[Next] [Previous] [Up] [Top] [Contents]
3 Practical limits to modelling
3.1 Finiteness
It seems we (us and our tools) are part of a finite universe, and are thus also finite. Any model we make, use or understand will also be finite*1. Quite apart from this our formal communications (written articles) are definitely finite. Thus any practically useful model that we want to share will also be finite.
In these circumstances the fact that an Turing machine (which is essentially infinite) could compute something, may not be relevant if the mapping from this abstraction to an actual computer may mean that the computation is impractical. Thus the abstract question of the CTT is superseded by the question of the practicalities of modelling.
Pragmatic Holism - Bruce Edmonds - 22 FEB 96
[Next] [Previous] [Up] [Top] [Contents]
Generated with CERN WebMaker