From: Damien Broderick (d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Sun Dec 17 2000 - 21:06:38 MST
At 07:56 PM 17/12/00 -0800, samantha wrote:
>A general purpose computer
>has a finite number of possible states if looked at at the bit or
>physical component level. But because it is reprogrammable (and even
>self-programmable) its "states" in terms of possible contents
>(semantics) are infinite. Much like all the possible essays are
>infinite even when expressed with a finite vocabulary.
Thus Chomsky trounced Skinner back in 1959. I would have expected this
insight to be common currency by now...
Damien Broderick
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