Archean

Self-organization is a concept I picked up from a book by Stuart Kaufman. The idea is that any systems consisting out of subsystems with a great number of rules that define interactions between the subsystems will show signs of self-organization. Some systems will help others, while other systems will slow neighbors. In these kind of environments it is unavoidable that positive feedback loops will occur. A will help B, B will help C and C will help A, so the whole system will grow in an ABC pattern.

Archean is an implementation of these ideas in the form of a cellular automatum. The idea is rather simpel. Each cell contains a vector of six reals. The average vector of the neighbourhood is then calculated and multiplied by a matrix. This result is added to the vector of the cell. By mapping the six reals to rgb space and filling the matrix with random numbers, fascinating patterns spring to life.

An online version in Java is available and a downloadable one in Delphi. The last one is faster and has a breeding mode, where you see four variants of the same population and you can choose which one you like best. That one is then taken as the seed for four new variants. This allows you to find interesting patterns.

The Java version you see below. The matrix is represented by a 37 character string, which is displayed below. The same string will recreate the same patterns. If you hit on an especially interesting pattern, just copy the pattern and place a comment below, so others can view it too. The first character of the pattern should be 1,2,3 or 4 and determines the size of the neighbourhood used in the calculations. The other characters are the values of the matrix, numbers and capitals are positive numbers (capitals first), negative numbers are represented by the character for positive, but then with the shift pressed. You can vary the characters and see what happens.

If you think the pattern above is interesting, you can add it to the list below. Fill in a description and if you want your name and press Add

Previously saved entries
  ef (by sda)
  
  Cell cultures growing (by Marcus)
  funny
  Dynamic instability!
  tripy (by tyler)
  
  
   (by sascha)
  lalala (by bruno)
  running man looses his head (by kmatt)
   (by MasterP)
  MasterP
  pinky green (by sisterofdoom)
   (by Viktor Wanner)
  traveling freak ! (by masopang)
   (by Bradley)
   (by Bora)
  Toxic Waste (by Michael.C)
   (by kkkkk)
  i'm crazy (by bruno)
  crazy poop black people
   (by shawn)
  tpSqzVxBxncMNmYFJ (by wnnklkp)
  
  x (by x)
  Suck my balls (by Tjtite)
  lkjnbnj (by nnkjn)
  
   (by Tjitte)
  purple maze (by danae)
  watermelon feet
   (by Lam)
  what? (by peter)
  hello (by Aden)
   (by Peter)
  
  Yo ziom (by Lucas)
  Mandala Wheel (by AJ)
  I like the paranormal, artwork, and animals. I guess that would explain why I'm a Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences major! (by Carolyn "Vaprrenon" Severs)
  a dude (by nick)
  
  tallwomenl, 6ft3 brunette shoulder length hair, long curls, brown eyes, slim body (by leslie)
  
  Pink lines in slow motion (by Eleventy)
  JqEnjsgfuOAMRc (by sgsd)
  IvNxMeIZ (by sdgds)
  MKzkdsBFbJ (by dfgdzf)
  test (by test)
  
  Total Lava Lamp: Never Ending (by Kaitenshin)
  A dog, one paw up. (by Kaitenshin)
  nZNsMoKZiH (by fghdf)
  
  The most handsome guy alive! (by Daryll Pomey Orat)
  8olkm';-
  
  ffefefef (by ff)
  a student who says odd things (by beau flinn)
  tall transsexual, 6ft3 brunette shoulder length hair, long curls, brown eye (by leslie)
   (by Andreas Breitscheid)
   (by armisson)
  Frac3D (by Eleventy)
  aaa (by Luis Rafael Sanabria Russo)
  iQhsFUqVoUlsp (by xgds)
   (by Jacky)
  handsome guy (by Jacky)
  XgTecpCSFBGOc (by sdfgs)
   (by Helen)
  VcQcFyvCaxNoYJXyQJE (by sdgf)
  lava lamp (by robot 35)
  lines/grid (by robot 35)
  moving anchor points (by robot 35)
  two lovers entangled (by ballad)
   (by Joe Loughboro )
   (by Tyler Gobble)
   (by Tyler Gobble)
   (by Scott Gobble)
  UjJuhbfctBr (by ywhcdkhrlun)
  
  A tall streamy jock who everyone likes (by Tyler Gobble)
  Red and brown
  Red
   (by Nisu)
   (by nisu)
  
  dda (by ads)
  
  wsuSWJGtLsYgOgJ (by Alex Dazdraperma)
  Wireless Lan iee 802.11 (by HasH)
  Fifibbnx (by sdfs)
  blue yellow lines (by crazy madness)
  MY number (by The Devil)
  Your brain on drugs (by Crazy Madness)
  Maze
  12212121 (by cams)
  
  hello (by marc)
  he;;o (by cathal)
  COol (by Viraj)
  kYVZXWSn (by dfbvgdf)
  SfHuoLoFN (by sfds)
  anhervvul c4b (by 1q2q)
  Trippy lines (by Dustan)
  fhVUOXgMZfkKa (by vcb)
  SDffd4w3354 (by Sean)
  strangely static (by Andr)
  parting of the sea (by Andre)
   (by
visited 30 states (60%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president)
   (by shinzu)
  lmkXCASnblXPTtoZ (by Bob)
  
  PKvpPVZbGuIOX (by bkkhwkwqqz)
   (by Bruno)
   (by Alexandre)
  pMGVtXTFoJOm (by axfkfrd)
  wow random (by lemon)
  
  naekWIYaYik (by Googlyazer)
  wow!
  good and evil (by ccs)
  Kaleidoscopic! (by Dan)
  4travian
  Permanent Fission Recycler (by Alberto)
  Im a cool dude LOL!! (by Steven)
  test (by ssdgf)
  stagflation (by Guy)
  me (by stephen)
  larva lamp (by lemon)
  
  error maze (by lemon)
  vrtYZBGLrWPBa (by hwrqgedn)
  EKOCsfQAmsUHZU (by wwezpdzazfh)
  EnuvOYmSVtXpl (by esusmftrag)
  NIbsBmRMyoWYp (by yrrxju)
  Ever changing red and light blue (by David)
  travian
  12travian
  3travian
  2travian
  Endless Palpitation: Fight bettween good and evil: no clear winner (by Alberto)
   (by Philip)
  It resembles the long-term temperature gradient maps of the Pacific Ocean
  mother (by Hillary)
   (by aste)
  mother (by Helga)
  adsf (by Dmooe)
  Coolio (by nik)
  infinate (by decilios)
  sss (by cvk)
  
  novalue (by fjnrWoz)
   (by lee)
  twenty five million dollars (by Anthony Gillespie)
  young (by stephen)
  gross! (by me)
  yes (by jesse)
  manipulate retort (by bob ferenheit)
   (by capabullypossum lodges obama tenn debates)
  Joe (by Daniel Vitale)
  psych (by ron)
   (by lauren mattiacci)
  blood
   (by harry cocks)
  hairy, blue, gigantic (by harry cocks)
   (by aliali)
  acid (by asdad)
  Mold evolution (by Uncle Banjo)
  thin fuck lamer geek (by Mauro)
   (by bekki)
  tester1 (by tester1)
   (by Rob)
  The maze (by Rob)
  
  Scrambled (by Penny)
   (by Carmen Wathen)
  MxNZuZPuEm (by Tanya)
  
  
  Mr. (by Mike Jackson)
  
   (by 65)
   (by immanuel)
  cow (by moo)
  
   (by tom)
  betunfair (by kevin)
  will win the powerball with powerplay for 15 million dollars (by anthony)
  scott
  retired (by janice abbott)
  david oates (by ommf)
  mooo (by gareth)
  aa (by sa)
   (by sean parlin)
   (by baseball)
   (by sdfsdf)
   (by alain)
  asdasd (by asdasdasd)
  
  sdasdasdasdasd
  who is this person (by marilyn)
  jjn; (by jkl;)
  
   (by Daniel Vitale)
  inside (by Daniel Vitale)
  butts
  tiny growths in the beard of god (by dreadphil)
  pulsing songs of angelic tears (by dreadphil)
  err (by simon)
   (by blue)
   (by cory)
  First time (by Maya)
  dsdds
  The next generation textile for a beautiful lady (by Mike Ang of http://tools.mikeang.net)
  ikke dus (by yids)
  
  
  123456789 (by michael griffin)
  tiny growths in the beard of god
  
  Worms? (by rob)
  hello (by mvkchary)
  Green and Purple abstract art (by Tasha)
  MAZE (by Tom)
  Keeps moving
  Laval Lamp (by dbuzman)
   (by steven)
  gee whiz
  looking (by austin)
  Universe (by Amol)
  Beach (by who am i)
   (by Jawaun)
  yAfLFZzhclthougJe (by Yana)
  fun (by Roy)
  Colourful Weird Stuff (by Roy)
  ZWBhJsRqgIdhXiNoyiy (by Jack)
  shades
  unsettling waters (by nick)
  DUKFCjdqhfH (by Richard)
   (by Stephen)
  Trippy (by Dex)
   (by Martin)
   (by Lin)
  dhahah (by asscd)
  I'm a fucking MC, skater and designer. No more (by Billar)
  steven
  IzMUXODZeT (by Amily)
   (by austin)
  Random colors (by C.W.Holeman III)
  Waves (by Amol)
  caca (by Pepe)
   (by Daniel)
  cool guitar playing guy awesome (by brad)
   (by Joachim)
   (by Felizitas)
  Ako (by Martin)
  looks woozy mate (by Guido)
  fucking pigs
  
   (by Antonio Tedesco)
  alex
  what is this shit
  endless war (by BadMoFu)
  david (by david)
   (by Nja)
  Krays To The Bone (by Nitii)
  TsuWKVEkNqqIxQ (by Wshpnzui)
  again and again (by xx)
  bored (by eric)
  uu
  
  An up close view of a finger covered with black ink to obtain a print (by Meg)
  I want to help (by sean)
   (by everything forever in a moment)
   (by are you ok)
   (by Greg Freidline)
  
  
  odd
  OLvmekVkfTX (by gvwxgm)
  Grom (by Roy56)
   (by Jon Pennebaker)
  jNBdEtWqSMfu (by Nick)
  Dynamic seathing
  ho (by YAY!)
  end of the world
  LSD trip (by Bart)
  curious (by Carolin)
  nick (by zawercom)
  soy divertido (by Luis Alberto Jimenez Vara)
   (by eric)
   (by GUILHERME)
  
  HCtuIzNcJuJwFesVKqv (by Andy)
   (by sean)
   (by keen)
   (by love is enough)
   (by Informed)
   (by play)
   (by Payback)
   (by organized freedom)
   (by Infinite)
   (by double infinite)
   (by infinite eternity)
   (by Einar)
  young italian boy, i love nature , arts, culture and photography (by Matteo)
  Grom (by Loy89879)
  andrew (by andrew)
  psychedelic neural network (by pilot)
  TMbIxobuCuEsIzJWEU (by Robert)
  wHOMQ (by jimmy)
  keeps evolving (by Andreas NG)
  sdaaaaaaaaa (by sdddddddd)
  pink (by sabion)
  df (by wer)
  asdasdasd (by dasdasd)
  fxkNsndM (by hncswvtc)
   (by Gizzmo)
   (by Daniel Brunod)
  wow its amazing it looks like a colorful camo (by sabion)
  The Coming Depression (by Scott)
   (by door of words)
  linda
   (by PESK)
  a123ed99dua -u-11
   (by asdasdasddfdsf)
   (by chris andersen)
  Brain coral (by Ivan)
  dfdfffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu77777777777777777LLLLLLLLLL""""""""""",vvvfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffssssssssssssssssssssssssqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444xxxxx&%^%^#####$
  4a;fgj;a 4h8 hgq;eajbv;on/ v/lsn 'fja9wju [0q43h3'[ju[ 0U 'GN/VSD. JG0;WUQ[05'JWBANSIG D' QWJ43'GJVBEAKFDM' YP42UQP9863-]TG9AV'JSZ'p [0q3'u406'th2oq35w90ut]4qu2jtGPOsbd/glcnx';4w0ohinbed
  Looks like it gets into a stable situation, but it is not. (by ManfredS)
  dfgdsfgsdfgsdf (by gaurav)
  test (by Rafael)
  BXuzJIfVf (by kkmfpqam)
  coca-the-cola (by donavin)
  
   (by mete ercan)
   (by gggg bbbbbbbbbbbbbbb)
   (by davey havok)

Bookmark:      

downloadable files:

archean.zip	Exe and source
ArcheanApplet.java	Java source code of Archena
ArcheanApplet.class	ArcheanApplet.class