DiscoverScience on Player FMWhat We Learn From Running ‘Life’ in Reverse - The Quanta Podcast
What We Learn From Running ‘Life’ in Reverse - The Quanta Podcast

What We Learn From Running ‘Life’ in Reverse - The Quanta Podcast

Update: 2025-10-21
Share

Description

Imagine a set of simple building blocks that can self-assemble into any shape you want. The possibilities for such a technology could be boundless. Inspired by nature, “complexity engineering” seeks to design such blocks, building on a classic computer simulation. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer George Musser about recent developments in so-called cellular automata. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  

Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

Audio coda courtesy of the Simons Foundation. 

Comments 
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

What We Learn From Running ‘Life’ in Reverse - The Quanta Podcast

What We Learn From Running ‘Life’ in Reverse - The Quanta Podcast