Story perspectives

Busy Beaver Game Yields New Turing Machine Record

8/23/2025

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Summary

Story summary

The busy beaver game, created by Tibor Radó in 1962, examines Turing machines' runtimes before halting.
In the 1990s and 2000s, busy beaver hunters, including Shawn Ligocki and his father, made notable discoveries.
In 2007, they identified a six-rule Turing machine with a runtime of nearly 3,000 digits.
Slovakian student Pavel Kropitz later found a machine with over 30,000 digits, holding the record for 12 years.
Ligocki discovered a new record holder in 2022.

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Story summary

The busy beaver game, created by Tibor Radó in 1962, examines Turing machines' runtimes before halting.
In the 1990s and 2000s, busy beaver hunters, including Shawn Ligocki and his father, made notable discoveries.
In 2007, they identified a six-rule Turing machine with a runtime of nearly 3,000 digits.
Slovakian student Pavel Kropitz later found a machine with over 30,000 digits, holding the record for 12 years.
Ligocki discovered a new record holder in 2022.