Kass Palter

Cellular Automata

A cellular automaton is a system of "cell" objects that exist on a grid, have a state (in this case, either alive or dead, coded as 1 or 0), and exist within a neighborhood that impacts the state of future cells. Cellular automata can exist in many dimensions; this is a modified example of one-dimensional cellular automata. In one-dimensional cellular automata, there are 256 possible rulesets that determine the future state of cells depending on the current state of a cell's neighbors. Each ruleset corresponds to and creates an interesting pattern. This project takes a slightly different approach towards cellular automata, one that is more unique and much more personal. Each character in the English alphabet has a binary translation and that binary code corresponds to one of the 256 possible rulesets for one-dimensional cellular automata. So, as the user types on their computer, the ruleset changes depending on which key they press. Thus, generating a completely unique pattern that cannot be replicated. The dimensions and size are fully customizable to fit the user's needs.This piece of code was written in Processing 3 and is intended to be used on a computer. As the viewer runs the code, they will be confronted with a personal question. This question could be as simple as "Who are you?" or as complex as "If you could know the absolute truth to one question, what would you ask? why?" The viewer is then expected to type their answer into the computer and as they type, a unique pattern will begin to generate in front of their eyes. Depending on the time of day that the user runs the code, the colours of the pattern will vary. Users are encouraged to be as honest as possible when responding to the questions as nothing they type can be recorded, saved, or decoded from their pattern. The resulting pattern for each user serves as a reflection of who they were at that given moment in time. They can save this pattern and apply it to other disciplines such as textiles to create other personal works of art that reflect their thoughts, feelings, and emotions.