most recent 30 from http://mathoverflow.net 2013-05-20T01:29:29Z http://mathoverflow.net/feeds/question/20420 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://mathoverflow.net/questions/20420/whats-the-name-of-this-2d-cellular-automaton Michael Borgwardt 2010-04-05T20:59:06Z 2010-04-05T22:43:33Z

<p>Does this 2D cellular automaton have a known name and history?</p> <ul> <li>n colors (numbered 1 to n), assigned randomly at the start.</li> <li>For each generation, every cell that has at least one neighbour cell with a color that is one higher changes its color to that "next higher" color. Additionally, the "lowest" color is considered "next higher" to the highest one.</li> <li>Emergent behaviour shows up best around n=16, disappears for much higher or much lower n</li> </ul> <p>I have it <a href="http://www.brazzy.de/MuncherApplet.php" rel="nofollow">implemented on my website</a> so you can see it in action.</p> <p>I saw this ages ago and always remembered it as a great example of emergent behaviour, but can't remember what it was called, and couldn't find it on Wikipedia or Wolfram Mathworld.</p>

http://mathoverflow.net/questions/20420/whats-the-name-of-this-2d-cellular-automaton/20431#20431 David Eppstein 2010-04-05T22:43:33Z 2010-04-05T22:43:33Z

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_cellular_automaton" rel="nofollow">Cyclic cellular automaton</a></p>