Title page

Table of Contents

Section 2

 

1. Introduction

Biological structures are interesting to model and visualize for several reasons.

Database amplification, a term coined by Alvy Ray Smith [Smi1984], is the process of creating complex images using small data sets.
 
Emergence, a term brought into prominence by the study of Artificial Life [Tay1992], means that the system as a whole acquires complex properties through the interaction, in space and over time, among its component modules. The modules themselves are usually fairly simple.

In living organisms, complex forms and patterns result from development, and their emergence is traditionally referred to as morphogenesis.

By studying emergent processes in a biological context, we can gain a better understanding of the world around us.