From: Ross A. Finlayson (raf@tiki-lounge.com)
Date: Fri Dec 15 2000 - 16:43:24 MST
scerir wrote:
> Michael S. Lorrey wrote:
> There is a finite number of neurons in the brain,
> a finite number of synapses any one neuron can
> have at any given time, and a finite number
> of neurons that a synapse can transmit to
> at any given time. Given a finite life span of a brain,
> then the brain is a finite state piece of hardware.
> Even if the brain is immortal, it is still finite state
> given a finite lifespan to the universe.
>
> And no *finite* system can perform an *infinite*
> number of computations.
> That's because erasures are performed and,
> inevitably, the process of computation becomes
> irreversible, and produces some entropy, and some heat.
> And a *finite* system has not *infinite* energy, or
> *infinite* states.
> So, *if* consciousness can be reduced to computation,
> consciousness can not be eternal.
> [But if you quantum-compute very very slowly ....]
> -scerir
A symbolic expression that can be evaluated might represent symbolically
the end result of infinite iterations. For example, a way to measure
the area under a curve is to split it into infinite subsections and
measure each and sum the area of them, another way is to integrate the
function, a finite computation.
I guess this is to say that just because a process might be infinite,
our brains can still get a handle to it.
Ross
-- Ross Andrew Finlayson Finlayson Consulting Ross at Tiki-Lounge: http://www.tiki-lounge.com/~raf/
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