Brent Meeker writes: > > Yes, but any physical system can be seen as implementing any computation > > with the appropriate > > rule mapping physical states to computational states. > > I think this is doubtful. For one thing there must be enough distinct > states. It's all very well > to imagine a mapping between a rock and my computer idealized as isolated > closed systems - but in > fact they are not isolated close systems. When you're talking about > simulating the universe in > computation it has a lot more states than a rock and it isn't close either.
The rock could be running all the required computations *in parallel*. > >Attempts are made to put constraints on what > > counts as implementation of a computation in order to avoid this > > uncomfortable idea, but it > > doesn't work unless you say that certain implementations are specially > > blessed by God or something. > > So at least you have to say that every computation is implemented if any > > physical universe at all > > exists, even if it is comprised of a single atom which endures for a > > femtosecond. That's an absurd > > amount of responsibility for a little atom, and it makes more sense to me > > (although I can't at the > > moment think of a proof) to say that the atom is irrelevant, and the > > computations are implemented > > anyway by virtue of their status as mathematical objects. > > Or by virtue of there being universes. Sure: there may be a physical universe, and there may be something special about brains - i.e. only brains or some restricted subset of possible computation devices might be able to run conscious programs. Stathis Papaioannou _________________________________________________________________ Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail. http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=5d21c51a-b161-4314-9b0e-4911fb2b2e6d --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
