h a l f b a k e r yA dish best served not.
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
A monstrous machine that replaces the lightning-fast movements of electrons with the snail-pace growth of mushrooms to make computations.
Instead of logic gates, we have "fungus gates": a grid-like pattern of cells, each lined with damp soil that mushrooms like to grow on. Each cell has a lid. As
mushrooms in a cell increase in size, they lift the lid, allowing their spores to transfer into surrounding cells. A chain reaction is produced (over the period of a couple of days), and, depending on the arrangement of cells in the grid, computations can be made. Occupied cells become "yes", sporeless cells "no"; certain configurations for "and, not, else, if, then etc"...
Just vote! Any annotation you make would be totally pointless anyway. Shame on you for even trying to argue.
[link]
|
| |
Well, think about this: humongously slowly functioning fungal computers sooner or later developed the modern high powered computing machine we call a dolphin. (Or were fungi the other branch on the tree of life?) |
|
| |
When the calculation is done, can your harvest the mushrooms and eat them? |
|
| |
It's a bird ... no, it's a plane ... no, wait! It's a ... screensaver. |
|
| |
//When the calculation is done, can your harvest the mushrooms and eat them?// This is sensitive, expensive equipment, sir, I spent hard-earned money for this Penti-yum... i feel bad for having made such a pun |
|
| |
No it doesn't. The fungi act on each other by one mushroom's growth causing growth of mushrooms elsewhere. That's a form of computation. I have no idea whether it would really work with mushrooms and boxes, but the principle is really quite clever. |
|
| |
(In a way, you could see it as turning the idea of simulating real-world organic growth with cellular automata upside down to simulate a simple automaton using real-world organic growth.) |
|
| |
Kids... come here... we're going to build your science fair project... |
|
| |
Johnny, grab that 50 pound bag of manure would you? |
|
| |
[jutta], I'm confused about the sunlight part you're talking about. It's not mentioned by the author. Are you thinking of another method? |
|
| |
It occurs to me that in the time it would take to boot up DOS with one of these, whole species of animals and plants could evolve and become extinct. |
|
| |
I'm not sure they'd still be mushrooms by the time you're done booting up. |
|
| |
[zigness], good call, I had completely misread the method. Must have been late! |
|
| |
So, how do you do a "NOT" in this? |
|
| |
Even I dunno. Introduce fungus-eating mites. |
|
| |
This computer would be great for Conway's (sp?) Game of Life. |
|
| |