I recently began a project to emulate evolution through mutation and natural selection (survival of the fittest). Essentially one must create a virtual nature of bytes not atoms, a virtual computer, and execute a simple self-duplicating program in this virtual space, a program whose bytecode is interpreted and can spawn and execute new programs and mutate and modify itself, and one which must interact with the virtual environment in such a way as to gather materials for building a new organism (necessitate navigation and interaction to encourage development of complex behaviours). Impose the potential of death to create evolution, such that beneficial mutations are better able to survive and reproduce. To watch different concepts of evolution actually manifest themselves in a simplified universe and to see what sorts of behaviours develop in generations far older than the first organism (the bytecode of which I must write myself and assume that the case could randomly occur without my help) will be quite encouraging. Difficult to explain perhaps, but the idea may interest you.
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I recently began a project to emulate evolution through mutation and natural selection (survival of the fittest). Essentially one must create a virtual nature of bytes not atoms, a virtual computer, and execute a simple self-duplicating program in this virtual space, a program whose bytecode is interpreted and can spawn and execute new programs and mutate and modify itself, and one which must interact with the virtual environment in such a way as to gather materials for building a new organism (necessitate navigation and interaction to encourage development of complex behaviours). Impose the potential of death to create evolution, such that beneficial mutations are better able to survive and reproduce. To watch different concepts of evolution actually manifest themselves in a simplified universe and to see what sorts of behaviours develop in generations far older than the first organism (the bytecode of which I must write myself and assume that the case could randomly occur without my help) will be quite encouraging. Difficult to explain perhaps, but the idea may interest you.