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What Is Nature-Like Computation? A Behavioural Approach and a Notion of Programmability

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose an alternative behavioural definition of computation (and of a computer) based simply on whether a system is capable of reacting to the environment—the input—as reflected in a measure of programmability. This definition is intended to have relevance beyond the realm of digital computers, particularly vis-à-vis natural systems. This will be done by using an extension of a phase transition coefficient previously defined in an attempt to characterise the dynamical behaviour of cellular automata and other systems. The transition coefficient measures the sensitivity of a system to external stimuli and will be used to define the susceptibility of a system to be (efficiently) programmed.

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Acknowledgements

I am indebted to the generous reviewers whose comments have helped improve the presentation of this article. I also wish to thank the FQXi for the mini-grant awarded by way of the Silicon Valley Foundation under the title “Time and Computation”, in connection to behaviour as studied in this project (mini-grant no. 2011-93849 (4661)).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques (Paris 1/ENS Ulm/CNRS), Paris, France

    Hector Zenil

  2. Department of Computer Science, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Hector Zenil

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  1. Hector Zenil
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Correspondence to Hector Zenil.

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Philosophy & Technology, Springer 2012 (special issue on History and Philosophy of Computing).

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Zenil, H. What Is Nature-Like Computation? A Behavioural Approach and a Notion of Programmability. Philos. Technol. 27, 399–421 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-012-0095-2

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