The underlying theme of "A New Kind of Science" is that reality is like the "cellular automata" which scientists began simulating on computers three decades ago. These are computer programs -- some of them extremely simple -- that, if allowed to run indefinitely, may generate extraordinarily complex images and processes. Gazing at these kaleidoscopically rich images, scholars such as Wolfram and Fredkin began to wonder if they were witnessing more than just pretty pictures. Were they witnessing, in effect, the evolution of mini-universes on a computer screen? They werent alone in speculating about a link between the computer images and the real world. Some scientists, such as Oxford University evolutionary theorist Richard Dawkins, claimed cellular automata mimicked the evolution of life. They developed cellular automata resembling insects that "crawled" around the screen and mutated, reproduced and ate each other.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/01/MN108224.DTL
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