3D Life

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3D Life is a cellular automaton. It is a three-dimensional extension of Game of Life, investigated by Carter Bays. A number of different semitotalistic rules for the 3D rectangular Moore neighborhood were investigated.

It was popularized by A. K. Dewdney in his "Computer Recreations" column in Scientific American magazine.

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The anthropic principle, also known as the "observation selection effect", is the hypothesis, first proposed in 1957 by Robert Dicke, that the range of possible observations that could be made about the universe is limited by the fact that observations could happen only in a universe capable of developing intelligent life. Proponents of the anthropic principle argue that it explains why the universe has the age and the fundamental physical constants necessary to accommodate conscious life, since if either had been different, no one would have been around to make observations. Anthropic reasoning is often used to deal with the idea that the universe seems to be finely tuned for the existence of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimension</span> Property of a mathematical space

In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it – for example, the point at 5 on a number line. A surface, such as the boundary of a cylinder or sphere, has a dimension of two (2D) because two coordinates are needed to specify a point on it – for example, both a latitude and longitude are required to locate a point on the surface of a sphere. A two-dimensional Euclidean space is a two-dimensional space on the plane. The inside of a cube, a cylinder or a sphere is three-dimensional (3D) because three coordinates are needed to locate a point within these spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conway's Game of Life</span> Two-dimensional cellular automaton devised by J. H. Conway in 1970

The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. It is a zero-player game, meaning that its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no further input. One interacts with the Game of Life by creating an initial configuration and observing how it evolves. It is Turing complete and can simulate a universal constructor or any other Turing machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cellular automaton</span> Discrete model studied in computer science

A cellular automaton is a discrete model of computation studied in automata theory. Cellular automata are also called cellular spaces, tessellation automata, homogeneous structures, cellular structures, tessellation structures, and iterative arrays. Cellular automata have found application in various areas, including physics, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-dimensional chess</span> Variants of chess with multiple boards at different levels

Three-dimensional chess is any chess variant that replaces the two-dimensional board with a three-dimensional array of cells between which the pieces can move. In practice, this is usually achieved by boards representing different layers being laid out next to each other. Three-dimensional chess has often appeared in science fiction—the Star Trek franchise in particular—contributing to the game's familiarity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereoscopy</span> Technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image

Stereoscopy is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word stereoscopy derives from Greek στερεός (stereos) 'firm, solid', and σκοπέω (skopeō) 'to look, to see'. Any stereoscopic image is called a stereogram. Originally, stereogram referred to a pair of stereo images which could be viewed using a stereoscope.

Alexander Keewatin Dewdney is a Canadian mathematician, computer scientist, author, filmmaker, and conspiracy theorist. Dewdney is the son of Canadian artist and author Selwyn Dewdney, and brother of poet Christopher Dewdney.

<i>Core War</i> 1984 programming game

Core War is a 1984 programming game created by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney in which two or more battle programs compete for control of a virtual computer. These battle programs are written in an abstract assembly language called Redcode. The standards for the language and the virtual machine were initially set by the International Core Wars Society (ICWS), but later standards were determined by community consensus.

G<sub>2</sub> (mathematics) Simple Lie group; the automorphism group of the octonions

In mathematics, G2 is the name of three simple Lie groups (a complex form, a compact real form and a split real form), their Lie algebras as well as some algebraic groups. They are the smallest of the five exceptional simple Lie groups. G2 has rank 2 and dimension 14. It has two fundamental representations, with dimension 7 and 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing</span> System for defining and representing engineering tolerances

Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is a system for defining and communicating engineering tolerances via a symbolic language on engineering drawings and computer-generated 3D models that describes a physical object's nominal geometry and the permissible variation thereof. GD&T is used to define the nominal geometry of parts and assemblies, the allowable variation in size, form, orientation, and location of individual features, and how features may vary in relation to one another such that a component is considered satisfactory for its intended use. Dimensional specifications define the nominal, as-modeled or as-intended geometry, while tolerance specifications define the allowable physical variation of individual features of a part or assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific visualization</span> Interdisciplinary branch of science concerned with presenting scientific data visually

Scientific visualization is an interdisciplinary branch of science concerned with the visualization of scientific phenomena. It is also considered a subset of computer graphics, a branch of computer science. The purpose of scientific visualization is to graphically illustrate scientific data to enable scientists to understand, illustrate, and glean insight from their data. Research into how people read and misread various types of visualizations is helping to determine what types and features of visualizations are most understandable and effective in conveying information.

E<sub>8</sub> (mathematics) 248-dimensional exceptional simple Lie group

In mathematics, E8 is any of several closely related exceptional simple Lie groups, linear algebraic groups or Lie algebras of dimension 248; the same notation is used for the corresponding root lattice, which has rank 8. The designation E8 comes from the Cartan–Killing classification of the complex simple Lie algebras, which fall into four infinite series labeled An, Bn, Cn, Dn, and five exceptional cases labeled G2, F4, E6, E7, and E8. The E8 algebra is the largest and most complicated of these exceptional cases.

A cellular automaton (CA) is Life-like if it meets the following criteria:

The Planiverse is a novel by A. K. Dewdney, written in 1984.

A volumetric display device is a display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions, as opposed to the planar image of traditional screens that simulate depth through a number of different visual effects. One definition offered by pioneers in the field is that volumetric displays create 3D imagery via the emission, scattering, or relaying of illumination from well-defined regions in (x,y,z) space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-dimensional space</span> Geometric space with four dimensions

Four-dimensional space (4D) is the mathematical extension of the concept of three-dimensional space (3D). Three-dimensional space is the simplest possible abstraction of the observation that one needs only three numbers, called dimensions, to describe the sizes or locations of objects in the everyday world. For example, the volume of a rectangular box is found by measuring and multiplying its length, width, and height. This concept of ordinary space is called Euclidean space because it corresponds to Euclid's geometry, which was originally abstracted from the spatial experiences of everyday life.

In computer science, a turmite is a Turing machine which has an orientation in addition to a current state and a "tape" that consists of an infinite two-dimensional grid of cells. The terms ant and vant are also used. Langton's ant is a well-known type of turmite defined on the cells of a square grid. Paterson's worms are a type of turmite defined on the edges of an isometric grid.

<i>3D Tetris</i> 1996 puzzle video game

3D Tetris is a 1996 puzzle video game developed by T&E Soft and published by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy. It was released on March 22, 1996, in North America. Players control multiple falling blocks, rotating and positioning them to clear layers in a three-dimensional environment similar to Tetris's gameplay. The game contains multiple modes and variations thereof, as well as different difficulty settings and levels. Parts of 3D Tetris are rendered as 3D wire-frame models. A version of the game entitled Polygo Block was set for release in February 1996 in Japanese markets, but was never released. The game received mostly negative reviews with critics panning it for a lack of originality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three-dimensional space</span> Geometric model of the physical space

In geometry, a three-dimensional space is a mathematical space in which three values (coordinates) are required to determine the position of a point. Most commonly, it is the three-dimensional Euclidean space, that is, the Euclidean space of dimension three, which models physical space. More general three-dimensional spaces are called 3-manifolds. The term may also refer colloquially to a subset of space, a three-dimensional region, a solid figure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclic cellular automaton</span>

A cyclic cellular automaton is a kind of cellular automaton rule developed by David Griffeath and studied by several other cellular automaton researchers. In this system, each cell remains unchanged until some neighboring cell has a modular value exactly one unit larger than that of the cell itself, at which point it copies its neighbor's value. One-dimensional cyclic cellular automata can be interpreted as systems of interacting particles, while cyclic cellular automata in higher dimensions exhibit complex spiraling behavior.

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