Coincidently, I read today a paper [1], which has a nice video demo here [2] describing a very similar system but with only one type of cells and a simple rule. Surprisingly enough, particles form cell type structure and seem to "reproduce".
How does this explain entropy? How is it increasing in this system?
Are the complex/organized/cell-like structures supposed to be a higher entropy configuration?
edit:
I played with the parameters with "chaos" as the template. There's a parameter called "friction." I believe anything with a non-zero value here will cause energy to dissipate away from the system.
If you set that friction value to zero, the system is closed and entropy goes up and stays up. In this state no complex structures form. However when you let energy dissipate out of the system via friction you start to see the cells, which is in line to the theory on how life can form despite rising entropy.
Initially it seemed to me as if the system was closed and thus entropy would go up. However entropy was not actually going up while observing the simulation which violated my notions of the nature of entropy and life.
It formed a contradiction in my mind and that was what I was questioning.
However the "friction" value made everything make sense. The system is not closed.
Coincidently, I read today a paper [1], which has a nice video demo here [2] describing a very similar system but with only one type of cells and a simple rule. Surprisingly enough, particles form cell type structure and seem to "reproduce".
[1] http://www.nature.com/articles/srep37969
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=makaJpLvbow