SpaceweaverFri, Sep 12, 2008 Michaelerule: I can't see the problem you are referring to, since your argument is pretty much parallel to the one presented in the post. I agree that understanding in its wider sense cannot be boiled down to computation, at least not trivially. There is however an important sense in which understanding boils down to the ability to construct a computational model of a phenomenon, and simulate the phenomenon on a computer for the purpose of predicting its future activities or even discovering novel behaviors. Maxwell's equations, for example, do represent the understanding of electromagnetic phenomena. It is an important kind of understanding that can be translated into a computational model. Once we have such a model, its usefulness and effectiveness do translate to computation power. Likewise, are many other important examples.
Michaelerule: I can't see the problem you are referring to, since your argument is pretty much parallel to the one presented in the post. I agree that understanding in its wider sense cannot be boiled down to computation, at least not trivially. There is however an important sense in which understanding boils down to the ability to construct a computational model of a phenomenon, and simulate the phenomenon on a computer for the purpose of predicting its future activities or even discovering novel behaviors. Maxwell's equations, for example, do represent the understanding of electromagnetic phenomena. It is an important kind of understanding that can be translated into a computational model. Once we have such a model, its usefulness and effectiveness do translate to computation power. Likewise, are many other important examples.