I will channel Nick based on our conversation yesterday. "A computer is a Turing machine and it can answer questions."* I apologize, Nick, if that's not your position.
*Alexa, Siri, Hey Google ----------------------------------- Frank Wimberly My memoir: https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly My scientific publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2 Phone (505) 670-9918 On Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 7:22 AM <[email protected]> wrote: > Maybe I've missed it, but has no one pointed out that a "Turing Machine" > is a mathematical formalism? I may be a stick in the mud, but I refuse to > extend the definition of "know" so far as to make "A Turing Machine knows > [something]" a meaningful statement. You might as well ask what a Goedel > Enumeration knows, or what The Classification of Finite Simple Groups > knows. Hell, what does the integer 1 know??? > > Now maybe in you-alls' circles, "Turing Machine" is used to refer to some > kinds of physical implementations of particular Turing Machines. But > that's a pernicious identification that can only lead to tears. > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove >
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
