Any Game of Life pattern can be constructed from just 15 gliders

The Conway’s Game of Life community achieved a milestone on November 9th, 2022, by successfully building arbitrary life patterns using only 15 gliders. This accomplishment, known as the Reverse Caber Tosser project, allows for the creation of complex patterns without leftover debris or scaffolding. The process involves utilizing distance between gliders to encode information, leading to the synthesis of various patterns with a fixed number of gliders. The concept of universal constructors, systems capable of building any pattern, was explored, highlighting the power of carefully spaced gliders in construction. The blog post delves into the technical aspects of glider-based systems, seed constellations, and slow salvo recipes, demonstrating the community's efforts to streamline construction processes. Despite facing challenges in completing designs and achieving full functionality, the community made significant progress in advancing the capabilities of glider-based construction in Conway’s Game of Life.