When someone writes a word processing program he cannot know, as he writes it, everything that the users will write as they use it. This proves that a program, even though it may be preplanned, is not limited to precisely producing only something that is totally preplanned. I would call the parts of the word processor algorithms even though the term is not exactly the same as the mathematical definition that is given in Wikipedia. My guess is that the dominant mathematical definition of the word “algorithm” proffered in Wikipedia was actually formulated in the twentieth century. I certainly do not use the word in only this way, although I have to admit that I sometimes have felt that my use of the term was somewhat awkward.
Now, a programmer could write his word processor program so that it did not take every single letter that a user typed in. In this case, neither the programmer, nor the user could predict beforehand what would be appended to the text. In fact, the programmer could design the program so that no one could predict which letters would be appended regardless of their knowledge of the program and of computer science. This shows that a computer program is not necessarily fully predefined by the program itself but may be dependent on how it is used. If a program can react to Input then it can react in creative and unpredictable ways. (The fascination for “prediction” that some AGIers worship seems slightly ironic given that some unpredictability seems like a requisite for independent thinking.) Jim Bromer ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-c97d2393 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-2484a968 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
