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Wild to me that pieces like this ignore Wolfram and specifically his computational irreducibility. Much more precise rendition of the equivalent but less robust
by jonahbenton 2y ago
Wild to me that pieces like this ignore Wolfram and specifically his computational irreducibility. Much more precise rendition of the equivalent but less robust concept undecidability. The key insight he arrives at is that predicting/modeling a system is itself a computational process and the ability of a modeler to make computationally less expensive predictions is dependent both on their own computational capability and the nature of the computation. It is very neat and precise and systematic. "Next level" chaos is just more poor imprecise metaphor.
- ironSkillet 2y agoThis is a popular science article, not a scientific paper.
- drdeca 2y agoDoes he have any theorems about this?
- UltraSane 2y agoHas he published any peer reviewed papers on it?
- markisus 2y agoHere is his 1984 article published in PRL in which he highlights that cellular automata can be realized as physical systems and therefore computational intractabilities will manifest in models of physics. https://content.wolfram.com/sw-publications/2020/07/undecidability-intractability-theoretical-physics.pdf https://content.wolfram.com/sw-publications/2020/07/undecida...
- brookst 2y agoHonest question: isn’t that the same thing as saying that computers use phyisical processes, so all programs are physical processes, so all concepts of intractability in programming also apply to physics? It’s all just electrons, right?
- criddell 2y agoIf you're going to be reductive, you might as well go all the way and say it's all just fluctuations and perturbations of quantum fields, right?
- weard_beard 2y agoYou lost me at, "What exactly is a phase change? Why can't we predict all possible states of matter and why do we keep discovering new ones? Can high energy particles form bonds with themselves or each other? Could you build a nucleus of neutrinos surrounded by a photon cloud to construct macro scale matter? Why isn't there a periodic table of high energy particles that we've discovered thus far with clear categories of properties and principles (even if incomplete or contradictory) that we teach in schools to challenge our students?
- UltraSane 2y agoThat isn't his physics project.
- nathan_compton 2y agoArguably it is Wolfram who has ignored the state of knowledge, which is not to entirely disparage his ideas.