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A Note on the Physical Possibility of Transfinite Computation.

In this note, we consider constraints on the physical possibility of transfinite Turing machines that arise from how one models the continuous structure of space and time in one's best physical theories. We conclude by suggesting a version of Church's thesis appropriate as an upper bound for physica...

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Published in:British Journal for the Philosophy of Science Vol. 61; no. 4; pp. 867 - 875
Main Authors: Aitken, Wayne, Barrett, Jeffrey A.
Format: Article
Published: University of Chicago Press Dec2010
Subjects:
Transfinite numbers
Turing machines
Spacetime
Theory
Machine theory
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: A Note on the Physical Possibility of Transfinite Computation.
      aug:
        au:
          Aitken, Wayne
          Barrett, Jeffrey A.
        affil:
          Department of Mathematics, Cal. State, San Marcos, CA 92096, USA
          Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-5100, USA
      su:
        Transfinite numbers
        Turing machines
        Spacetime
        Theory
        Machine theory
      sug:
        subj:
          Transfinite numbers
          Turing machines
          Spacetime
          Theory
          Machine theory
      ab: In this note, we consider constraints on the physical possibility of transfinite Turing machines that arise from how one models the continuous structure of space and time in one's best physical theories. We conclude by suggesting a version of Church's thesis appropriate as an upper bound for physical computation given how space and time are modeled on our current physical theories.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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