A genetic algorithm was used to explore two-dimensional cellular automata, and the results turned out far more surprising than expected. Even though the rule space is astronomically large (more rules than atoms in the observable universe), evolution consistently "tunes" through the noise - like adjusting an old TV - until structured patterns suddenly appear.

When asked to reproduce a simple shape, different automata often solve it in completely unexpected ways, each discovering its own strange mechanism for generating the pattern. Despite the scale of the search space, evolution locks onto meaningful structure with the ease of a well-tuned signal.