Search found 101 matches

by NickGotts
April 9th, 2022, 4:18 pm
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Small Quadratic Growth Patterns
Replies: 19
Views: 15368

Re: Small Quadratic Growth Patterns

I see you (dani) added a comment to the "Systematic Survey of Small Patterns" on Nov.30th 2018. I discovered after my last posting on that thread that I might have overlooked some multi-cluster patterns with fewer than 10 cells, started work on redoing that part of the search, then got a job (which ...
by NickGotts
April 9th, 2022, 3:53 pm
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Small Quadratic Growth Patterns
Replies: 19
Views: 15368

Re: Small Quadratic Growth Patterns

Interesting! There must be some there I wasn't aware of - I haven't kept up with simsim's postings - but there are also some you don't have. The six below only differ trivially, but they are all composed of a single cluster, which none of your 27 do, and I think one was the first 10-cell infinite gr...
by NickGotts
April 9th, 2022, 11:20 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Small Quadratic Growth Patterns
Replies: 19
Views: 15368

Re: Small Quadratic Growth Patterns

Many congratulations on this work, dani! When simsim beat the 26-cell record I'd established with Wedge-grow, I made some attempts at beating the 23 mark established by switch-engine ping-pong, but with no progress.

Could you post your 27 10-cell switch engines?
by NickGotts
December 21st, 2021, 11:36 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: (2,1)c/6 technology thread
Replies: 45
Views: 11180

Re: (2,1)c/6 technology thread

It's a nice pattern, but I doubt whether it produces unlimited novelty. If it goes on producing novelty long enough, it will (almost certainly) eventually produce sub-patterns like the original puffer-train, which travels at c/2 and leaves a permanent tail. If this happens in the right (wrong?) plac...
by NickGotts
July 18th, 2021, 11:22 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Structures resistant to attack
Replies: 9
Views: 1913

Re: Structures resistant to attack

Just a couple of comments. 1) IRL, living things are not "resistant to attack" in the sense used in the first comment on this thread - they do resist attack, but none exist that can repel all possible attacks. And they don't reproduce in empty space; rather they require the presence of highly-struct...
by NickGotts
September 26th, 2020, 12:03 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Life Lessons...?
Replies: 28
Views: 7848

Re: Life Lessons...?

Conway's Life has also turned out to be a fairly effective Sorting Hat, so to speak, that can divide up Lifenthusiasts into "mathematician" and "engineer" categories. - dvgrn I think I belong to a third category (possibly the only active member!): "naturalists". I'm mostly interested in what kinds ...
by NickGotts
July 28th, 2020, 2:44 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Hardware for running Golly
Replies: 2
Views: 1722

Re: Hardware for running Golly

Thanks calcyman, that's very helpful!
by NickGotts
July 26th, 2020, 1:07 pm
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Hardware for running Golly
Replies: 2
Views: 1722

Hardware for running Golly

I'm an ignoramus when it comes to hardware. I'm planning to buy a new desktop machine (or more likely, hire my son to build one for me), as the one he built a decade ago is showing its age. Golly is probably the most demanding software I run on a regular basis - either single, highly complex pattern...
by NickGotts
April 13th, 2020, 7:31 am
Forum: Website Discussion
Topic: John Horton Conway
Replies: 28
Views: 16438

Re: John Horton Conway

The UK Guardian has reprinted online an article on Conway from 2015: https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... -the-world, outlining some of his other contributions as well as GoL.

Condolences to his family and friends.
by NickGotts
January 29th, 2020, 5:50 pm
Forum: Patterns
Topic: POTY 2019 Nomination Thread
Replies: 64
Views: 24697

Re: POTY 2019 Nomination Thread

I nominate the patterns found by Nick Gotts in his Systematic survey of small patterns , including Bunnies 10a which broke a long-standing record for population 10 methuselahs. Thanks! I'm surprised (but of course, honoured) for this to be nominated, but I note: 1) That the systematic search of sma...
by NickGotts
December 24th, 2019, 3:19 pm
Forum: Other Cellular Automata
Topic: Puffer with unstable trail (B37/S23)
Replies: 30
Views: 24906

Re: Puffer with unstable trail (B37/S23)

So it does - thanks.
by NickGotts
December 23rd, 2019, 12:46 pm
Forum: Other Cellular Automata
Topic: Puffer with unstable trail (B37/S23)
Replies: 30
Views: 24906

Re: Puffer with unstable trail (B37/S23)

The c/2 puffer growing from this: x = 3, y = 7, rule = B37/S23 b2o$2o$bo2$bo$2o$b2o! or even this: x = 3, y = 9, rule = B37/S23 bo$bo$2o2$2bo2$2o$bo$bo! emerged out of a large soup. I'd be surprised if it hasn't been reported before, but it doesn't appear in this thread. As with a lot of B37/S23 puf...
by NickGotts
December 23rd, 2019, 8:00 am
Forum: Other Cellular Automata
Topic: Thread for basic non-CGOL questions
Replies: 909
Views: 280655

Re: Thread for basic non-CGOL questions

muzik wrote: Would exponential growth be possible with a linearly expanding neighbourhood? The most straightforward way to get exponential growth would be to work on a regular tiling of a hyperbolic surface (where the angles of a triangle sum to less than 180 degrees). For example, such a surface c...
by NickGotts
December 23rd, 2019, 6:33 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

This is more of a comment than a request, but I would personally be interested to see the results of running each starting 9 and 10 cell pattern for exactly 12 generations to check for oscillators and spaceships of periods that are a factor of 12. Thanks for your interest. I'd have to do something ...
by NickGotts
December 22nd, 2019, 6:15 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

The survey of single-cluster 10-cell patterns is complete, after 8 months. The total number of patterns generated and tested is 90465963 - right in line with my original estimate of just over 90 million. The only infinite growth patterns found are the one found by Paul Callahan in 1997, and the 5 tr...
by NickGotts
November 25th, 2019, 11:46 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

The search of single-cluster 10-cell patterns is nearly done - I've generated and tested 85,844,356 patterns, and estimate the total is around 91,000,000. The search has turned up two more patterns that lead into a figure 8 to add to the one I noted in an earlier comment. I found another 5. but on c...
by NickGotts
November 8th, 2019, 5:15 pm
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Long-lived methuselahs
Replies: 77
Views: 105928

Re: Long-lived methuselahs

Another slight improvement (in terms of life-span) to bunnies10. Let's call this one bunnies10b: lasts 17431. x = 9, y = 6, rule = B3/S23 o$bo$2bo$3bo$2b2obo$6b3o! Bounding box 9*6, MCPS 11. Here's an alternative form - the two have the same immediate successor: x = 9, y = 6, rule = B3/S23 o$2bo$bo$...
by NickGotts
November 8th, 2019, 5:14 pm
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

Another slight improvement (in terms of number of life-span) to bunnies10. Let's call this one bunnies10b: lasts 17431. x = 9, y = 6, rule = B3/S23 o$bo$2bo$3bo$2b2obo$6b3o! Bounding box 9*6, MCPS 11. Here's an alternative form - the two have the same immediate successor: x = 9, y = 6, rule = B3/S23...
by NickGotts
November 8th, 2019, 6:19 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Soup search results
Replies: 2588
Views: 1889219

Re: Soup search results

However, it's definitely true that infinite-growth patterns haven't traditionally been included in the "methuselah" category. Otherwise there are all kinds of difficult cases that would have to be considered, especially from Nick Gotts' old "Patterns with Eventful Histories" blog , from back in the...
by NickGotts
September 19th, 2019, 10:10 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Long-lived methuselahs
Replies: 77
Views: 105928

Re: Long-lived methuselahs

Cross-posted from "Systematic Survey of Small Patterns". Here are two more variants of bunnies10a (10-cell single-cluster patterns that last 17425 steps). The one on the left has a bounding box 7*5, and an MCPS of 11, which according to the usual criteria for methuselahs makes it the preferred varia...
by NickGotts
September 19th, 2019, 10:09 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

Here are two more variants of bunnies10a (10-cell single-cluster patterns that last 17425 steps). The one on the left has a bounding box 7*5, and an MCPS of 11, which according to the usual criteria for methuselahs makes it the preferred variant. x = 27, y = 5, rule = B3/S23 bo19bo$3o17b2obo$3bobo19...
by NickGotts
June 12th, 2019, 5:44 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

Sarp wrote: Are you sure? Code: Select all / Show in Viewer x = 8, y = 6, rule = B3/S23 7bo$6b2o$2o$o$o$bo! You're right of course - and in an earlier post, I described the 8-cell patterns that produce a pentadecathlon plus debris as well as those which produce a pentadecathlon alone - but managed ...
by NickGotts
June 8th, 2019, 11:44 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Is anyone studying the active part of soups?
Replies: 12
Views: 9947

Re: Is anyone studying the active part of soups?

Rhombic wrote : Currently analysing some large 3% density soups to understand what the initial steps in growth would be in an aperiodic, arbitrarily low-density infinite plane. I don't think looking at 3% soups will get you far in understanding the arbitrarily low-density infinite plane ("Sparse Li...
by NickGotts
June 8th, 2019, 5:00 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Systematic survey of small patterns
Replies: 43
Views: 49773

Re: Systematic survey of small patterns

This is not something that has yet turned up in my survey of single-cluster 10-cell patterns, but something I noticed should do so later. As far as oscillator periods are concerned, we know that 3 cells are required for period 2, 7 for period 3, and 8 for period 15. Turns out 10 are needed for perio...
by NickGotts
June 5th, 2019, 4:19 am
Forum: Patterns
Topic: Long-lived methuselahs
Replies: 77
Views: 105928

Re: Long-lived methuselahs

OK, I can confirm that the two 10-cell patterns already reported are the only 17425-step methuselahs to turn up so far.