Question

[...] the question of whether Machines Can Think [...] is about as relevant as the question of whether Submarines Can Swim.

Edsger Dijkstra, The Threats to Computing Science

In “project” chapters, I’ll stop pummeling you with new theory for a brief moment and instead work through a program with you. Theory is indispensable when learning to program, but it should be accompanied by reading and understanding nontrivial programs.

Our project in this chapter is to build a virtual ecosystem, a little world populated with critters that move around and struggle for survival.

This is a book about getting computers to do what you want them to do. Computers are about as common as screwdrivers today, but they contain a lot more hidden complexity and thus are harder to operate and understand. To many, they remain alien, slightly threatening things.