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| Authored by: PolR on Monday, October 15 2012 @ 11:29 AM EDT |
But I point out obvious fallacies, namely the presumption that the
operator of the abacus plays a central role in in making the software a useful
part of his reality.
I concur. This is a fallacy. I think this
argument can be further supported with a reference to computation theory. The
notion of algorithm does not depend on the physical characteristics of the
computing agent. The mathematical assumption is that the computation will be
carried out to its end no matter how long it takes and how much storage for the
symbols are required. This is part of the definition of the concept.
The
intent of the mathematicians is to put the focus on the procedure. They don't
want a procedure for addition to stop being an algorithm when the number has
more digits than it is possible to write them. They don't want an algorithm to
stop being an algorithm because the user gets bored and stop computing before
the end. The identity of the computing agent doesn't matter. When the
limitations of the agent are hit, the remedy is often to find a more powerful
computing agent.
There is another presumption which should be revisited,
that the functions of software result from hardware activity. It is contents. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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