Cellular Automata

An accessible and multidisciplinaryintroduction to cellular
automata

As the applicability of cellular automata broadens and
technology advances, there is a need for a concise, yet thorough,
resource that lays the foundation of key cellularautomata rules and
applications. In recent years, Stephen Wolfram's A New Kind of
Science has brought the modeling power that lies in cellular
automata to the attentionof the scientific world, and now, Cellular
Automata: A Discrete View of the World presents all the depth,
analysis, and applicability of the classic Wolfram text in a
straightforward, introductory manner. This book offers an
introduction to cellular automata as a constructive method for
modeling complex systems where patterns of self-organization
arising from simple rules are revealed in phenomena that exist
across a wide array of subject areas, including mathematics,
physics, economics, and the social sciences.

The book begins with a preliminary introduction to cellular
automata, including a brief history of the topic along with
coverage of sub-topics such as randomness, dimension, information,
entropy, and fractals. The author then provides a complete
discussion of dynamical systems and chaos due to their close
connection with cellular automata and includes chapters that focus
exclusively on one- and two-dimensional cellular automata. The next
and most fascinating area of discussion is the application of these
types of cellular automata in order to understand the complex
behavior that occurs in natural phenomena. Finally, the continually
evolving topic of complexity is discussed with a focus on how to
properly define, identify, and marvel at its manifestations in
various environments.

The author's focus on the most important principles of cellular
automata, combined with his ability to present complex material in
an easy-to-follow style, makes this book a very approachable and
inclusive source for understanding the concepts and applications of
cellular automata. The highly visual nature of the subject is
accented with over 200 illustrations, including an eight-page color
insert, which provide vivid representations of the cellular
automata under discussion. Readers also have the opportunity to
follow and understand the models depicted throughout the text and
create their own cellular automata using Java applets and simple
computer code, which are available via the book's FTP site. This
book serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate
students in the physical, biological, and social sciences and may
also be of interest to any reader with a scientific or basic
mathematical background.