Mathematics Colloquia and Seminars

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As opposed to dynamical systems that involve partial differential equations or maps, cellular automata (CAs) have been 'invented' only halfway the previous century as any meaningful analysis of these constructs requires the use computers. Indeed, in many cases there's only one way to study their behavior and that's by simulating them, which follows from the fact that most mathematical tools are useless because these are pervaded by the continuum. During this talk a short introduction on CAs will be given, thereby paying particular attention to the differences between CAs and their continuous counterparts. Furthermore, it will be demonstrated how one can study their behavior and it will be illustrated how CAs may be relied upon for mimicking natural processes.