I do not see how this is a bad thing. It seems incorrect at some level, but claiming that things that compute are somehow categorically different is an appeal to magical thinking.
I would agree that claiming that a rock computes by not simply vanishing from one plank time to the next is not satisfying. This leads me to think that computation has much more to do with whether a particular being has reach a thermodynamic local minimum than anything else (lava does not compute since, despite being far more active than a rock, its behaviour can be explained by the fact that it is a couple thousand degrees hotter than a normal rock). Energy dissipation also does not fit the bill since stars dissipate energy but do not compute.
Unfortunately the thinking surrounding things like proteins look incredibly similar, their behavior changes as a function of ph and temperature, and most arguments that a protein computes are based on defining a function for that protein. This gets us nowhere, but it does suggest that it may not be possible to define computation in a way that excludes systems dissipating energy to reach thermodynamic local minima.
Re: "claiming that things that compute are somehow categorically different is an appeal to magical thinking" - This is not the case. The distinction that's being made is one of perspective and purpose, i.e. implementing method to get result. Or am I getting this wrong?
Which is good, as that is indeed an unsatisfying explanation. You can, however talk about _what_ it computes and _how_ it computes, which might be interesting or useful explanations.
hyperion2010|10 years ago
I would agree that claiming that a rock computes by not simply vanishing from one plank time to the next is not satisfying. This leads me to think that computation has much more to do with whether a particular being has reach a thermodynamic local minimum than anything else (lava does not compute since, despite being far more active than a rock, its behaviour can be explained by the fact that it is a couple thousand degrees hotter than a normal rock). Energy dissipation also does not fit the bill since stars dissipate energy but do not compute.
Unfortunately the thinking surrounding things like proteins look incredibly similar, their behavior changes as a function of ph and temperature, and most arguments that a protein computes are based on defining a function for that protein. This gets us nowhere, but it does suggest that it may not be possible to define computation in a way that excludes systems dissipating energy to reach thermodynamic local minima.
wrongc0ntinent|10 years ago
wnoise|10 years ago
danghica|10 years ago
tbabb|10 years ago