The LoveAndHate simulation is made up of two types of individuals ("turtles" in StarLogo jargon). The first type pick one other individual in the simulation and tries to follow them around. These are called "lovers" and are colored blue. The second kind pick one other individual in the simulation and tries to get away from them. These are called "haters" and are colored red.

When lovers are closer to the one they love they are happier. Likewise, when haters are farther away from the one they hate they are happier. The speed at which an individual moves is inversely proportional to their happiness. That is, they move faster when they are less happy and slower when they are happier. So for example, a lover who is very far away from the object of it's affection will move very fast towards that individual. But, maybe that individual it is following is trying to follow a different individual, or get away from a different individual, or even trying to get away from the one following it.

These simple rules governing an individual's actions lead to very unpredictable group dynamics and behaviors. In the simulation a number of initial variables can be set. The two most basic are (1) The ratio of lovers to haters and (2) the total number of individuals. The dynamics of a population with 90% lovers, 10% haters and 100 individuals is very different from those of a population with 10% lovers and 90% haters and 2000 individuals.

This was the starting point of the simulation, but there is one more necessary component to turn these creatures into artists: a brush. Each individual has a brush. The lovers have a purple color brush and the haters have an orange color brush (These colors could be changed to create different color images). If an individual comes upon a patch of "canvas" that has no paint on it (i.e. it is black), or they come upon a patch of canvas that has been painted by the opposite type (i.e. a hater comes upon a purple patch), then they will paint it their own color. If they come upon a patch of their own color they will simply make that patch one shade brighter of the same color. So, each individual will paint and intensify a trail of it's own color.

The trail that the Lovers and Haters paints decays over time, so that the whole screen doesn't fill up too fast. The decay rate is a variable; if set low the coloring will be more dense and if set high the trails will disappear quickly.

See some images created by LoveAndHate in the gallery.