Related papers: From Philosophy to Program Size
The fine approach to measure information dependence is based on the total conditional complexity CT(y|x), which is defined as the minimal length of a total program that outputs y on the input x. It is known that the total conditional…
Knowing the truth is rarely enough -- we also seek out reasons why the fact is true. While much is known about how we explain contingent truths, we understand less about how we explain facts, such as those in mathematics, that are true as a…
Accounting for resources is the central issue in computational efficiency. We point out physical constraints implicit in information readout that have been overlooked in classical computing. The basic particle-counting mode of read-out sets…
We develop a complexity theory for approximate real computations. We first produce a theory for exact computations but with condition numbers. The input size depends on a condition number, which is not assumed known by the machine. The…
The Church-Turing thesis asserts that if a partial strings-to-strings function is effectively computable then it is computable by a Turing machine. In the 1930s, when Church and Turing worked on their versions of the thesis, there was a…
Partiality is a natural phenomenon in computability that we cannot get around. So, the question is whether we can give the areas where partiality occurs, that is, where non-termination happens, more structure. In this paper we consider…
Eudaemonics is the study of the nature, causes, and conditions of human well-being. According to the ethical theory of eudaemonia, reaping satisfaction and fulfillment from life is not only a desirable end, but a moral responsibility.…
While graphs and abstract data structures can be large and complex, practical instances are often regular or highly structured. If the instance has sufficient structure, we might hope to compress the object into a more succinct…
In this paper we shall relate computational complexity to the principle of natural selection. We shall do this by giving a philosophical account of complexity versus universality. It seems sustainable to equate universal systems to complex…
In this paper we analyze methodological and philosophical implications of algorithmic aspects of unconventional computation. At first, we describe how the classical algorithmic universe developed and analyze why it became closed in the…
Quantum computing hardware has grown sufficiently complex that it often can no longer be simulated by classical computers, but its computational power remains limited by errors. These errors corrupt the results of quantum algorithms, and it…
This is a brief review of the experimental and theoretical quantum computing. The hopes for eventually building a useful quantum computer rely entirely on the so-called "threshold theorem". In turn, this theorem is based on a number of…
There are several forms of irreducibility in computing systems, ranging from undecidability to intractability to nonlinearity. This paper is an exploration of the conceptual issues that have arisen in the course of investigating speed-up…
This paper explores the problem of quantum measurement complexity. In computability theory, the complexity of a problem is determined by how long it takes an effective algorithm to solve it. This complexity may be compared to the difficulty…
We define {\em predictive information} $I_{\rm pred} (T)$ as the mutual information between the past and the future of a time series. Three qualitatively different behaviors are found in the limit of large observation times $T$: $I_{\rm…
Biology is data-rich, and it is equally rich in concepts and hypotheses. Part of trying to understand biological processes and systems is therefore to confront our ideas and hypotheses with data using statistical methods to determine the…
Is the universe computable? If yes, is it computationally a polynomial place? In standard quantum mechanics, which permits infinite parallelism and the infinitely precise specification of states, a negative answer to both questions is not…
Proving the chaoticity of some dynamical systems is equivalent to solving the hardest problems in mathematics. Conversely, one argues that it is not unconceivable that classical physical systems may "compute the hard or even the…
In this survey, we explore Andrei Nikolayevich Kolmogorov's seminal work in just one of his many facets: its influence Computer Science especially his viewpoint of what herein we call 'Algorithmic Theory of Informatics.' Can a computer file…
Computer programs are part of our daily life, we use them, we provide them with data, they support our decisions, they help us remember, they control machines, etc. Programs are made by people, but in most cases we are not their authors, so…