No Man’s Sky & Maths

A lot of people hate this game. I love it enough to post a picture of me playing it.

A lot of people hate this game. I love it enough to post a picture of me playing it.

We’ve been talking about huge numbers lately. One example of many would be the amount of polymers that exists inside a cell. But we’re also discussing small numbers; they help us make sense of how small a peptide is. The thing is–numbers are important. We can measure & count because of them. With numbers we can describe the curvature of a sphere–a model for a planet or a cell. Chapter 4 of our textbooks has shown us that with math, we can say how much membrane the cell needs to properly function–how much volume to surface ratio our cells need. In Biology we cannot avoid numbers and patterns.
Use no more than a sentence for each of the following * —
a) research the game No Man’s Sky (Hello Games, 2016);
b) find out what is an algorithm;
c) define the word fractal; 
d) who was Aristid Lindenmayer?;
e) and, finally: how many zeroes are there in a quintillion?
*Whoever answers all of these questions first, will get a 5 point bonus for Test III.

16 thoughts on “No Man’s Sky & Maths

  1. The game is called No Man’s sky because it represents the place where the game takes place. The entire universe is up for everyone to explore and conquer, making it no one’s sky (No Man’s Sky). An algorithm is a set of rules or processes that must be followed in order to complete it. The word fractal is a geometric figure whose parts have the same statistical characteristics as the whole. Aristid Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist that developed the L-system or Lindenmayer Systems. Using those systems he modelled the behaviour of cells of plants. Finally, there are 18 zeroes in a quantillion.

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  2. The game “No Man’s Sky” is a game in which you mostly explore, survive, and trade in a infinitely generated galaxy. When playing the game you use your spaceship to travel to different planets/galaxies. When you arrive to different planets you can get out of your spaceship and explore the outside environment for particular resources you would need in the future. The game is unlike any other available right now, meaning that it has approximatle 18 quintillion planets to explore. An algorithm is basically a set of operations that need to be solved to give you a product. For example, in algorithms for computer programming, you write a specific set of words called inputs that the computer will read to give you an output or a new process. The word fractal means a never ending patter or repeating pattern that dsiplays in every scale. Aristid Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist the originated the theory of L-systems which is a rewriting system or formal type of grammar. In addition, he modelled the behaviour of plant cells and the system is still used today to model whole plants. Lastly, there are 18 zeroes in a quintillion.

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    • With algorithms, computer scientists can predict the possible permutations–foldings–of a polypeptide. They are everywhere. I suggest you do a Google search of the origin of this concept. Algorithms have a very old history.

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  3. No Man’s Sky is an online virtual game where you can explore and conquer the universe. You can learn and catalogue all the things discovered and discover and explore all the stars and planets in solar systems. These infinite galaxies and solar systems that are explorable are huge and in huge numbers and huge scales, much like the amount of polymers in a ell in comparison with it. An algorithm is a procedure or formula for problem solving, and algorithms can perform calculations, data processing and reasoning tasks, amongst other things. A fractal is a never ending pattern and is infinitely complex patters that are created because of a repeating process, over and over again in an ongoing feedback loop. Aristide Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist who developed, in 1968, what are today called l-systems. This system is a type of form of language or parallel rewriting system. L-system trees form realistic models of natural patterns and show the plant development and growth processes. He used L-systems or Lindenmayer Systems to model the behavior of plant cells and this is still used today. This systems can also be used to generate self-similar fractals. Finally, there are 18 zeros in a quintillion.

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  4. No Man’s Sky is an exploration and survival game in an infinite proceduraly generated galaxy, which is built in the pillars of exploration, survival, combat, and trading. An algorithm is any set of detailed instructions which perform calculations, data processing, and automatic reasoning tasks. Fractal is defined as a curve or geometric figure that are infinitely complex patterns that are similar across different scales (never-ending). Ariatid Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist who created the theory of L-systems, which provide a formal description of the behavior of plant cells. To end, there are 18 zeros in a quintillion.

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  5. No Man’s Sky is an action-adventure survival game which lets you explore planets in the virtual galaxy in your spaceship each with its unique geography, flora and fauna . The name No Man’s Sky refers to the vastness of the game. The game is so huge that it has 18 quintillion planets (18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets to be exact)! That’s an 18 with 18 zeros beside it! If you were to go to every planet for just a second, it would take you 585 billion years to do so! That’s a huge achievement for video game design. How could they design this video game? Well they had help from a computer algorithm. An algorithim is ” a set of rules that precisely defines a sequence of operations”. They programmed an algorithm so that the operations of it were to generate random planets. They also had the help of fractals which is a geometrical figure where each part is has the same statistical character as the whole. This is used to describe random phenomena like crystal formation or in this case virtual galaxy formation. Lastly, Aristid LIndenmayer developed the L-System which models the behavior of plant cells. In conclusion, the game is amazing even though people don’t like it for its lack of game play and things to do, i think that the developer’s intentions was to create a game where we would never stop exploring and discovering and i think they made a more than satisfactory job at doing so. (If in a future update they include more stuff to do like have a base to store your things, alien quests to accomplish or at least be able to join and play with your friends, i think ill buy it) Here’s a link to a youtube video explaining and giving examples of how big the No Man’s Sky galaxy is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0j-cHqf6Ms

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    • Computer algorithms are everywhere. From the “Discover Weekly” feature on Spotify, which can predict what new music you’ll probably like, to supercomputer that can predict possible permutations of proteins.

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  6. No Man’s Sky is a game of exploration, survival, combat and trading. Through the game you can discover planets, stars in multiple solar systems. You can catalogue forms of life and share your discoveries with other players. You also encounter dangers and preparation is required. You can trade resources for ships, suits and equipment. The concept algorithm has existed for centuries. It is defined as a self-contained step-by-step set of operations to be performed. In No Man’s Kind algorithm is used in landscapes and planets. A fractal is a natural phenomenon or mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at every scale. It can be expanding symmetry or evolving symmetry. The simplest way to simulate a world as realistic as possible is by using fractal formulas. This is perfectly seen in No Man’s Sky. This video link explains better the concept of fractals: http://youtu.be/tN_eNQFcv5E . Aristid Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist who created L-systems to model the behavior of plant cells. He also studied chemistry. Lastly, there are 18 zeros in a quintillion. In my opinion I found No Man’s Sky to be a cool and very advanced game in terms of structure and purpose. I will definitely play it someday!

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    • Being repetitive & iterative, this type of gaming requires a lot from its players, which also create the planets & stars as they travel through Euclid. I can’t wait for its next update; which should deal with a lot of the things that it has got critiqued for.

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  7. In the game No Man’s Sky people are free to explore in an infinite procedurally generated galaxy, in this game there are a total of 18 quintillion planets. This game is built on four pillars: exploration, survival, combat, and trading. An algorithm is a process or set of rules followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations by a computer. A fractal is a curve or geometric which each part has the same statistical character as the whole. They are useful in modeling structures in which similar patterns occur at progressively smaller scales. Aristid Lindenmater is a Hungarian biologist who developed a type of formal language known as the L-systems or Lindenmayer Systems. Because of these systems it became possible to model whole plants. And finally, there are eighteen zeros in a quintillion.

    http://www.no-mans-sky.com

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  8. No Man’s Sky is a science fiction video game based on exploration, survival, combat, and trading set in a galaxy where players participate in an unknown universe. The game functions by using an algorithm; in other words, a set of rules for how content is created, especially by a computer. Algorithms have an extremely long history and can be seen in many aspects of our everyday life, not just computers. A blogger named Akkashirei stated “No Man’s Sky is essentially (beautiful) fractal math applied on galactic scale.” Fractal is defined as a curve or geometric figure where each part has the same character as the whole and are useful in modeling structures where similar patterns recur at smaller scales.
    Aristide Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist who in 1968 developed a type of language named the L-systems which he used to model the behavior of plant cells.This system is still used now to model whole plants.
    Finally, one quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) has a total of 18 zeros!

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  9. No Man’s Sky is an action, adventure survival game set on a vast universe where players can discover new planets and the creatures that inhabit it. The game’s different landscapes weren’t generated by hand, but by a very complex and sophisticated algorithm, in other words, a finite set of unambiguous instructions performed in a prescribed sequence to achieve a goal. The vast variety in the game was also generated by applying fractal variation, and fractals are curves or geometric figures where each part has the same character as the whole, and are are useful in modeling structures in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales. Aristid Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist and botanist that created the L-system or Lindenmayer system, which is a parallel rewriting system and a type of formal grammar that consists of an alphabet of symbols that can be used to make a string of symbols that can later be translated into geometric functions, and No Man’s Sky uses the L-system to create the plant life seen in the game. The game is also said to have about 18 quintillion planets, which is A LOT, because just 1 quintillion has 18 zeros!!!

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  10. The game No Man’s Sky is an action adventure game based on survival including the pillars of exploration, combat, and trading in an open universe. The game was made by the use of algorithms that is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations. Fractal is a geometric figure which exhibits a repeating pattern displayed at every scale. Aristid Lindenmayer was a Hungarian biologist who developed a type of formal language known as the L-systems or the Lindenmayer Systems. Lastly, in a quintillion there are 18 zeroes.

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