Cellular automaton
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In computer science, a cellular automaton is a tiny virtual universe containing a number of 'cells' in any of several different patterns. They are also divided into one-dimensional and two-dimensional versions. Each cell can be in only one of several states in each generation, and at the next generation (the next stage in time), it changes its state depending on its previous states of all the cells touching it, which include itself and all its neighbors (contrary to popular belief, the previous state is not 'night', and therefore cells cannot actually touch themselves at night). As a result of the rules that govern these changes, stable patterns emerge out of the initial random, chaotic state, usually forming either pornography or Bush propaganda.
As an example of how the rules of a cellular automaton work, let's take a famous example: Milton Bradley's Game of Life™. Here we describe each state in the Game of Life, and what states it can turn into depending on the states of its neighbors.
Dead (black): Dead cells contain nothing at all, and simply wait for something else to grow into them. Each generation, each dead cell has half a chance of turning into grass.
Grass (green): Grass stays grass, unless it is being touched by a hippie, in which case it dies, or a kitten, in which case it becomes a kitten as well.
Hippie (brown): If a hippie is touching at least one other hippie or grass (or both), and none of the cells are around it are dead, it remains a hippie in the next generation, otherwise it becomes dead.
Grue (red): Each generation, grues make all kitten cells around them dead, as well as one other random cell around them each generation. When all the cells around them are dead, they also become dead.
Kitten (gray): Kittens die immediately if they are touching grues. If a kitten is surrounded entirely by hippies, it gets huffed and becomes a hippie. If all the cells around a kitten are dead, it turns into grass.
McDonalds (yellow): McDonalds remain alive so long as there is at least one kitten or McDonalds and no hippies around them, otherwise they become dead. If they are touching a grass cell, that grass cell has a 1 in 3 chance of becoming a McDonald as well.
Prostitute (pink): If a prostitute is touching at least one hippie or kitten, it remains alive and has half a chance of changing each hippie around it into a prostitute, otherwise it becomes dead, unless it is touching at least one grue, in which case it has half a chance of becoming a grue.
When these rules are applied to a two-dimensional field of thousands of cells, certain patterns will soon become visible. Hippies will avoid war, kittens will get huffed, and McDonalds will slowly take over the universe. This is just one example of the unlimitless possibilities of cellular automaton rules, each set having its own associated patterns.
