TL;DR
A collaborative project has produced explicit glider syntheses for every strict still life of population 23, covering 1,646,147 patterns and raising the known lower bound for glider-constructible still lifes from 22 to 23. The work combined automated searches, component transfer tools and human-crafted steps; one remaining holdout, xs23_g88m9icz1iu146, was resolved by contributor vilc.
What happened
A community project completed syntheses for every strict Game of Life still life with population 23, totaling 1,646,147 distinct patterns. The effort moved the smallest population known to be exhaustively glider-constructible up from 22 to 23. The team used a mix of automated and manual methods: mass-generation of candidate recipes via computer searches handled roughly 99.97% of targets, while handcrafted strategies resolved the hardest cases. Existing tooling such as the Shinjuku component database and transfer.py were augmented by new C++ tools (transfer.cpp) and a multithreaded program called Stomp that pruned and prioritized component templates more efficiently. Search tactics included random 'soup' collisions, systematic 3- and 4-glider probes, component farming, and attempts to pair known subcomponents (an idea dubbed “Mr. Component”). The final previously unsolved pattern, named xs23_g88m9icz1iu146, was synthesized by vilc, marking the project’s completion.
Why it matters
- Establishes that every strict still life of population 23 can be generated by glider collisions, raising the constructive lower bound.
- Demonstrates the scale-up in complexity as bit counts increase: the 23-bit set had about 2.4× more targets than the 22-bit project.
- Shows the value of combining large-scale automated search with targeted human design and improved tooling.
- Highlights both the power and limits of synthesis: prior work has already identified still lifes that cannot be produced from empty space.
Key facts
- All 1,646,147 strict still lifes of population 23 now have explicit glider syntheses.
- The project raised the lower bound for guaranteed glider-constructibility from 22 to 23.
- Mass automated searches accounted for about 99.97% of the solved targets.
- The final previously unsynthesized still life, xs23_g88m9icz1iu146, was solved by contributor vilc.
- The 23-bit project had roughly 2.4 times as many targets as the 22-bit project.
- Tools and code mentioned: Shinjuku component database, transfer.py, transfer.cpp, and a multithreaded program called Stomp.
- Previous exhaustive projects: 18-bit (Oct 2019), 19-bit (Feb 2020), 20-bit (Mar 2021), 21-bit (Nov 2022), 22-bit (Aug 2024).
- Search techniques included soup searches, targeted glider collisions, GPU-assisted searches, and component farming.
- The project filtered candidate components using heuristics to avoid explosion of precursors and irrelevant steps.
What to watch next
- not confirmed in the source
- not confirmed in the source
- not confirmed in the source
Quick glossary
- Game of Life: A cellular automaton devised by John Conway where cells on a grid evolve by simple rules to produce complex behavior.
- Still life: A stable pattern in the Game of Life that does not change from one generation to the next.
- Glider: A small, self-propagating pattern in the Game of Life that travels across the grid and is commonly used as a reagent in constructions.
- Synthesis: A sequence of glider collisions and placements that produces a target pattern from an initially empty grid.
- Strict still life: A still life in which every connected island of live cells is necessary for overall stability; removing any island would change the pattern.
Reader FAQ
Does this mean every still life can be made from gliders?
No. The source notes that earlier work identified still lifes that provably cannot be synthesized by gliders.
How many 23-bit strict still lifes were synthesized?
1,646,147 strict still lifes of population 23.
Who solved the final holdout pattern?
The final holdout, xs23_g88m9icz1iu146, was solved by vilc.
Is the 24-bit set now solved?
not confirmed in the source
Home All 23-Bit Still Lifes Are Glider Constructible DECEMBER 27, 2025 / GOL In the Game of Life, which still lifes can be produced by crashing gliders together? We’ve known…
Sources
Related posts
- Reverse-engineering YouTube’s ‘Most Replayed’ graph implementation
- SETI@home narrows 12 billion detections down to 100 candidate signals
- A Slow-Burning Scientific Revolution in Modern Cosmology: Reassessing Gravity