Blogging Assignment 4

Kevan Mann
ISTA 301 Blog 4

Part 1:

a.)
      I think it is definitely an interesting concept to think about how everyday actions and processes can be compared to computations with their own inputs and outputs. When Rucker compared some real world processes to Wolfram's 4 Classes of computation, it gave me some of my own ideas as well. For example, a Class 2 computation in the real world I can think of is a tiled floor. There is a clear pattern with the way the tiles are placed, it repeats over and over again, and there are no surprises (usually). On the other hand, a Class 4 computation in the real world could be a brick fascia of a building wherein the brick pattern is not uniform. Meaning, there are some plain red bricks and some off-placed darker or lighter bricks. This architectural design technique is used to create a pattern that doesn't look so boring as simply Red/Brown but rather is much more complex and exciting, and is appears to not repeat.

b.)
       I would say that basically anything that's trial and error is a feasible and unpredictable computation. More specifically, for example, changing inputs/rules/parameters in a cellular automaton setup randomly, not being able to predict how the output will be affected, and then watching the surprising output unfold before your eyes.

c.)
      The differences between a Class 3 and a Class 4 computation are rather apparent, and it simply comes down to the fact that one produces patterns while the other doesn't. A Class 3 computation produces output that is messy and random and maybe even a little ugly, with little to no order or reason to be seen for the creation. On the other hand, a Class 4 computation is extremely complex looking, but the output DOES contain patterns. For that exact reason, I think it makes it easy to distinguish clearly and easily between the two classes.

d.)
       The biggest difference between normal ECA's and this new continuous-valued Cellular Automata is that the latter allows cell states that can carry a range of integers rather than simply two (0-1) in other ECA's. Whereas the Game of Life only has two states per cell, a continuous-valued CA could have something like 4 billion states per cell.