1) If we do get access to my program, it should open with a random placement of 128 inhabited cells. (If the field is blank, click "Start Over.") Hit the "Automatic" button and let it run until generation 20. Freeze it at that time, and make a guess as to what you think the ultimate fate of this community will be. Will it live forever? Will it die out? Will it get stuck in a collection of fixed points? Then hit "Automatic" again to let the generations continue. Freeze again at 30, 40, 50, etc. and see if you want to change your bet. Keep track of the number of inhabitants at each stage.
2) Start over and let a new random configuration run for 50 generations. Record the population value. Do this many times and compute an average population.
3) Freeze the display and click directly on the text box that displays the number of inhabitants. Change this number to something higher than 128. (Hit enter after you type your new value.) See what impact that has on your average population at generation 50. Be greedy and see if it helps to start with many residents (don't exceed 550, though).
4) Choose "Manual Placement." Then you can click on squares to establish which cells you want to mark as occupied. (They will turn color.) If you wish to unoccupy a square, just click on it again. Try to make the biggest fixed-point pattern you can. This is a contest among the groups in class. Judging will occur at an announced time. The current record (held by Rachel N. Loischild) for largest fixed pattern on this size of screen is 302 cells.
5) Color in one of the patterns that you designed last night for your homework. See if the pattern really behaves the way you expected it to when you didn't have the computer to check it out. Call me over to show me what interesting discoveries you made.
6) Another contest: You will be allowed to place 44 original inhabitants anywhere you like on the screen. Your goal is to make as prolific a community as possible. The group which achieves the highest population count by a set time will win the contest.
7) Go back to random placement and let it run automatically for 20-30 generations. Do this quite a few times. Watch for patterns which seem to recur despite the fact that your original configurations are random and different each time. Look also for the emergence of symmetry.
8) Test out the configuration you see below. As you watch subsequent generations, you should observe cyclic behavior. Find the period of the cycle (the number of iterations required to return to the initial state).
9) Next try this little animal below. Place it in the lower right corner of your screen and then set it to run automatically.
Do you think this behavior should also be called cyclic? Why or why not?
10) If you are not already at Hensel's Life Page, go there now. From the "Open" menu, you will find, all kinds of patterns that other people have discovered. (That's where I got the ones above.) Some people are really maniacal about this game. See if you can become suitably obsessed. Be sure to check out "Wickstretcher" at the bottom of the list.
11) Try Paul's Life Page.
12) Do you think that the Game of Life has any connection to true life? Can you make any analogies between what you see on the computer screen and what occurs in the biological world? This question is your homework assignment. (Note: the Life applet that I wrote does work from outside of school, if you want to use it at home.)