Make all things make themselves

Abstract

An effective mechanism, such as evolution, is partly due to the intense and constant interaction between genetic code and outside environment. Unexpected innovation and relentless exploitation of possible advantages show the amazing power of nature's engine of adaptation. However, making things that make themselves may be a much more practical strategy in an ever-changing world. Computer graphics have always been about making things, whether it is making 3D images of real objects, making images of imagined visions or making models of the `unseen' in visualizations of scientific data. Part of the process of imitating nature with computer graphics is developing some understanding of things that `make themselves'.