Artificial life
Subtitle: the proceedings of an Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems, held September, 1987, in Los Alamos, New Mexico
By: Christopher G. Langton, editor.
Contributors: Langton, Christopher G.
Series: Santa Fe Institute studies in the sciences of complexity ;; v. 6; Proceedings volume in the Santa Fe Institute studies in the sciences of complexity ;; v. 6.
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., Advanced Book Program
Published: 1989
Place of publication: Redwood City, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 655
Subjects: Biological systems -- Computer simulation -- Congresses; Biological systems -- Simulation methods -- Congresses
Description: Artificial Life is the study of synthetic systems that exhibit behaviors characteristic of natural living systems. It complements the traditional biological sciences concerned with the analysis of living organisms by attempting to synthesize lifelike behaviors within computers and other artificial media. By extending the empirical foundation upon which biology is based beyond the carbon-chain life that has evolved on Earth, Artificial Life can contribute to theoretical biology by locating "life as we know it" within the larger picture of "life as it could be." This book - proceedings of the First Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems - introduces the field of Artificial Life, reviews its biological roots, discusses its goals and methodological approaches, and gives examples of modeling technologies and their application to the simulation of specific biological phenomena. It draws comparisons with similar "bottom-up" approaches to the understanding of complex systems as studied in fields such as Physics, Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence. The book also contains an extensive annotated bibliography of more than 500 citations of work relevant to the field of Artificial Life. -- from back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 567-643).