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gus_massa
Was this a known starting point? Or Randall Munroe just discovered this in two days?
ddrdrck_
Hum ... it is obviously "just" animated art even if the last sequence is a well known pattern I think.

Very beautiful and sensible in any case.

hexmiles
i tried on an online simulator and it actually works!
gus_massa
I assumed that it was real, because it is xkcd. Now I tried it in https://playgameoflife.com/ and it works! It works because it is xkcd!

I can't find a simulator with a permalink. It would be nice if someone knows one, because copiying the initial pattern is very error prone.

ddrdrck_
Indeed it seems I was wrong. This is because as mentioned in another comment it is quite easy to create a self destructive pattern. Slider on top right is a common pattern. My bad, and impressive effort from xkcd !
BZH314
Here is the RLE to reproduce the xkcd pattern in GOL implementations that support Run Length Encoded [1] (b=dead, o=alive, $=new line):

2b3o$2bobo$2bobo$3bo$ob3o$bobobo$3bo2bo$2bobo$2bobo!

In Twitch Plays Conway's Game Of Life [2] you can place Dr. Conway like so:

!rle 2b3o$2bobo$2bobo$3bo$ob3o$bobobo$3bo2bo$2bobo$2bobo! -4,-40

or use the shortcut command:

!xkcd -4,-40

Here is a short clip of what it looks like: https://www.twitch.tv/bzh314/clip/TardyGleamingQuailKeepo

----

[1] http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Run_Length_Encoded

[2] https://www.twitch.tv/bzh314

lozenge
That's a common slider and pretty much any pattern with insufficient density (% cells lit) will die out
gus_massa
I made a mistake while trying to check it, and I got two static irregular things (a vertical beehive and a loaf). (The error was that the body in my copy was a pixel too long.) My guess is that it's not so easy.