Welcome to AlgorithmLab
Small coding experiments about cellular automata, fractals, and complex systems
A different kind of computer lab
There is a particular kind of joy in small programs.
Not applications.
Not systems.
Not products.
Just rules.
A few lines of code that describe how something evolves step by step.
This blog is a place for that kind of code — small coding experiments about cellular automata, fractals, and complex systems. Programs short enough to read in one sitting, but rich enough to keep you watching.
Having fun with computers
Somewhere along the way, programming became serious.
It became frameworks, deployments, dashboards, and tickets. All of that is useful — but it is not the only reason to write code.
The original promise of a computer was simpler: type a rule, press run, see what happens. A blank screen, a loop, and an idea. No users, no roadmap, no production. Just curiosity.
This blog is an attempt to remember that. To treat the computer as what it also is: a beautiful little machine for playing with ideas.
A tradition of small experiments
This blog is inspired by a tradition of computational exploration.
Publications like Scientific American once featured columns dedicated to small computer experiments — tiny programs that revealed deep ideas. A recursive curve. A flocking rule. A predator and prey on a grid.
They showed that:
- complexity does not require complicated code
- insight often comes from minimal systems
- experimentation is as important as theory
This site continues that spirit, in a smaller and quieter corner of the web.
What you’ll find here
Each post explores a small idea:
- a cellular automaton
- a fractal
- a flocking or swarming model
- a simple algorithm with surprising behavior
The format is always roughly the same:
Seed → Idea → Rule → Code → Result → ExperimentsStart small. Add one rule. See what changes.
That is the whole project.