Humans do something other than follow algorithms: An algorithm has 1) an input, and 2) an output that's related to the input in a prescribable way (i.e. it has to halt—Turing) Creativity can't be an algorithm, because one can't specify criteria for what the output would be.
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Replying to @reasonisfun
Wondering how many “The Church-Turing Thesis proves that’s impossible; you are advocating supernatural woo” replies you will get to this.
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Replying to @Meaningness
There are many (non-supernatural!) computations that don't halt, and don't produce an output. For example, trying to compute a noncomputable function. Ditto crashing (assuming you don't count crashing as an output). Not all computation is algorithmic (in the above sense).
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Replying to @reasonisfun
Also, people don’t have inputs or outputs, in the computational sense in which those are mathematical objects.
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Replying to @Meaningness
Is it not the case we can do that if we want to? If you give me two numbers, I can add them together and tell you the answer. We can do other things, though. And I could decline to do the calculation. Is that what you mean?
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Replying to @reasonisfun
Well… I can’t actually give you two numbers. I can only perform physical actions, such as writing a numeral on a piece of paper. Then we can agree that the number represents a non-physical thing; but no one has been able to coherently explain what “represents” means.
3 replies 0 retweets 1 like
Sorry, “numeral” not “number” here!
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