Summary
Turing’s precise notion of computation implies three types of constraints: (1) sub-computational constraints requiring error-free components of the machines, (2) con-computational constraints according to which the machines are not influenced by situational distraction, and (3) trans-computational limits (in Gödel’s sense). In contrast, human thought is not marked by these constraints and limitations. This is discussed with reference to thoughts of von Neumann and Weyl, Carnap and Bar-Hillel and, finally, Gödel and Wang.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Y. Bar-Hillel (1970). Argumentation in pragmatic languages. In: Y. Bar-Hillel. Aspects of Language. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, Chap. 17.
Y. Bar-Hillel (1970). Communication and argumentation in pragmatic languages. In: Linguaggi nella società e nella tecnica. Milano: Edizioni di comunità, pp. 269–284.
D. C. Dennett (1995). Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. New York, NY: Touchstone.
G. M. Edelman (1987). Neural Darwinism. The Theory of Neuronal Group Selection. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1987.
G. M. Edelman (1989). The Remembered Present. New York, NY: Basic Books.
H. Schnelle (1988). Turing naturalized. Von Neumann’s unfinished project. In: R. Herken (ed.) The Universal Turing Machine. A Half-Century Survey. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 539–559.
Turing A. M. (1936–7). On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem, Proc. London Maths. Soc., ser. 2, 42, 230–265; also in M. Davis, (ed.) The Undecidable (Raven, New York, 1965), and in [10].
Turing A. M. (1950). Computing machinery and intelligence, Mind 49, 433–460, reprinted in [9].
Turing, A. M. (1992). Collected Works: Mechanical Intelligence. D. C. Ince, ed., Amsterdam, NL: North-Holland.
Turing, A. M. (2001). Collected Works: Mathematical Logic. R. O. Gandy and C. E. M. Yates, eds., Amsterdam, NL: North-Holland.
J. Von Neumann (1956). Probabilistic logics and the synthesis of reliable organisms from unreliable components. In: C. E. Shannon and J. McCarthy (eds.) Automata Studies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 43–98.
J. von Neumann (1958). The Computer and the Brain. New Haven: Yale University Press.
H. Wang (1987). Reflections on Kurt Gödel. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
H. Wang (1996). A Logical Journey. From Gödel to Philosophy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
H. Weyl (1949). The Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
H. Weyl (1968). Gesammelte Abhandlungen. Band II (K. Chandrasekharan, Ed.) Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schnelle, H. (2004). A Note on Enjoying Strawberries with Cream, Making Mistakes, and Other Idiotic Features. In: Teuscher, C. (eds) Alan Turing: Life and Legacy of a Great Thinker. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05642-4_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05642-4_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-05744-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-05642-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive