Abstract
This chapter is concerned with the developments of universal computation and construction within Conway’s Game of Life (GoL). I will begin by describing the history of the concepts and mechanisms for universal computation and construction in GoL, before explaining how a Universal Computer–Constructor (UCC) would operate in this automaton. Moreover, I shall present the design of a working UCC in the rule. It is both capable of computing any calculation (i.e. it is Turing-complete) and constructing most, if not all, of the constructible configurations within the rule. It cannot construct patterns which have no predecessor; neither can any machine in the rule (for obvious reasons). As such, it is more accurately a general constructor, rather than a universal constructor.
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© 2010 Springer-Verlag London Limited
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Goucher, A.P. (2010). Universal Computation and Construction in GoL Cellular Automata. In: Adamatzky, A. (eds) Game of Life Cellular Automata. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-217-9_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-217-9_25
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-84996-216-2
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