Related papers: Leibniz, Randomness and the Halting Probability
Before Alan Turing made his crucial contributions to the theory of computation, he studied the question of whether quantum mechanics could throw light on the nature of free will. This article investigates the roles of quantum mechanics and…
The halting probability of a Turing machine,also known as Chaitin's Omega, is an algorithmically random number with many interesting properties. Since Chaitin's seminal work, many popular expositions have appeared, mainly focusing on the…
The overarching theme of the following pages is that mathematical logic -- centered around the incompleteness theorems -- is first and foremost an investigation of $\textit{computation}$, not arithmetic. Guided by this intuition we will…
We discuss the accuracy of the attribution commonly given to Turing's 1936 paper "On computable numbers..." for the computable undecidability of the halting problem, coming eventually to a nuanced conclusion.
A recent essay [1] reminds us of how richly Boltzmann deserves to be admiringly commemorated for the originality of his ideas on the occasion of his 150th birthday. Without any doubt, the scientific community owes Boltzmann a great debt of…
Beginning with Turing's seminal work in 1950, artificial intelligence proposes that consciousness can be simulated by a Turing machine. This implies a potential theory of everything where the universe is a simulation on a computer, which…
Despite provable unknowables in recursion theory, indeterminism and randomness in physics is confined to conventions, subjective beliefs and preliminary evidence. The history of the issue is very briefly reviewed, and answers to five…
Turing's (1936) paper on computable numbers has played its role in underpinning different perspectives on the world of information. On the one hand, it encourages a digital ontology, with a perceived flatness of computational structure…
This paper looks at Turing's postulations about Artificial Intelligence in his paper 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence', published in 1950. It notes how accurate they were and how relevant they still are today. This paper notes the…
Goedel's Incompleteness Theorems have the same scientific status as Einstein's principle of relativity, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and Watson and Crick's double helix model of DNA. Our aim is to discuss some new faces of the…
We describe the Turing Machine, list some of its many influences on the theory of computation and complexity of computations, and illustrate its importance.
Alan Turing is considered as a founder of current computer science together with Kurt Godel, Alonzo Church and John von Neumann. In this paper multiple new research results are presented. It is demonstrated that there would not be Alan…
The Turing machine halting problem can be explained by several factors, including arithmetic logic irreversibility and memory erasure, which contribute to computational uncertainty due to information loss during computation. Essentially,…
Laplace's views on randomness and determinism. The paper was written for "Cahiers rationalistes" and addresses a rather wide audience. It contains large quotations of Laplace, most of them coming from his introduction to the book…
This paper is dedicated to the "50 Years of the Relevance Problem" - a long-neglected topic that begs attention from practical statisticians who are concerned with the problem of drawing inference from large-scale heterogeneous data.
Recent tremendous development of quantum information theory led to a number of quantum technological projects, e.g., quantum random generators. This development stimulates a new wave of interest in quantum foundations. One of the most…
A review of Jaynes' posthumous book "Probability Theory--The Logic of Science." I use scientific and personality elements gathered from other papers by Jaynes to help throw light on the origins of Jaynes' life quest.
The Halting Problem is a version of the Liar's Paradox.
One might think that, once we know something is computable, how efficiently it can be computed is a practical question with little further philosophical importance. In this essay, I offer a detailed case that one would be wrong. In…
This article is a partly pedagogical, partly historical and partly technical review of special relativity and its experimental foundations, in honor of the centenary of Einstein's annus mirabilis.