2008/8/15 Brent Meeker <meekerdb.domain.name.hidden>:
> But that assumes there can be a computation independent of any material
> realization - a computation that never has an error. Real computations
> are realized by quantum mechanical devices. Of course they may be so
> large and hot that they are to a very good approximation classical (the
> brain is according to Tegmark). But I'm supposing that the complexity
> of conscious computation (and remember we are talking about simulating
> the environment, not just the brain) is so great that quantum effects
> are inevitable.
The model of the mind this implies is a digital computer with a random
component. But even if this random component is truly random rather
than pseudorandom, you could always emulate it with a branching
algorithm that explores every possible case. It might be
computationally very expensive, but given enough memory and enough
time it could be done.
--
Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Fri Aug 15 2008 - 08:56:08 PDT