Over the last decade there has been growing interest in new computing algorithms, architectures and materials. Computation based on wave dynamics and reaction-diffusion processes in chemical, physical and biological systems is one of the new approaches being followed. In this talk I will provide a brief account of the subject. Nonlinear media exhibit a variety of spatio-temporal phenomena. Circular waves, spiral waves, and self-localized mobile excitations are the most familiar examples. How to use these phenomena to perform useful computations? I will show that diverse problems are solved in active nonlinear media, where data and results are given by spatial defects and information processing is implemented via spreading and interaction of phase or diffusive waves. Amusing examples from various fields of science will illustrate vitality of the approach: thin layer chemical reactors, cellular automata machines, diffusive ant families, molecular arrays, and pools of doxastic entities.
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