. • 1952: Alan Turing applies computers to studying biological systems, but uses traditional mathematical models rather than, say, Turing machines. • 1952-1953: John von Neumann makes theoretical studies of complicated cellular automata, but does not try looking at simpler cases, or simulating the systems on a computer. • Mid-1950s: Enrico Fermi and collaborators simulate simple systems of nonlinear springs on a computer, but do not notice that simple initial conditions can lead to complicated behavior. • Mid-1950s to mid-1960s: Specific 2D cellular automata are used for image processing; a few rules showing slightly complex behavior are noticed, but are considered of purely recreational interest. • Late 1950s: Computer simulations of iterated maps are done, but concentrate mostly on repetitive behavior.

Ever since Babylonian times arithmetic has been done by repeatedly applying simple rules to digits in numbers.

In enumerating recursive functions it is convenient to use symbolic definitions for composition and primitive recursion c[g_, h___] = Apply[g, Through[{h}[##]]] & r[g_, h_] = If[#1  0, g[##2], h[#0[#1 - 1, ##2], #1 - 1, ##2]] & where the more efficient unwound form is r[g_,h_] = Fold[Function[{u, v}, h[u, v, ##2]], g[##2], Range[0, #1 - 1]] & And in terms of these, for example, plus = r[p[1], s] .

But as mathematical methods developed, they seemed to apply mainly to physical systems, and not for example to biological ones.

(A typical goal is to find variables in which one can carry out what is known as canonical quantization: essentially applying the same straightforward transformation of equations that happens to work in ordinary elementary quantum mechanics.)