Beyond Turing's Machines
Science (04/13/12) Vol. 336, No. 6078, P. 163 Andrew Hodges
Alan Turing's most profound achievement is arguably the principle of a universal machine that makes logic rather than arithmetic the computer's driving force, writes the University of Oxford's Andrew Hodges. Turing also defined the concept of computability, and suggested that mathematical steps that do not follow rules, and are thus not computable, could be identified with mental intuition. His 1950 treatise presented a basic argument that if the brain's action is computable, then it can be deployed on a computer or universal machine. Turing later suggested that modeling of the human brain might be impossible because of the nature of quantum mechanics, and his view of what is computable has not changed despite the advent of quantum computing. Many thought-experiment models investigate the implications of going beyond the constraints of the computable, and some require that machine elements operate with unlimited speed or permit unrestricted accuracy of measurement. Others more deeply explore the physical world's nature, with a focus of how mental operations relate to the physical brain and the need to rethink quantum mechanics because uncomputable physics is basic to physical law. Hodges says this way of thinking is part of Turing's legacy even though it superficially runs counter to his vision.
Science (04/13/12) Vol. 336, No. 6078, P. 163 Andrew Hodges
Alan Turing's most profound achievement is arguably the principle of a universal machine that makes logic rather than arithmetic the computer's driving force, writes the University of Oxford's Andrew Hodges. Turing also defined the concept of computability, and suggested that mathematical steps that do not follow rules, and are thus not computable, could be identified with mental intuition. His 1950 treatise presented a basic argument that if the brain's action is computable, then it can be deployed on a computer or universal machine. Turing later suggested that modeling of the human brain might be impossible because of the nature of quantum mechanics, and his view of what is computable has not changed despite the advent of quantum computing. Many thought-experiment models investigate the implications of going beyond the constraints of the computable, and some require that machine elements operate with unlimited speed or permit unrestricted accuracy of measurement. Others more deeply explore the physical world's nature, with a focus of how mental operations relate to the physical brain and the need to rethink quantum mechanics because uncomputable physics is basic to physical law. Hodges says this way of thinking is part of Turing's legacy even though it superficially runs counter to his vision.
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