From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Mon May 06 2002 - 02:48:28 MDT
Emlyn O'regan wrote:
>
> > --- Emlyn O'regan <oregan.emlyn@healthsolve.com.au>
> > wrote:
> > > That's not the db, it's the install disk
> > >
> >
> > I disagree there are no executables in DNA only
> > data.
> >
>
> That's not really true. There is no mechanism in DNA, just like there isn't
> in software. But, the DNA is executed (almost like a turing machine!), with
> little greeblies crawling along it and turning it's instructions into
> proteins and whatnot.
>
> If the program isn't in the DNA, where is it?
Considering the genes that switch off the genes that switch on the genes
that switch off the genes that express the actual proteins, I'd say that DNA
is a finite state automaton at the very least and probably a universal
Turing machine, though I don't know offhand.
-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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