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Arguably, a finite state machine is not a computer, its logically equivalent to clockwork, which has been around for thousands of years. Although I do like the

by throwaway2048 7y ago

Arguably, a finite state machine is not a computer, its logically equivalent to clockwork, which has been around for thousands of years. Although I do like the sound of your idea...

wongarsu 7y ago
Computers are really just finite state machines with really fancy input and output. We like to pretend they are Turing machines, but that breaks down when you run out of RAM: a Turing machine has infinite memory, a computer has a large finite amount of memory. I suppose computers really are fancy clockwork. So are humans.
- ForHackernews 7y ago
  I think it's at least an open question whether humans are fancy clockwork or not. (Unless all you're doing is denying Cartesian dualism, in which case, I agree but so does everyone) We don't really understand how the brain works, but it does seem that neuronal integration is an analog and probabilistic process, quite different from deterministic responses in computers (or clockwork). Some people have even speculated about quantum mechanical effects, though those hypotheses are very controversial and I don't put much stock in them personally. It's overly reductive to compare the brain to a computer, and the analogy tends to obscure more than it illuminates. https://mindmatters.ai/2018/08/the-brain-is-not-a-meat-computer/ https://mindmatters.ai/2018/08/the-brain-is-not-a-meat-compu... https://aeon.co/essays/your-brain-does-not-process-information-and-it-is-not-a-computer https://aeon.co/essays/your-brain-does-not-process-informati...
  - penagwin 7y ago
    I know this is controversial but I've always felt the entire universe is Deterministic which would make it just a massive State-Machine. We as humans might be missing the right equations/right measurements/precision to actually figure out it's exact state.
    - ForHackernews 7y ago
      Maybe. As far as anyone can determine, some physical processes (e.g. radioactive decay) really are random. There is "noise" in reality. Even with a perfect accounting of every subatomic particle in the universe, you couldn't predict when a particular atom will decay.
pests 7y ago
Honestly though a computer is just clockwork represented electronically. A modern computer can be represented mechanically even the display. Imagine colored marbles roll into a display slot every frame. Or a rotor rotates to a color. Or a flpboard flips to a character. We are just accustomed to computers being electrical. In the end it's all binary and we just happen to all use digital input and output.

Arguably, a finite state machine is not a computer, its logically equivalent to clockwork, which has been around for thousands of years. Although I do like the sound of your idea...

wongarsu 7y ago

Computers are really just finite state machines with really fancy input and output. We like to pretend they are Turing machines, but that breaks down when you run out of RAM: a Turing machine has infinite memory, a computer has a large finite amount of memory. I suppose computers really are fancy clockwork. So are humans.

ForHackernews 7y ago
I think it's at least an open question whether humans are fancy clockwork or not. (Unless all you're doing is denying Cartesian dualism, in which case, I agree but so does everyone) We don't really understand how the brain works, but it does seem that neuronal integration is an analog and probabilistic process, quite different from deterministic responses in computers (or clockwork). Some people have even speculated about quantum mechanical effects, though those hypotheses are very controversial and I don't put much stock in them personally. It's overly reductive to compare the brain to a computer, and the analogy tends to obscure more than it illuminates. https://mindmatters.ai/2018/08/the-brain-is-not-a-meat-computer/ https://mindmatters.ai/2018/08/the-brain-is-not-a-meat-compu... https://aeon.co/essays/your-brain-does-not-process-information-and-it-is-not-a-computer https://aeon.co/essays/your-brain-does-not-process-informati...
- penagwin 7y ago
  I know this is controversial but I've always felt the entire universe is Deterministic which would make it just a massive State-Machine. We as humans might be missing the right equations/right measurements/precision to actually figure out it's exact state.
  - ForHackernews 7y ago
    Maybe. As far as anyone can determine, some physical processes (e.g. radioactive decay) really are random. There is "noise" in reality. Even with a perfect accounting of every subatomic particle in the universe, you couldn't predict when a particular atom will decay.

pests 7y ago

Honestly though a computer is just clockwork represented electronically. A modern computer can be represented mechanically even the display. Imagine colored marbles roll into a display slot every frame. Or a rotor rotates to a color. Or a flpboard flips to a character. We are just accustomed to computers being electrical. In the end it's all binary and we just happen to all use digital input and output.