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Computation in Physical Systems (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

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In our ordinary discourse, we distinguish between physical systems that perform computations, such as computers and calculators, and physical systems that don’t, such as rocks and raindrops. Among computing devices, we distinguish between more and less powerful ones. These distinctions are of both practical and theoretical importance: a supercomputer can compute in minutes what would take decades on a laptop, while a calculator cannot do certain things that a laptop can do, even in principle. What grounds these distinctions? What is the principled difference, if there is one, between a rock and a calculator, or between a calculator and a computer? Answering these questions is more difficult than it may seem. In addition to our ordinary discourse, computation is central to many sciences. Computer scientists design, build, and program computers. But again, what counts as a computer? If a salesperson sold you an ordinary rock as a computer, you should probably get your money back. Again,

--> Computation in Physical Systems (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Menu Browse Table of Contents What's New Random Entry Chronological Archives About Editorial Information About the SEP Editorial Board How to Cite the SEP Special Characters Advanced Tools Contact Support SEP Support the SEP PDFs for SEP Friends Make a Donation SEPIA for Libraries Entry Navigation Entry Contents Bibliography Academic Tools Friends PDF Preview Author and Citation Info Back to Top Computation in Physical Systems First published Wed Jul 21, 2010; substantive revision Wed

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