AutomaTiles : tangible cellular automata for playful engagement with systems thinking
Name
964866962-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
12.44 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
94828afd3b454a7f41b477943593140d
Author(s)
Bobrow, Jonathan
Advisor(s)
Kevin Slavin.
Alternative Title
Automa Tiles : tangible cellular automata for playful engagement with systems thinking
Tangible cellular automata for playful engagement with systems thinking
Date Issued
2016
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
There is an increasingly vital awareness that our world is an aggregate of complex systems, emergent behavior, and system dynamics. The perceptual and analytical tools for exploring and studying these systems, however, have generally been relegated to scientists (whether mathematicians, physicists, biologists, economists, or computer scientists). Thus, as more and more people become aware of such systems, most people are still excluded from engaging with complex systems. By inventing a new tool and interface, consisting of playful objects called AutomaTiles, I propose a new approach for fostering a more aware society of systems thinkers. AutomaTiles provide a three-tiered approach to making systems thinking more accessible. Firstly, AutomaTiles are a friendly and approachable set of playful objects; seen simply as toys, they afford the surprising effects of emergent behavior when brought together in aggregate. Secondly, AutomaTiles can be a tool for exploring collective behavior, distributed algorithms, and models of systems (whether forest fires or social phenomena) from a hands-on perspective. Lastly, AutomaTiles are a new kind of platform for games, bringing computational intelligence to table-top games, bringing together the social dynamics of face-to-face interaction with the complexity afforded by conventional video-games. Expanding the work on the future of board games from Playful Systems, we have created a novel digital-physical interface for playing games that allows for modes of gameplay never before possible in a table-top game. This thesis will illustrate the design decisions and affordances of AutomaTiles as a platform for engaging with these three tiers of the exploration and manipulation of complex systems.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 56).
Subjects
Program in Media Arts and Sciences ()
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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