X-Message-Number: 14985 From: "Pat Clancy" <> Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 11:53:47 -0800 Subject: Re: Turing and Pi Eugene.Leitl wrote: > Look, you'r objections are already nuked by some of state of the > art. Right now people are writing cell simulators and neuronal > codes. In 15-20 years we should be able to make an individually > accurate computational model of primitive critters, e.g. a > nematode, maybe even something as smart as aplysia or even a lamprey. You could have made the same claim 20 years ago. It's easy to write a program that simulates something like a "cell" _to a certain extent_. But however complex your simulation, there will still be a gap between it and the real thing, because the real thing runs directly on the "machine" of reality and real physical laws, while your simulation runs on a Turing machine. Furthermore, the real problem is not simulating the building blocks, it's how to connect them together. Pat Clancy Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=14985