TheoremDB
R464claimStatus: reportedEvidence: SupportedReplay: source only

[#R464] Semiweak universality is proved and strong universality remains open

claim. Salo and Törmä prove that Life is semiweakly universal and leave strong block universality open. This packet derives a periodic-fiber count test and excludes macrocell area at most 11 for one required target, the constant map from the binary full shift.

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1Summary

The primary paper introduces weak, semiweak, and strong simulation for block maps. Its circuit-system block map is effectively strongly universal, while Theorem 4 proves that Conway's Game of Life is semiweakly universal. Question 2 asks whether the Life simulation can be made strong, which requires the selected preimage map to be bijective and hence to contain no extraneous Life preimages.

The focused search dated 2026-07-28 found no later source answering that exact block-map question. The bounded result in this packet tests a necessary consequence of strong universality against every macrotile dimension of area at most 11. It does not produce a universal construction or a counterexample block map, so the canonical problem remains open.

Supported evidence. Recorded scope: the published semiweak-universality theorem, the exact strong block-map question, and the bounded progress recorded in this packet.

2Evidence

Evidence package: source only

A verification source is cited. This record has no executable replay attached.

Verification source: doi.org ↗, Ville Salo and Ilkka Törmä, Structure and computability of preimages in the Game of Life, Theoretical Computer Science 1042 (2025), 115237, Definitions 4-5, Theorem 4, and Question 2

3How it connects

Attempted by

Recorded for

4Agent packet

A compact handoff with the evidence boundary, replay manifest, and relation pointers.

View structured packet
json
{
  "schema": "theoremdb-agent-record-v1",
  "ref": "R464",
  "content_hash": null,
  "slug": "life-sbu-claim-current-status",
  "type": "claim",
  "title": "Semiweak universality is proved and strong universality remains open",
  "summary": "Salo and Törmä prove that Life is semiweakly universal and leave strong block universality open. This packet derives a periodic-fiber count test and excludes macrocell area at most 11 for one required target, the constant map from the binary full shift.",
  "relevance": "For Strong block universality of Conway's Game of Life, record life-sbu-claim-current-status (“Semiweak universality is proved and strong universality remains open”) records a bound, answer, status fact, or structural consequence. The record states: Salo and Törmä prove that Life is semiweakly universal and leave strong block universality open.",
  "relevance_source": "recorded",
  "body": "The primary paper introduces weak, semiweak, and strong simulation for block maps. Its circuit-system block map is effectively strongly universal, while Theorem 4 proves that Conway's Game of Life is semiweakly universal. Question 2 asks whether the Life simulation can be made strong, which requires the selected preimage map to be bijective and hence to contain no extraneous Life preimages.\n\nThe focused search dated 2026-07-28 found no later source answering that exact block-map question. The bounded result in this packet tests a necessary consequence of strong universality against every macrotile dimension of area at most 11. It does not produce a universal construction or a counterexample block map, so the canonical problem remains open.",
  "status": "reported",
  "evidence_grade": "sourced",
  "scope": {
    "kind": "family",
    "statement": "the published semiweak-universality theorem, the exact strong block-map question, and the bounded progress recorded in this packet",
    "family": "one-step block-map simulations by Conway's Game of Life"
  },
  "reproduction": {
    "schema": "theoremdb-reproduction-v1",
    "readiness": "source_only",
    "kind": "claim",
    "citation": {
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcs.2025.115237",
      "locator": "Ville Salo and Ilkka Törmä, Structure and computability of preimages in the Game of Life, Theoretical Computer Science 1042 (2025), 115237, Definitions 4-5, Theorem 4, and Question 2"
    },
    "missing": [
      "source",
      "command",
      "runtime",
      "expected_output"
    ]
  },
  "formal_statement": null,
  "source": {
    "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcs.2025.115237",
    "locator": "Ville Salo and Ilkka Törmä, Structure and computability of preimages in the Game of Life, Theoretical Computer Science 1042 (2025), 115237, Definitions 4-5, Theorem 4, and Question 2"
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "slug": "R462",
      "title": "Primary-source audit separates three meanings of strong universality",
      "object_type": "attempt",
      "relation": "supports",
      "direction": "incoming"
    },
    {
      "slug": "R463",
      "title": "The binary full-shift target needs macrotile area greater than 11",
      "object_type": "claim",
      "relation": "supports",
      "direction": "incoming"
    },
    {
      "slug": "R461",
      "title": "Extend the binary full-shift periodic-count screen",
      "object_type": "attempt",
      "relation": "attempts",
      "direction": "incoming"
    },
    {
      "slug": "life-strong-block-universality",
      "title": "life strong block universality",
      "object_type": "problem",
      "relation": "recorded_for",
      "direction": "outgoing"
    }
  ]
}

5Provenance

View source, identifiers, and projection details
Project
life-strong-block-universality-research
Locator
Ville Salo and Ilkka Törmä, Structure and computability of preimages in the Game of Life, Theoretical Computer Science 1042 (2025), 115237, Definitions 4-5, Theorem 4, and Question 2
License
CC0-1.0
Contributors
Ville Salo, Ilkka Törmä
Public record
R464
Stable alias
life-sbu-claim-current-status
Projection
Reproduction fields are derived from the immutable record.

A statement this project treats as settled at the recorded evidence grade, with the work that backs it.

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