D’Arcy Thompson: A Grandfather of A-Life1
D’Arcy Thompson: A Grandfather of A-Life1
In 1917 D’Arcy Thompson published his celebrated book On Growth and Form. This chapter discusses how this pioneering work of mathematical biology, in which Thompson sought to develop a quantitative approach to biological forms and processes of growth, not only helped to pave the way for modern theoretical biology but also prefigured the contemporary field of artificial life (or A-Life)—the study of life in general, abstract terms. As well as influencing Alan Turing’s work on morphogenesis, it emphasized the embodied nature of natural intelligence, a theme that has become increasingly central to contemporary cognitive science.
Keywords: mathematical biology, theoretical biology, artificial life, natural intelligence, cognitive science
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