Nils Barricelli
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Nils Aall Barricelli [1] Nils Aall Barricelli, (January 24, 1912 – January 27, 1993)
was a Norwegian-Italian psychologist and mathematician. He did early computer-assisted experiments in symbiogenesis and evolutionary algorithms, considered pioneering in artificial life research. In the 50s he thought about to write a chess program to test evolutionary theories, and implemented a program in collaboration with Alex Bell, who wrote a fast legal move generator, in the early 60s. In 1974, while he researched at the University of Oslo, he participated at the First World Computer Chess Championship in Stockholm with his own chess program Freedom [2].
Barricellian Symbioorganisms
Alex Bell explains Barricelli’s Symbioorganisms [4]: Barricelli devised the following extremely simple rules for sexual (symbiogenetic) reproduction. There are two integer arrays, this generation and next generation. The array this generation initially contains a random pattern of positive and negative integers. The following algorithm (expressed in Algol) is now executed:
integer array this generation, next generation [1 :512];
begin
loop: for i : = 1 step 1 until 512 do
begin
n := j := this generation[i];
reproduce: if j = 0 then goto next i;
k := modulo 512 of (i) plus: (j);
if next generation[k] > 0 then
goto mutation else
next generation[k] := n;
j := this generation[k];
goto reproduce;
mutation:
next i: end;
copy next generation into this generation;
print this generation;
goto loop;
end;See also
Selected Publications
- Nils Barricelli (1954). Esempi numerici di processi di evoluzione, Methodos, pp. 45-68, 1954
- Nils Barricelli (1957). Symbiogenetic evolution processes realized by artificial methods. Methodos: 143–182.
- Nils Barricelli (1961). Numerical testing of evolution theories. Part I Theoretical introduction and basic tests. Department of Biology, Division of Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, Acta Biotheoretica, Springer Netherlands, ISSN: 0001-5342
- Nils Barricelli (1963). Numerical testing of evolution theories. Part II preliminary tests of performance. symbiogenesis and terrestrial life. Department of Biology, Division of Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, Acta Biotheoretica, Springer Netherlands, ISSN: 0001-5342
- George Dyson (1997, 2012). Darwin Among The Machines: The Evolution Of Global Intelligence. Basic Books, Second Edition 2012, from amazon [5]
- David B. Fogel (2006). Nils Barricelli - artificial life, coevolution, self-adaptation . IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1
- Alexander R. Galloway (2008). Creative Evolution. Cabinet, No. 42 Forgetting, pdf
- Alexander R. Galloway (2012). The Computational Image of Organization: Nils Aall Barricelli. Grey Room, No. 46 [6]
External Links
- Nils Aall Barricelli from Wikipedia
- Nils Barricelli’s ICGA Tournaments
- Luz e Sangue - Nils Aall Barricelli (1912–1993) with Image
- [Darwin Among The Machines; or, the Origins of Artificial Life]. a presentation by George Dyson, Edge 21, July 8, 1997
- A Universe of Self-Replicating Code by George Dyson, Edge.org, March 26, 2012
- Nils Barricelli’s 5 Kilobyte Symbiogenesis simulations and ‘molecule shaped numbers’ – A precursor to DNA Computing, Dataisnature, June 06, 2012
- Meet the Father of Digital Life by Robert Hackett, Nautilus, June 12, 2014
- George Dyson - The Birth of the Computer, [7] YouTube Video
References
- ↑ George Dyson Early experiments in digital evolution. From the column Retrospect by George Dyson
- ↑ Nils Barricelli’s ICGA Tournaments
- ↑ Alex Bell (1978). MASTER at IFIPS. Excerpt from: The Machine Plays Chess? from Atlas Computer Laboratory, hosted by Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
- ↑ Barricellian symbioorganisms in Alex Bell (1972). Games Playing with Computers. Allen & Unwin, ISBN-13: 978-0080212227, hosted by Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
- ↑ Darwin among the Machines - Wikipedia
- ↑ Barricelli: Built with Processing by Alexander R. Galloway
- ↑ Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes