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A weird, cool idea

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jknilinux:
Would it be possible to write self-replicating programs in x86 assembly, then let it run for a few days and let evolution occur? This way, you have an alife program running MUCH much faster than it would on top of winxp in a simulator.

However, there's one problem- how do you generate mutations? Aside from waiting 500 years for a cosmic ray to come by? Well, heat causes random errors, right? So does overclocking...

So, maybe an overclocked undercooled Pentium 4 could run alife hundreds of times faster than we could ever hope on DB. Would it work?

Endy:
Well the computer itself would be in danger of breaking down for one thing. I don't think the programming language could safely support many mutations either. Organisms also need to be able to seperate themselves from their mutated offspring. Having more than one program of that type on the same computer would increase the risk for all.

Had an idea for a worm/virus that could self-compile/mutate offspring then send them on their way.  It'd be a wee bit illegal to set loose though... Could create some sort of internet doomsday scenario, since anti-viral programs would have problems catching it.

Peter:
So that is the way microsoft made vista. Now I understand.

jknilinux:
Endy-

If the programming language is assembly, then it's implemented in the ISA, right? So, it's written in the HW, and altering memory won't disturb it at all.


Peter-

What- you mean you didn't know that before? That's the way microsoft makes all their products.

Numsgil:
The problem is that, depending on the OS, a freely mutating program can either cause the entire OS to crash or erase the hard drive or all kinds of other bad things.  Computers are far less forgiving than real life.  In real life the worst you can do is kill yourself.  On the computer you can destroy the entire universe.

If you found/wrote an OS that was built around the idea that programs aren't written by intelligent entities, you could probably set something up.

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