Abstract
We introduce the distinctive, self-referential, logic of self-reproduction originally formulated by John von Neumann, and we present some initial results from novel realisations of this abstract architecture, embedded within two computational worlds: Tierra and Avida. In both cases, the von Neumann architecture proves to be evolutionarily fragile, for unanticipated, but relatively trivial, reasons. We briefly discuss some implications, and sketch prospects for further investigation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Avida world bears some superficial resemblances to von Neumann’s own early formulation of an abstract cellular automaton (CA) world, particularly in its 2D network of discrete computational nodes. However, there are also fundamental differences. In the von Neumann CA, each node was a simple finite state automaton with no general purpose memory system (29 states per node, equivalent to less than 5-bits of special purpose memory); whereas each Avida node comprises a general purpose CPU and—by comparison—a substantial general purpose memory system, typically of capacity at least some hundreds or thousands of bits and potentially configurable to be much bigger.
References
Adami C (1997) Introduction to artificial life. Springer, Berlin
Hofstadter DR (1985) The genetic code: arbitrary. In: Metamagical themas: questing for the essence of mind and pattern. Penguin Books, London, pp 671–699
McMullin B (2000) John von Neumann and the evolutionary growth of complexity: looking backward, looking forward. Artif Life 6(4):347–361. doi:10.1162/106454600300103674
McMullin B, Taylor T, von Kamp A (2001) Who needs genomes? In: Atlantic symposium on computational biology, genome information systems & technology, March 15–17, 2001. Regal University Center, Durham, NC, USA. Available from http://alife.rince.ie/bmcm-cbgi-2001/
Ofria C, Wilke CO (2004) Avida: a software platform for research in computational evolutionary biology. Artif Life 10(2):191–229. doi:10.1162/106454604773563612
Pattee HH (1982) Cell psychology: an evolutionary approach to the symbol-matter problem. Cogn Brain Theory 5(4):325–341
Rasmussen S, Knudsen C, Feldberg R, Hindsholm M (1990) The coreworld: emergence and evolution of cooperative structures in a computational chemistry. Physica D 42(1–3):111–134. Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167278990900706
Tom R (1994) An evolutionary approach to synthetic biology: zen and the art of creating life. Artif Life 1(1/2):179–209. Available from http://life.ou.edu/pubs/zen/
Acknowledgements
This work has been supported by the European Complexity Network (Complexity-NET) through the Irish Research Council for Science and Technology (IRCSET) under the collaborative project EvoSym.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
McMullin, B., Baugh, D., Hasegawa, T. (2013). Von Neumann Reproduction: Preliminary Implementation Experience in Coreworlds. In: Gilbert, T., Kirkilionis, M., Nicolis, G. (eds) Proceedings of the European Conference on Complex Systems 2012. Springer Proceedings in Complexity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00395-5_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00395-5_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00394-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00395-5
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)