# Andrew.K research

## Lesson 2?
### The Shape of Infinity

Wasn't too keen on the way the narative was presented, in that his was of speaking alluded to his research being fact rather than his oppinion.

*The Shape of Infinity* by Jacob Geller is a commentry on William Chyr's game *Manifold Garden*, which is a form of visual representation of an infinite space. There are many possible sources of inspirtation that Chyr turned to in order to create this game. The most prominent one, as explained by Geller, is Susanna Clarke's novel *Piranesi*, which depicts a disorienting alternate reality setting.

Visually, the first thought that came to mind when watching *The Shape of Infinity*, were the patterns created through cellular automata. These patterns are usually built on a finite 2D plain but can also be used to create an infinite simulation, all done using rules. Stephen Wolfram managed to categorise these patterns generated by binary code into four classes with the most interesting being class three and four. Class three generates psudo randomness and whereas class four generates a mixture of order and randomness. The paper *Infinite Time Cellular Automata: a Real Computation Model*' by Fabien Givors, Grégory Lafitte, Nicolas Ollinger, investigates the infinite time cellular automata as a transfinite computation model to create infinite time turning machines.


I think Chyr's "Manifold Garden" was made using the cellular automata laws to produce chaos, order, and unpredictability, creating an infinite and unsettling virtual environment.

#### So ultimatly, was math invented or discovered?

Infinity is a difficult concept for the human mind to grasp. The game, however, provides a fantastic idea of what an infinite space may be like. This is just one person's interpretation of the idea of infinity, which has existed throughout history in a variety of manifestations, including literature, philosophy, architecture, theologies and mythologies, sculptures, artwork, and architecture. In Norse Mythology the ouroboros presents itself as the serpent Jörmungandr that was said to be so big that it encircled the world and grasped its tail between its teeth. This symbolised the concept of eternity and endless return. Ths symbol was even earlier seen in Anciet Egypt and Greece.




So, although the game simulates an infinite space, it is practically impossible to reproduce genuine infinity since it relies on a machine that eventually stops running and is constructed of finite materials.

*Raphael. School of Athens. 1511*

Panini, Giovanni Paolo. Ancient Rome. 1757

*Piranesi, Giovanni Batista. The Well. 1761*

*Boullee, Etienne Louise. Architectural Review. 1799*

In an effort to arouse various emotions in the viewer, artists have always strived to push the limits of perspective. Repetition is the most popular strategy for comprehending 2D visual depictions of infinity or limitless perspectives. This has been proven historically in a range of forms and media.

In the pictures above we can see the jump from the Renaissance period seen in Raphael's *School of Athens*, to Boullee's *Architectural Review* in the Neoclassical period. All artists used different point perspectives to acheive the desired scale and size, successfully eliciting a sence of insignificance and disorientation in the viewer.

### Bibliography

Softology's Blog. 2022. Two Steps Back Cellular Automata. [online] Available at: <https://softologyblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/two-steps-back-cellular-automata/> [Accessed 27 January 2018].

Givors, F., Lafitte, G. and Ollinger, N., 2022. Infinite Time Cellular Automata: a Real Computation Model. [online] Hal.archives-ouvertes.fr. Available at: <https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00542411/document> [Accessed 4 October 2022].

Wolfran, S., 2022. Four Classes of Behavior: A New Kind of Science | Online by Stephen Wolfram [Page 231]. [online] Wolframscience.com. Available at: <https://www.wolframscience.com/nks/p231--four-classes-of-behavior/> [Accessed 4 October 2022].

Jenkins, S., 2022. Time and Personal Identity in Nietzsche’s Theory of Eternal Recurrence. [online] History.as.uky.edu. Available at: <http://history.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Time%20and%20Personal%20Identity%20in%20Nietzsche%E2%80%99s%20Theory%20of%20Eternal%20Recurrence%20-%20Scott%20Jenkins.pdf> [Accessed 4 October 2022].

## Lesson 3 (I could work on this write up a bit)
### No Man's Sky: Procedural Art

To create procedural art, particular rules are entered into an art generator, to produce anything you want it to, though that doesn't go without saying that all that is generated is of high quality. Despite how wonderful it is, I believe it can be difficult for artists to accept this new paradigm given the amount of time and effort they have invested in their careers. However, I do think it's a very helpful tool to have since it can instantly cure writer's block. Although this is a quick technique to create a world, a lot of horrible animal and plant designs are produced, and only a small number of them may have any real value. Instead of being presented as a finished work, I believe it should be used as an inspiration and a tool to foster innovation.
I believe that technology and art cannot be separated in this day and age and go hand in hand. There can't really be one without the other, because no matter what material you use in your profession, technology was used to create the tools to aid your creativity. Technology in art is the way forward and is shaping the future that we will live in.

No matter how much data and rules are fed into the algorithm, I do believe procedural art can be rather stiff. To make the creatures in the video game "No Man's Sky" more intriguing and believable, manual artistic revision may be required. However, this does not take away from the fact that these programmes are revolutionary and will only advance as technology develops further.

It is important to keep in mind that in order to create procedural art, the computer needs to be fed information and needs to be told what to do. It's the information that we feed it that will result in the end product being somewhat worthy or not. Since these tools have been developed and will remain, artists should take advantage of it and use it to enhance their practice.

Below are a few pictures of creatures generated for "No Man's Sky". I think they are quite terrible as stand alone creatures, they do not make sense anatomically and do not look natural. The top left creature has a head that's too big and bulky for the size of its body, this would not work in reality. The same goes for the pink and green creature beneath it. Even so, it is incredible to see that these creatures can be created. However, I do think that these programmes are still in their very early stages of development and refinement and the end result will only get better in the future.



The environments created for the planets are absolutely incredible. Though this process is revolutionary, I still feel like the outcome is a bit stiff. This may be becuase the plants dont really look random, but rather are strategically placed. There is quite a lot of rigidity to it, but then this can also lend its hand to being uncanny.



Link to no mans sky:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcEA41eBOGs&ab_channel=GDC