History Trivia / ConwaysGameOfLife

* NewbieBoom: Whereas much Life research in the 1990s and 2000s was conducted on the invite-only [=LifeCA=] mailing list (and, to a lesser extent, the ''comp.theory.cell-automata'' newsgroup on UsefulNotes/{{Usenet}}), the founding of the [=ConwayLife=] forums in 2009 and the Conwaylife Lounge Discord server in 2017 have brought an influx of new, mostly younger, users to the world of cellular automata.

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: "The Game of Life" is also a [[TabletopGame/GameOfLife board game]] by Creator/MiltonBradley.

* NewbieBoom: Currently undergoing this as of 2022. Whereas much Life research in the 1990s and 2000s was conducted on the invite-only [=LifeCA=] mailing list (and, to a lesser extent, the ''comp.theory.cell-automata'' newsgroup on UsefulNotes/{{Usenet}}), the founding of the [=ConwayLife=] forums in 2009 and the Conwaylife Lounge Discord server in 2017 have brought an influx of new, mostly younger, users to the world of cellular automata.

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: "The Game of Life" is also a [[TabletopGame/GameOfLife board game]] by Creator/MiltonBradley.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: Before computers were widely available, early Life research was often conducted on graph paper or on TabletopGame/{{Go}} boards, with researchers having to check, and double-check, a pattern's evolution by hand. By 1980, however, Life programs were already being published for computers such as the [[UsefulNotes/TRS80 TRS-80]], which could run a 128x48 universe at over one generation per second. Nowadays, a typical pattern evolved using [=QuickLife=] can be simulated at tens of thousands of ticks per second or even faster, depending on its size. Combined with the increasing sophistication of search techniques, this has led to an explosive increase in the number and complexity of patterns found.
** The standards for "methuselahs" (relatively simple patterns which take an unusually long time to settle down) have also increased over time. The traditional definition was that any sufficiently small pattern lasting over 100 generations qualified as a methuselah. However, computer programs for "soup searching" (simulating random patterns until they stabilize) have rendered this definition obsolete. The current state of the art, apgsearch, only reports a soup's lifespan if it's over 25,000 generations, and the current record holder as of July 2022 is 52,513 generations. Although classic methuselahs such as the R-pentomino remain important due to their simplicity, they are no longer particularly difficult to find.
* ThrowItIn: The name "[[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]]", for a certain constellation of two beehives and a blinker, originated when a user tried to type "beehive" and it was [[AutoIncorrect auto-corrected]] to "Beethoven". Another user misinterpreted this as being a nickname for the constellation as a whole, and the name stuck, becoming the first of the "[[ThemeNaming composers]]".
-->'''Hdjensofjfnen:''' ...and just like that, [[LampshadedTrope a new terminology is coined]].
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* TheWikiRule: [[http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Main_Page LifeWiki]]. Notably contains descriptions of ''hundreds'' of patterns discovered by the community over the decades.

* ReferencedBy: [[ReferencedBy/TheGameOfLife Has its own page.]]

* FanCommunityNicknames: "Lifenthusiasts".

* NewbieBoom: Currently undergoing this as of 2022. Whereas much Life research in the 1990s and 2000s was conducted on the invite-only [=LifeCA=] mailing list (and, to a lesser extent, the ''comp.theory.cell-automata'' newsgroup on Website/{{Usenet}}), the founding of the [=ConwayLife=] forums in 2009 and the Conwaylife Lounge Discord server in 2017 have brought an influx of new, mostly younger, users to the world of cellular automata.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Main_Page LifeWiki]]. Notably contains descriptions of ''hundreds'' of patterns discovered by the community over the decades.

* NewbieBoom: Is currently undergoing this as of 2022. Whereas much Life research in the 1990s and 2000s was conducted on the invite-only [=LifeCA=] mailing list (and, to a lesser extent, the ''comp.theory.cell-automata'' newsgroup on Website/{{Usenet}}), the founding of the [=ConwayLife=] forums in 2009 and the Conwaylife Lounge Discord server in 2017 have brought an influx of new, mostly younger, users to the world of cellular automata.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Main_Page LifeWiki]]. Notably contains descriptions of ''hundreds'' of patterns discovered by the community over the decades.

-->'''Hdjensofjfnen:''' ...and just like that, [[LampshadedTrope a new terminology is coined]].

** The standards for "methuselahs" (relatively simple patterns which take an unusually long time to settle down) have also increased over time. The traditional definition was that any sufficiently small pattern lasting over 100 generations qualified as a methuselah. However, computer programs for "soup searching" (simulating random patterns until they stabilize) have rendered this definition obsolete. The current state of the art, apgsearch, only reports a soup's lifespan if it's over 25,000 generations, and the current record holder as of July 2022 is 52,513 generations.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: Before computers were widely available, early Life research was often conducted on graph paper or on TabletopGame/{{Go}} boards, with researchers having to check, and double-check, a pattern's evolution by hand. By 1980, however, Life programs were already being published for computers such as the [[UsefulNotes/TRS80 TRS-80]], which could run a 128x48 universe at over one generation per second. Nowadays, a typical pattern evolved using QuickLife can be simulated at tens of thousands of ticks per second or even faster, depending on its size. Combined with the increasing sophistication of search techniques, this has led to an explosive increase in the number and complexity of patterns found.

* TheWikiRule: [[http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Main_Page LifeWiki]]. Notably contains descriptions of ''hundreds'' of patterns discovered by the community over the decades.

* ApprovalOfGod: Conway approved of the close variant High Life to the point of saying it was "really the game [he] should have found, since it's so rich in nice things."

* MagnumOpusDissonance: John Conway never liked the fact that the Game of Life was prioritized over his other work, giving more approval to High Life as said above.

* ApprovalOfGod: Conway approved of the close variant HighLife to the point of saying it was "really the game [he] should have found, since it's so rich in nice things."
* MagnumOpusDissonance: John Conway never liked the fact that the Game of Life was prioritized over his other work, giving more approval to close variant HighLife as said above.