On 1 June 2015 at 04:38, John Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > A Turing Machine does assume matter that obeys the laws of physics > > It assumes that an infinite tape is available. Which physical laws allow that?
A Turing Machine is actually an *algorithm* - it isn't a mechanical device, although one could make a device that (imperfectly) instantiates the algorithm. (You could also make one of these imperfect instantiators using a wide variety of physical laws, in theory, just as you can use any symbol you like to represent a number.) So yes, as material beings, we require matter to do *anything.* But to say that therefore all abstractions "assume matter" is either to make a vacuous statement or to assume, as a metaphysical leap of faith, that primary materialism is true. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
