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It seems like I keep coming back to this earlier post. Maybe I have an obsessive personality? I’ve been trying for days to figure out. So far, I don’t think I do. I have some rigorous studies planned in the coming weeks; I’ll let you know my findings.

In the meantime, I came across this interesting paper called “The Origins of the Turing Thesis Myth,” which yet again knocks down the whole “Turing Machines equal Computers” thing.

When I went on my little rant, I talked about how I think Turing Machines are not the same as modern computers because for any given computer, there is a Turing Machine that can out-compute it; that is, the TM can perform computations the computer cannot.

This paper goes conversely, examining things computers can do that Turing Machines cannot. Mainly, incorporate user interaction. Previously unbeknownst to me, Turing himself actually defined the notion of a “choice machine”; so far, my understanding of this construct is that it exists to capture the non-algorithmic nature of interaction from sources “outside” of the TM (like users). I’m still getting to beknow the idea, though, so my understanding of it is likely to change in the near future.

After reading this paper, I had to change my thinking on TMs being “more powerful” than modern computers. Although the ideas presented are mostly new to me, so far the way a computer responds to external input does seems like an effective example of something a TM cannot model that a computer can do. (Of course, the added disjunct only further validates my TM != Computer thinking, so my larger worldview is still intact. Whew.)

Anyway, an interesting paper…