-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Craig Weinberg Sent: Monday, 15 August 2011 10:07 AM To: Everything List Subject: Re: Turing Machines
On Aug 14, 7:29 pm, Colin Geoffrey Hales <[email protected]> wrote: > Great video ... a picture of simplicity.... > > Q. 'What is it like to be a Turing Machine?" = Hard Problem. > > A. It's like being the pile of gear in the video, NO MATTER WHAT IS ON > THE TAPE. Why doesn't it matter what's on the tape? If I manually move the tape under the scanner myself, will the gear as a whole know the difference? If I dismantle the machine or turn it off will it care? Craig Colin ============ Precisely. How can it possibly 'care'? If the machine was (1) spread across the entire solar system, or (2) miniaturized to the size of an atom, (3) massively parallel, (4) quantum, (5) digital, (6) analog or (7) whatever..... it doesn't matter.... it will always be "what it is like to be the physical object (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7)", resp., no matter what is on the tape. If find the idea that the contents of the tape somehow magically delivers a first person experience to be intellectually moribund. The point is, what magic is assumed in the contents of the tape being fiddled with 'Turing-ly' delivers first person content? Legions of folks out there will say "its all information processing!", to which I add... the brain, which is the 100% origins of the only 'what it is like' description we know of, is NOT doing what the video does. So.... good question. I wish others would ask it. Colin -- 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?hl=en.
