Emergence

Project intro

Emergence is an interactive playground for chaos theory on the modlit site: simple rules, complex behaviour, playable in the browser. The flagship simulation is Conway's Game of Life - Play, Step and Reset controls, a speed slider, pattern and rule selectors (Life B3/S23 and friends), edge wrapping, random and clear - with live generation and population counters. What sets it apart is the teaching: every simulation ships with plain-language explanations - the rules, still lifes, oscillators, spaceships - each with its equation and one-click demos ("Step through a blinker", "Play a pulsar"). A 6-stop tour connects the simulations, and a sidebar offers more: Langton's Ant, the sandpile model, and others. Author Tom Tranter posted it on Hacker News on October 16, 2026: "So I fell in love with Physics when I read Chaos by James Gleick and I didn't actually know how to program at the time but much of the book was rooted in the concept that chaotic non-deterministic behaviour can emerge from a few simple rules... 20+ years later I am able to vibe code this app to visually demonstrate this simplicity and chaos." Two decades of curiosity, finally shipped - and a lovely way to learn why the rules never mention movement, yet the glider moves.