ccc>
Received on Mon Jul 26 1999 - 02:06:24 BST