![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
From ^z, a link: WolframTones.
For those of you who don't know, cellular automata are something like fake simulations. The computer stores an array (often two-dimensional, but that is not a requirement) of cell values, and repeatedly performs predefined operations on them. These operations usually involve changing the value of each individual cell based on those cells which surround it. The most famous form of cellular automaton is probably Conway's Life. WolframTones (named for the programmer/inventor, Dr. Stephen Wolfram) are a form of cellular automaton which are designed to be converted to audio.
Having played with the tones for awhile, I find them somewhat underwhelming. Not really surprising: it's just computer-generated music, after all. Probably the best forms are "Country" and "Dance", although neither sound like what they claim to be. In fact, they sound more like the music to old NES games.
As far as I'm concerned, attempting to make computer-generated music good is a fine and noble goal. It's a pity that no-one can actually do it yet, but the failures are still cool.
For those of you who don't know, cellular automata are something like fake simulations. The computer stores an array (often two-dimensional, but that is not a requirement) of cell values, and repeatedly performs predefined operations on them. These operations usually involve changing the value of each individual cell based on those cells which surround it. The most famous form of cellular automaton is probably Conway's Life. WolframTones (named for the programmer/inventor, Dr. Stephen Wolfram) are a form of cellular automaton which are designed to be converted to audio.
Having played with the tones for awhile, I find them somewhat underwhelming. Not really surprising: it's just computer-generated music, after all. Probably the best forms are "Country" and "Dance", although neither sound like what they claim to be. In fact, they sound more like the music to old NES games.
As far as I'm concerned, attempting to make computer-generated music good is a fine and noble goal. It's a pity that no-one can actually do it yet, but the failures are still cool.
