X-Message-Number: 14985
From: "Pat Clancy" <>
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 11:53:47 -0800
Subject: Re: Turing and Pi

Eugene.Leitl wrote:

> Look, you'r objections are already nuked by some of state of the
> art. Right now people are writing cell simulators and neuronal
> codes. In 15-20 years we should be able to make an individually
> accurate computational model of primitive critters, e.g. a
> nematode, maybe even something as smart as aplysia or even a lamprey.

You could have made the same claim 20 years ago. It's easy to write a 
program that simulates something like a "cell" _to a certain extent_. But 
however complex your simulation, there will still be a gap between it and the 
real thing, because the real thing runs directly on the "machine" of reality 
and real physical laws, while your simulation runs on a Turing machine. 
Furthermore, the real problem is not simulating the building blocks, it's how 
to connect them together.

Pat Clancy

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