On Thursday, September 20, 2012 9:10:39 PM UTC-4, Stephen Paul King wrote: > > On 9/20/2012 11:48 AM, Jason Resch wrote: > > > > On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 10:02 AM, Craig Weinberg > <[email protected]<javascript:> > > wrote: > >> Here's another reductio ad absurdum illustration of comp. >> >> If the version of comp we are discussing here is independent of physics, >> then shouldn't it be possible for us to program universal machines using >> only empty space? Length can be quantified, so why can't we just use >> millimeters or Planck lengths as the basis for our enumeration, addition, >> and multiplication and directly program from our mind to space? >> >> Of course, it would be hard to know where it was because we would be >> constantly flying away from a space that was anchored to an absolute >> position independent of Earth, the solar system, Milky Way, etc, but that >> shouldn't matter anyhow since whatever method we use to directly program in >> empty space with our minds should also give us access to the results of the >> computations. >> > > Right this is already the case. That we can use our minds to access the > results. > > >> >> What do you think? Just as wafers of silicon glass could in theory be >> functionally identical to a living brain, wouldn't it be equally prejudiced >> to say that empty space isn't good enough to host the computations of >> silicon? > > > We don't even need empty space, we can use thought alone to figure out > the future evolution of computers that already exist in Platonia and then > get the result of any computation. The problem is we are slow at doing > this, so we build machines that can tell us what these platonic machines do > with greater speed and accuracy than we ever could. > > It's not doing the computations that is hard, the computations are > already there. The problem is learning their results. > > Jason > > It takes the consumption of resources to "learn the results". This > is what I have been yelling at Bruno about the entire time since I first > read his beautiful papers. Understanding is never free. >
Exactly, and I was trying to show why. Without that resource cost, there is no reason for anything to have a cost and no reason to leave Platonia. Castles in the clouds ahoy! Craig > -- > Onward! > > Stephen > http://webpages.charter.net/stephenk1/Outlaw/Outlaw.html > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/everything-list/-/3hD7s6xamHoJ. 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.
