Author: Gualtiero Piccinini
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199658854
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Computation permeates our world, but a satisfactory philosophical theory of what it is has been lacking. Gualtiero Piccinini presents a mechanistic account of what makes a physical system a computing system. He argues that computation does not entail representation or information-processing, although information-processing entails computation.
Physical Computation
Author: Gualtiero Piccinini
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199658854
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Computation permeates our world, but a satisfactory philosophical theory of what it is has been lacking. Gualtiero Piccinini presents a mechanistic account of what makes a physical system a computing system. He argues that computation does not entail representation or information-processing, although information-processing entails computation.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199658854
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Computation permeates our world, but a satisfactory philosophical theory of what it is has been lacking. Gualtiero Piccinini presents a mechanistic account of what makes a physical system a computing system. He argues that computation does not entail representation or information-processing, although information-processing entails computation.
Physical Computation
Author: Gualtiero Piccinini
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191633429
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Gualtiero Piccinini articulates and defends a mechanistic account of concrete, or physical, computation. A physical system is a computing system just in case it is a mechanism one of whose functions is to manipulate vehicles based solely on differences between different portions of the vehicles according to a rule defined over the vehicles. The Nature of Computation discusses previous accounts of computation and argues that the mechanistic account is better. Many kinds of computation are explicated, such as digital vs. analog, serial vs. parallel, neural network computation, program-controlled computation, and more. Piccinini argues that computation does not entail representation or information processing although information processing entails computation. Pancomputationalism, according to which every physical system is computational, is rejected. A modest version of the physical Church-Turing thesis, according to which any function that is physically computable is computable by Turing machines, is defended.
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191633429
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Gualtiero Piccinini articulates and defends a mechanistic account of concrete, or physical, computation. A physical system is a computing system just in case it is a mechanism one of whose functions is to manipulate vehicles based solely on differences between different portions of the vehicles according to a rule defined over the vehicles. The Nature of Computation discusses previous accounts of computation and argues that the mechanistic account is better. Many kinds of computation are explicated, such as digital vs. analog, serial vs. parallel, neural network computation, program-controlled computation, and more. Piccinini argues that computation does not entail representation or information processing although information processing entails computation. Pancomputationalism, according to which every physical system is computational, is rejected. A modest version of the physical Church-Turing thesis, according to which any function that is physically computable is computable by Turing machines, is defended.
The Nature of Physical Computation
Author: Oron Shagrir
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197552382
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Computing systems are ubiquitous in contemporary life. Even the brain is thought to be a computing system of sorts. But what does it mean to say that a given organ or system "computes"? What is it about laptops, smartphones, and nervous systems that they are deemed to compute - and why does itseldom occur to us to describe stomachs, hurricanes, rocks, or chairs that way? These questions are key to laying the conceptual foundations of computational sciences, including computer science and engineering, and the cognitive and neural sciences.Oron Shagrir here provides an extended argument for the semantic view of computation, which states that semantic properties are involved in the nature of computing systems. The first part of the book provides general background. Although different in scope, these chapters have a common theme-namely,that the linkage between the mathematical theory of computability and the notion of physical computation is weak. The second part of the book reviews existing non-semantic accounts of physical computation. Shagrir analyze three influential accounts in greater depth and argues that none of theseaccounts is satisfactory, but each of them highlights certain key features of physical computation that he eventually adopts in his own semantic account of physical computation - a view that rests on a phenomenon known as simultaneous implementation (or "indeterminacy of computation"). Shagrircompletes the characterization of his account of computation and highlights the distinctive feature of computational explanations.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197552382
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
Computing systems are ubiquitous in contemporary life. Even the brain is thought to be a computing system of sorts. But what does it mean to say that a given organ or system "computes"? What is it about laptops, smartphones, and nervous systems that they are deemed to compute - and why does itseldom occur to us to describe stomachs, hurricanes, rocks, or chairs that way? These questions are key to laying the conceptual foundations of computational sciences, including computer science and engineering, and the cognitive and neural sciences.Oron Shagrir here provides an extended argument for the semantic view of computation, which states that semantic properties are involved in the nature of computing systems. The first part of the book provides general background. Although different in scope, these chapters have a common theme-namely,that the linkage between the mathematical theory of computability and the notion of physical computation is weak. The second part of the book reviews existing non-semantic accounts of physical computation. Shagrir analyze three influential accounts in greater depth and argues that none of theseaccounts is satisfactory, but each of them highlights certain key features of physical computation that he eventually adopts in his own semantic account of physical computation - a view that rests on a phenomenon known as simultaneous implementation (or "indeterminacy of computation"). Shagrircompletes the characterization of his account of computation and highlights the distinctive feature of computational explanations.
The Physical Signature of Computation
Author: Neal G Anderson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198833644
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 343
Book Description
Anderson and Piccinini offer the most systematic, rigorous, and comprehensive account of computational implementation to date. Their robust mapping account holds that the key for establishing that a computation is physically implemented is that the physical states bear neither more nor less information than the computational states they map onto.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198833644
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 343
Book Description
Anderson and Piccinini offer the most systematic, rigorous, and comprehensive account of computational implementation to date. Their robust mapping account holds that the key for establishing that a computation is physically implemented is that the physical states bear neither more nor less information than the computational states they map onto.
Physical Perspectives on Computation, Computational Perspectives on Physics
Author: Michael E. Cuffaro
Publisher:
ISBN: 1107171199
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 327
Book Description
Offers an accessible yet cutting-edge tour of the many conceptual interconnections between physics and computer science.
Publisher:
ISBN: 1107171199
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 327
Book Description
Offers an accessible yet cutting-edge tour of the many conceptual interconnections between physics and computer science.
The Physics of Computing
Author: Marilyn Wolf
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0128096160
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
The Physics of Computing gives a foundational view of the physical principles underlying computers. Performance, power, thermal behavior, and reliability are all harder and harder to achieve as transistors shrink to nanometer scales. This book describes the physics of computing at all levels of abstraction from single gates to complete computer systems. It can be used as a course for juniors or seniors in computer engineering and electrical engineering, and can also be used to teach students in other scientific disciplines important concepts in computing. For electrical engineering, the book provides the fundamentals of computing that link core concepts to computing. For computer science, it provides foundations of key challenges such as power consumption, performance, and thermal. The book can also be used as a technical reference by professionals. - Links fundamental physics to the key challenges in computer design, including memory wall, power wall, reliability - Provides all of the background necessary to understand the physical underpinnings of key computing concepts - Covers all the major physical phenomena in computing from transistors to systems, including logic, interconnect, memory, clocking, I/O
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0128096160
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
The Physics of Computing gives a foundational view of the physical principles underlying computers. Performance, power, thermal behavior, and reliability are all harder and harder to achieve as transistors shrink to nanometer scales. This book describes the physics of computing at all levels of abstraction from single gates to complete computer systems. It can be used as a course for juniors or seniors in computer engineering and electrical engineering, and can also be used to teach students in other scientific disciplines important concepts in computing. For electrical engineering, the book provides the fundamentals of computing that link core concepts to computing. For computer science, it provides foundations of key challenges such as power consumption, performance, and thermal. The book can also be used as a technical reference by professionals. - Links fundamental physics to the key challenges in computer design, including memory wall, power wall, reliability - Provides all of the background necessary to understand the physical underpinnings of key computing concepts - Covers all the major physical phenomena in computing from transistors to systems, including logic, interconnect, memory, clocking, I/O
The Energetics of Computing in Life and Machines
Author: Chris Kempes
Publisher: Seminar
ISBN: 9781947864184
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Why do computers use so much energy? What are the fundamental physical laws governing the relationship between the precise computation run by a system, whether artificial or natural, and how much energy that computation requires? This volume integrates concepts from diverse fields, cultivating a modern, nonequilibrium thermodynamics of computation.
Publisher: Seminar
ISBN: 9781947864184
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Why do computers use so much energy? What are the fundamental physical laws governing the relationship between the precise computation run by a system, whether artificial or natural, and how much energy that computation requires? This volume integrates concepts from diverse fields, cultivating a modern, nonequilibrium thermodynamics of computation.
Physical Perspectives on Computation, Computational Perspectives on Physics
Author: Michael E. Cuffaro
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316767396
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
Although computation and the science of physical systems would appear to be unrelated, there are a number of ways in which computational and physical concepts can be brought together in ways that illuminate both. This volume examines fundamental questions which connect scholars from both disciplines: is the universe a computer? Can a universal computing machine simulate every physical process? What is the source of the computational power of quantum computers? Are computational approaches to solving physical problems and paradoxes always fruitful? Contributors from multiple perspectives reflecting the diversity of thought regarding these interconnections address many of the most important developments and debates within this exciting area of research. Both a reference to the state of the art and a valuable and accessible entry to interdisciplinary work, the volume will interest researchers and students working in physics, computer science, and philosophy of science and mathematics.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316767396
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 328
Book Description
Although computation and the science of physical systems would appear to be unrelated, there are a number of ways in which computational and physical concepts can be brought together in ways that illuminate both. This volume examines fundamental questions which connect scholars from both disciplines: is the universe a computer? Can a universal computing machine simulate every physical process? What is the source of the computational power of quantum computers? Are computational approaches to solving physical problems and paradoxes always fruitful? Contributors from multiple perspectives reflecting the diversity of thought regarding these interconnections address many of the most important developments and debates within this exciting area of research. Both a reference to the state of the art and a valuable and accessible entry to interdisciplinary work, the volume will interest researchers and students working in physics, computer science, and philosophy of science and mathematics.
Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation
Author: Ian McQuillan
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 303019311X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
This book constitutes the proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation, UCNC 2019, held in Tokyo, Japan, in June 2019. The 19 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 32 submissions. The papers cover topics such as hypercomputation; chaos and dynamical systems based computing; granular, fuzzy and rough computing; mechanical computing; cellular, evolutionary, molecular, neural, and quantum computing; membrane computing; amorphous computing, swarm intelligence; artificial immune systems; physics of computation; chemical computation; evolving hardware; the computational nature of self-assembly, developmental processes, bacterial communication, and brain processes.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 303019311X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
This book constitutes the proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Unconventional Computation and Natural Computation, UCNC 2019, held in Tokyo, Japan, in June 2019. The 19 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 32 submissions. The papers cover topics such as hypercomputation; chaos and dynamical systems based computing; granular, fuzzy and rough computing; mechanical computing; cellular, evolutionary, molecular, neural, and quantum computing; membrane computing; amorphous computing, swarm intelligence; artificial immune systems; physics of computation; chemical computation; evolving hardware; the computational nature of self-assembly, developmental processes, bacterial communication, and brain processes.
Physics and Computation
Author: Armond Duwell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009117106
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 82
Book Description
This Element has three main aims. First, it aims to help the reader understand the concept of computation that Turing developed, his corresponding results, and what those results indicate about the limits of computational possibility. Second, it aims to bring the reader up to speed on analyses of computation in physical systems which provide the most general characterizations of what it takes for a physical system to be a computational system. Third, it aims to introduce the reader to some different kinds of quantum computers, describe quantum speedup, and present some explanation sketches of quantum speedup. If successful, this Element will equip the reader with a basic knowledge necessary for pursuing these topics in more detail.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009117106
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 82
Book Description
This Element has three main aims. First, it aims to help the reader understand the concept of computation that Turing developed, his corresponding results, and what those results indicate about the limits of computational possibility. Second, it aims to bring the reader up to speed on analyses of computation in physical systems which provide the most general characterizations of what it takes for a physical system to be a computational system. Third, it aims to introduce the reader to some different kinds of quantum computers, describe quantum speedup, and present some explanation sketches of quantum speedup. If successful, this Element will equip the reader with a basic knowledge necessary for pursuing these topics in more detail.