Introduction to Artificial Life [Hardcover]

Christoph Adami (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0387946462 | ISBN-13: 978-0387946467 | Edition: Corrected

Life is so diverse and complex that is seems impossible to extract the general principles governing each individual living system. Fortunately, however, the unrelenting growth of the power of modern computers has opened up entirely unexpected avenues of opportunity for us in exploring the construction of artificial living systems. This has created the possibility to design and conduct dedicated experiments with these systems, and has generated interest in the idea of formulating a set of "general principles of the living state" which are quite independent of a particular implementation. Such a "theory of living systems" might equally well-predict the outcome of experiments performed on the protean living system which gave rise to life on earth, e.g., and RNA world, and those worlds in which information is coded in binary strings compiled to programs that have the ability to self-replicate: thus and instance of "Artificial Life." This book and CD-ROM have been developed in a lab-oriented course taught at Cal Tech in 1995 and 1996, and simultaneously augmented by Artificial Life research conducted there. The courses have been attended by an interdisciplinary group of students from backgrounds in physics, computer science, and the computational neural sciences. Pre- requisite understanding of statistical physics and thermodynamics, basic biology, as well as familiarity with computer architectures and scientific computing techniques are assumed. This project is an attempt to bring together the necessary theoretical groundwork for understanding the dynamics of systems of self-replicating information, as well as the result from initial experiments carried out with artificial living systems based on this paradigm.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Adami's book is extraordinarily important. It represents a true landmark in the new field of Artificial Life, and will find a wide readership, ranging from university students to professional researchers. -- Prof. Dr. Heinz G. Schuster, University of Kiel, Germany, Author of Deterministic Chaos: An Introduction.

The book is an interesting and worthwhile contribution of a physicist who is intrigued by the special features of living and evolving systems. But what makes this book remarkable is the intellectual approach that the author advocates for research and, in fact, provides as software. -- Science, 8 May 1998.

From the Back Cover

This book and CD-ROM have been developed in a course taught at Caltech since 1995, and is based on Alife research conducted there. The courses are attended by an interdisciplinary group of students from backgrounds in physics,computer science and the computational neural sciences. The intended target audience is advanced undergraduate to beginning graduate students, who have mastered essential concepts of statistical physics, thermodynamics, and basic biology. Also, a familiarity with computer architectures and scientific computing is assumed. The subject matter represents an attempt to bring together the theoretical groundwork and an experimental platform necessary for understanding and testing ideas about the dynmaics of systems of self-replicating information, the most basic incarnation of life.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: Springer; Corrected edition (December 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387946462
• ISBN-13: 978-0387946467
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,217,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Artificial Life

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent textbook for this rapidly changing field., August 23, 1998

By 

"apargellis" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Artificial Life (Hardcover)

Adami's book is the first comprehensive review of issues pertinent to the field of artificial life. The book is a textbook based on his lectures at CalTech. Some of the topics are a bit brief (Turing machines are summarized in four pages) but that is to be expected for a book whose goal is to integrate concepts from the fields of biology, chemistry, statistics, computer science, information science, etc. I found the book fascinating and Chris includes a CD-rom and several chapters on the Avida simulation developed at CalTech. There are numerous references and problems at the end of each chapter.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Science, May 10, 2000

By 

Karen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Artificial Life (Hardcover)

Adami demonstrates how to use the tools of artificial life to conduct pure scientific research. A very clear and readable textbook on the subject, Adami makes me want to go back to graduate school. Here is a chance to take an introductory course in an exciting field of research that is truely table-top science. I loved the book and I didn't even use the CD and software that came with it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At times cryptic, but nevertheless marvellous, June 2, 2000

By 

Niall Palfreyman (Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Artificial Life (Hardcover)

This is the ONLY book I have seen which brings together all the many and various strands which are essential to the exciting new subjects arising currently around the question: What is Life? It is a stunning tour de force of the basic knowledge you need to possess to work in the areas of A-life or biological complexity.

I should warn: it's not a book I could read through in an afternoon, by any means. At times the descriptions are a little cryptic, so that I had to work at understanding what was being said. But the effort I had to put in was always rewarded with greater understanding. Thank you, Chris Adami.