This is the startling story of a new science - the science of artificial life. It is a science born out of the world of computers, but there is nothing cold or mechanical about it. Instead, making use of the unique capabilites of these sophisticated machines, an extraordinary array of microbiologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, and evolutionary theorists has actually succeeded in creating objects that look and act very much like living organisms. They grow, evolve, mutate, 'fight' with each other, die - and do ...
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This is the startling story of a new science - the science of artificial life. It is a science born out of the world of computers, but there is nothing cold or mechanical about it. Instead, making use of the unique capabilites of these sophisticated machines, an extraordinary array of microbiologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, and evolutionary theorists has actually succeeded in creating objects that look and act very much like living organisms. They grow, evolve, mutate, 'fight' with each other, die - and do all this spontaneously, without interference from their human creators. Arguably, these 'creatures' are alive. Steven Levy, a prize-winning American science journalist, here takes us on a dazzling trip into the heart of this new scientific discipline, to show us not only how the exotic organisms that already populate its computer screens - cellular automatons, animats, biomorphs, ants, viruses and more - but also the large scientific issues it hs begun, for the first time, to explore. The remarkable ability of computers to actually depict a system as it develops offers a new way to look at evolution, intelligence, reproduction, mutation and other still-mysterious aspects of nature, and of life itself. Levy tells his story through the scientists - some famous, like geneticist Richard Dawkins and mathematician John von Neumann, others obscure, but all unusual - whose work and ideas have made a-life a reality. We go into their labs, hear their debates, are a party to their dreams and obsessions (some bizarre indeed) and in the end get a clear, comprehensible, and utterly fascinating overview of an inportant new frontier of science. Surprising and engrossing, Artificial Life will appeal to anyone who enjoyed The Cuckoo's Egg or The Soul of a New Machine.
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Add this copy of Artificial Life to cart. $14.85, good condition, Sold by Halcyon Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1992 by Jonathan Cape Ltd.
Add this copy of Artificial Life to cart. $10.99, very good condition, Sold by Jan Pumphrey's Treasures rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Severna Park, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon Books.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $12.30, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon Books.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $12.30, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon Books.
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Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $12.34, very good condition, Sold by BayStateBooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Smithfield, RI, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $15.00, very good condition, Sold by Priceless Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Urbana, IL, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $16.00, very good condition, Sold by J. Hood, Booksellers, Inc. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Baldwin City, KS, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon Books.
Add this copy of Artificial Life to cart. $22.95, like new condition, Sold by Columbia Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MO, UNITED STATES, published 1992.
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1992 Levy, Steven ARTIFICIAL LIFE; THE QUEST FOR A NEW CREATION NY: Pantheon Books, c1992 First Edition 390pp index, illus color 8vo Previous owner's embossed seal on first free epage, else fine copy in d/w.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $25.11, very good condition, Sold by Alien Bindings rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from BALTIMORE, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon.
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Very good in fine dust jacket. Hardcover 1st Edition in Very Good to Near Fine condition with a crisp As New dust jacket. The covers are in great shape. There are a few small faint stains on the top edge of the text block. The binding is square and tight. The interior pages are clean and unmarked. Abrasion to the rear flyleaf. The book will be carefully packaged for shipment for protection from the elements. USPS electronic tracking number issued free of charge. From Publishers Weekly: An account of the radical new science that is bringing together chemists, computer scientists, microbiologists, and evolutionary theorists in the quests for artificial life. "A-life" research--the creation of artificial systems with natural behavioral traits of their own--has preoccupied computer theorists since the 1950s. The theory of automata--self-regulating computer programs--is all but inherent in computing, and the last 10 years have brought artificial intelligence to the verge of becoming a real algorithmic sorcerer's apprentice. Science reporter Levy ( Hackers ) writes for readers with extensive interdisciplinary backgrounds in science, although he includes such popular sensations as an artificially "live" foot-long robot cockroach. But his focus, and the real excitement of his subject, remains in looking over the conceptual edge that A-life research defines, where the science is not only original, but perhaps more original than we know. 390 pages.
Add this copy of Artificial Life: the Quest for a New Creation to cart. $26.31, new condition, Sold by Bank of Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ventura, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1992 by Pantheon.
