While Alan Kay studied at the University of Utah he learned to use the innovative SketchPad program developed by Ivan Sutherland and began programming in Simula. Borrowing ideas from these and other programs, as well as from his background in Biology, he formulated his "biological analogy." Kay postulated that the ideal computer would function like a living organism; each "cell" would behave in accord with others to accomplish an end goal but would also be able to function autonomously. "Cells" could also regroup themselves in order to attack another problem or handle another function.