Michael Chang – Morphology
Monday, 6 February 2006
Michael Chang – Morphology
As far as I’m aware there seems to be three main propositions regarding the origins of life on earth. Firstly is the idea that life was generated from non living matter through a primordial chemical reaction, Abiogenesis. The second is that life is prevalent in the universe and that on earth the seeds of life arrived from outer space, Panspermia. The third possibility, of course, is that life was created according to the instruction of a devine entity; pick a creationist divinity of your choice.
The first hypothesis has been tested experimentally. A “primitive soup†containing atoms molecules and water was treated with high voltage resulting in organic molecules that form the building blocks of modern life.
Michael Chang explores evolution computationally with his Morphology applet. With it he asked the question can complex evolutionary changes in cells be mimicked with a computer algorithm. In Morphology apparent crystal shaped lattices interact with one another, the individual movements soon coalesque to produces an homogenous goal, the crystal mutates from chemical to organic
matter and begins to swim and reveal life like properties.
Michael’s notes reveal how the many elements of the computational organism came together from constituent parts, Nerves (blue), Muscles (red) and Sensors (green).
