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Creation : Life and How to Make It by Steve Grand (2003, Trade Paperback)

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Format: Paperback or Softback. Publisher: Harvard University Press. Condition Guide.

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarvard University Press

ISBN-100674011139

ISBN-139780674011137

eBay Product ID (ePID)2345268

Product Key Features

Number of Pages240 Pages

Publication NameCreation : Life and How to Make It

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2003

SubjectIntelligence (Ai) & Semantics, General, Virtual Worlds

FeaturesReprint

TypeTextbook

AuthorSteve Grand

Subject AreaComputers, Science

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight14.1 Oz

Item Length8.9 in

Item Width5.7 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

Dewey Edition21

ReviewsVery occasionally somebody from outside academia comes along and shows us academics how to do something we'e(tm)ve been working on for years. Steve Grand showed us how to build a universe of evolving creatures, without the prevailing academic biases. This delightful book is a fresh and inspiring account of how to succeed in creating artificial life., If you'e(tm)ve heard about A-life but aren'e(tm)t quite sure what it is or where it'e(tm)s going, Grand'e(tm)s book is an excellent place to enter one of the more exciting areas of twenty-first-century science., Blending aspects of philosophy, computer science, artificial intelligence, biology and computer gaming, Grand attempts to define life, discuss the nature of the human soul and demonstrate how it is possible to create entities that demand to be called both living and intelligent. A tall order indeed, and to wonderful effect'e¦ [Grand] is at his best describing the problems encountered and the solutions used to animate his virtual universe. While at first glance Grand'e(tm)s definitions of life might be off-putting, he explains his terms clearly and carefully, guiding the reader comfortably through various levels of discussion'e¦ [E]njoyable and thought-provoking., Grand'e(tm)s entertaining but highly educational, historical, and intensely philosophical book on artificial life takes readers inside the mind of the creator of one of the more popular games, Creature [ s ], and its follow-ons. This personal account of the developmental steps of the game and its lifelike artificial creature in a rich cyberworld not only highlights the magic of how the creatures are programmed, but also provides a glimpse into the philosophy, implications, perspectives, and dilemmas in making them. This book is written not only to detail the highly technical aspects of the inner world image of the game, but also to enrich, incite, and promote the general awareness of synthetically generated beings'e¦ Delightful to read, easy to understand, and interesting to gamers and nongamers alike., Blending aspects of philosophy, computer science, artificial intelligence, biology and computer gaming, Grand attempts to define life, discuss the nature of the human soul and demonstrate how it is possible to create entities that demand to be called both living and intelligent. A tall order indeed, and to wonderful effect... [Grand] is at his best describing the problems encountered and the solutions used to animate his virtual universe. While at first glance Grand's definitions of life might be off-putting, he explains his terms clearly and carefully, guiding the reader comfortably through various levels of discussion... [E]njoyable and thought-provoking., If you've heard about A-life but aren't quite sure what it is or where it's going, Grand's book is an excellent place to enter one of the more exciting areas of twenty-first-century science., When Steve Grand developed his artificial-life computer game Creatures nine years ago, he never dreamed that 1 million people would play it and come to care deeply about the lives of their virtual pets. Creatures allowed players to design these pets, or norns, and observe how they interacted with their environment and with other norns. The norns have computer-simulated hormones and DNA. They eat and breed. They fall in love. According to Grand's book Creation..." Creatures was probably the closest thing there has been to a new form of life on this planet in four billion years." That's a pretty startling claim, but as Grand explains in his strangely accessible and consistently surprising book, whether or not you believe it depends on your definition of what's alive. Grand--now two years into building a 4-month-old robot orangutan named Lucy--argues that our traditional notion of life is just now beginning to change., When Steve Grand developed his artificial-life computer game Creatures nine years ago, he never dreamed that 1 million people would play it and come to care deeply about the lives of their virtual pets. Creatures allowed players to design these pets, or norns, and observe how they interacted with their environment and with other norns. The norns have computer-simulated hormones and DNA. They eat and breed. They fall in love. According to Grand's book Creation ...' Creatures was probably the closest thing there has been to a new form of life on this planet in four billion years.' That's a pretty startling claim, but as Grand explains in his strangely accessible and consistently surprising book, whether or not you believe it depends on your definition of what's alive. Grand--now two years into building a 4-month-old robot orangutan named Lucy--argues that our traditional notion of life is just now beginning to change., Steve Grand is the creator of what I think is the nearest approach to artificial life so far, and his first book, Creation , is as interesting as you would expect. But he illuminates more than just the properties of life; his originality extends to matter itself and the very nature of reality., [Creation is] the latest word on computer intelligence, from the designer of a popular computer game...On the whole, Grand succeeds in providing useful hints to computer-savvy readers without drowning laymen in details of programming. At the same time, he gives an entertaining glimpse of the game itself, with descriptions of 'Ron,' the first creature he programmed for the computer game. Smoothly written and thought-provoking--worth a look for anyone curious about computer intelligence., Grand's entertaining but highly educational, historical, and intensely philosophical book on artificial life takes readers inside the mind of the creator of one of the more popular games, Creature, and its follow-ons. This personal account of the developmental steps of the game and its lifelike artificial creature in a rich cyberworld not only highlights the magic of how the creatures are programmed, but also provides a glimpse into the philosophy, implications, perspectives, and dilemmas in making them. This book is written not only to detail the highly technical aspects of the inner world image of the game, but also to enrich, incite, and promote the general awareness of synthetically generated beings...Delightful to read, easy to understand, and interesting to gamers and nongamers alike., When Steve Grand developed his artificial-life computer game Creatures nine years ago, he never dreamed that 1 million people would play it and come to care deeply about the lives of their virtual pets. Creatures allowed players to design these pets, or norns, and observe how they interacted with their environment and with other norns. The norns have computer-simulated hormones and DNA. They eat and breed. They fall in love. According to Grand's book Creation ..."Creatures was probably the closest thing there has been to a new form of life on this planet in four billion years." That's a pretty startling claim, but as Grand explains in his strangely accessible and consistently surprising book, whether or not you believe it depends on your definition of what's alive. Grand--now two years into building a 4-month-old robot orangutan named Lucy--argues that our traditional notion of life is just now beginning to change., [ Creation is] the latest word on computer intelligence, from the designer of a popular computer game... On the whole, Grand succeeds in providing useful hints to computer-savvy readers without drowning laymen in details of programming. At the same time, he gives an entertaining glimpse of the game itself, with descriptions of 'Ron,' the first creature he programmed for the computer game. Smoothly written and thought-provoking-worth a look for anyone curious about computer intelligence., When Steve Grand developed his artificial-life computer game Creatures nine years ago, he never dreamed that 1 million people would play it and come to care deeply about the lives of their virtual pets. Creatures allowed players to design these pets, or norns, and observe how they interacted with their environment and with other norns. The norns have computer-simulated hormones and DNA. They eat and breed. They fall in love. According to Grand's book Creation ...' Creatures was probably the closest thing there has been to a new form of life on this planet in four billion years.' That's a pretty startling claim, but as Grand explains in his strangely accessible and consistently surprising book, whether or not you believe it depends on your definition of what's alive. Grand-now two years into building a 4-month-old robot orangutan named Lucy-argues that our traditional notion of life is just now beginning to change., Blending aspects of philosophy, computer science, artificial intelligence, biology and computer gaming, Grand attempts to define life, discuss the nature of the human soul and demonstrate how it is possible to create entities that demand to be called both living and intelligent. A tall order indeed, and to wonderful effect...[Grand] is at his best describing the problems encountered and the solutions used to animate his virtual universe. While at first glance Grand's definitions of life might be off-putting, he explains his terms clearly and carefully, guiding the reader comfortably through various levels of discussion...[E]njoyable and thought-provoking., Steve Grand is the creator of what I think is the nearest approach to artificial life so far, and his first book, Creation, is as interesting as you would expect. But he illuminates more than just the properties of life; his originality extends to matter itself and the very nature of reality., Grand's entertaining but highly educational, historical, and intensely philosophical book on artificial life takes readers inside the mind of the creator of one of the more popular games, Creature , and its follow-ons. This personal account of the developmental steps of the game and its lifelike artificial creature in a rich cyberworld not only highlights the magic of how the creatures are programmed, but also provides a glimpse into the philosophy, implications, perspectives, and dilemmas in making them. This book is written not only to detail the highly technical aspects of the inner world image of the game, but also to enrich, incite, and promote the general awareness of synthetically generated beings...Delightful to read, easy to understand, and interesting to gamers and nongamers alike., [ Creation is] the latest word on computer intelligence, from the designer of a popular computer game... On the whole, Grand succeeds in providing useful hints to computer-savvy readers without drowning laymen in details of programming. At the same time, he gives an entertaining glimpse of the game itself, with descriptions of 'Ron,' the first creature he programmed for the computer game. Smoothly written and thought-provoking--worth a look for anyone curious about computer intelligence., [ Creation is] the latest word on computer intelligence, from the designer of a popular computer game'e¦ On the whole, Grand succeeds in providing useful hints to computer-savvy readers without drowning laymen in details of programming. At the same time, he gives an entertaining glimpse of the game itself, with descriptions of 'e~Ron,'e(tm) the first creature he programmed for the computer game. Smoothly written and thought-provoking'e"worth a look for anyone curious about computer intelligence., Very occasionally somebody from outside academia comes along and shows us academics how to do something we've been working on for years. Steve Grand showed us how to build a universe of evolving creatures, without the prevailing academic biases. This delightful book is a fresh and inspiring account of how to succeed in creating artificial life., When Steve Grand developed his artificial-life computer game Creatures nine years ago, he never dreamed that 1 million people would play it and come to care deeply about the lives of their virtual pets. Creatures allowed players to design these pets, or norns, and observe how they interacted with their environment and with other norns. The norns have computer-simulated hormones and DNA. They eat and breed. They fall in love. According to Grand'e(tm)s book Creation 'e¦'e~ Creatures was probably the closest thing there has been to a new form of life on this planet in four billion years.'e(tm) That'e(tm)s a pretty startling claim, but as Grand explains in his strangely accessible and consistently surprising book, whether or not you believe it depends on your definition of what'e(tm)s alive. Grand'e"now two years into building a 4-month-old robot orangutan named Lucy'e"argues that our traditional notion of life is just now beginning to change., [ Creation is] the latest word on computer intelligence, from the designer of a popular computer game...On the whole, Grand succeeds in providing useful hints to computer-savvy readers without drowning laymen in details of programming. At the same time, he gives an entertaining glimpse of the game itself, with descriptions of 'Ron,' the first creature he programmed for the computer game. Smoothly written and thought-provoking--worth a look for anyone curious about computer intelligence., Grand's entertaining but highly educational, historical, and intensely philosophical book on artificial life takes readers inside the mind of the creator of one of the more popular games, Creature [ s ], and its follow-ons. This personal account of the developmental steps of the game and its lifelike artificial creature in a rich cyberworld not only highlights the magic of how the creatures are programmed, but also provides a glimpse into the philosophy, implications, perspectives, and dilemmas in making them. This book is written not only to detail the highly technical aspects of the inner world image of the game, but also to enrich, incite, and promote the general awareness of synthetically generated beings... Delightful to read, easy to understand, and interesting to gamers and nongamers alike.

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal570/.1/13

Table Of ContentAcknowledgements Introduction: A latter-day Frankenstein 1. Failing the test 2. Lies, damned lies and linguistics 3. A guide to the intangible 4. Levels of being and the general scheme of things 5. The importance of being emergent 6. Looking-glass worlds 7. They call me Legion; for I am many 8. On the balance of nature 9. God's Lego set 10. The whole iguana 11. Igor, hand me that screwdriver... 12. I am Ron's brain 13. Three parts gin to one of vermouth 14. Taking over the world 15. Vapourware Bibliography Index

Edition DescriptionReprint

SynopsisWorking mostly alone, almost single-handedly writing 250,000 lines of computer code, Steve Grand produced Creatures (R), a revolutionary computer game that allowed players to create living beings complete with brains, genes, and hormonal systems--creatures that would live and breathe and breed in real time on an ordinary desktop computer. Enormously successful, the game inevitably raises the question: What is artificial life? And in this book--a chance for the devoted fan and the simply curious onlooker to see the world from the perspective of an original philosopher-engineer and intellectual maverick--Steve Grand proposes an answer. From the composition of the brains and bodies of artificial life forms to the philosophical guidelines and computational frameworks that define them, Creation plumbs the practical, social, and ethical aspects and implications of the state of the art. But more than that, the book gives readers access to the insights Grand acquired in writing Creatures --insights that yield a view of the world that is surprisingly antireductionist, antimaterialist, and (to a degree) antimechanistic, a view that sees matter, life, mind, and society as simply different levels of the same thing. Such a hierarchy, Grand suggests, can be mirrored by an equivalent one that exists inside a parallel universe called cyberspace., Working mostly alone, almost single-handedly writing 250,000 lines of computer code, Steve Grand produced Creatures ®, a revolutionary computer game that allowed players to create living beings complete with brains, genes, and hormonal systems--creatures that would live and breathe and breed in real time on an ordinary desktop computer. Enormously successful, the game inevitably raises the question: What is artificial life? And in this book--a chance for the devoted fan and the simply curious onlooker to see the world from the perspective of an original philosopher-engineer and intellectual maverick--Steve Grand proposes an answer. From the composition of the brains and bodies of artificial life forms to the philosophical guidelines and computational frameworks that define them, Creation plumbs the practical, social, and ethical aspects and implications of the state of the art. But more than that, the book gives readers access to the insights Grand acquired in writing Creatures --insights that yield a view of the world that is surprisingly antireductionist, antimaterialist, and (to a degree) antimechanistic, a view that sees matter, life, mind, and society as simply different levels of the same thing. Such a hierarchy, Grand suggests, can be mirrored by an equivalent one that exists inside a parallel universe called cyberspace., Working mostly alone, Grand produced Creatures®, a computer game that allowed players to create living beings complete with brains, genes, and hormonal systems--creatures that would live and breathe and breed in real time. Enormously successful, the game inevitably raises the question: What is artificial life? In this book Grand proposes an answer.

LC Classification NumberQH324.2.G73 2003