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| | | | | xorshammer.com | |
| | | | | There are many functions from $latex \mathbb{N}$ to $latex \mathbb{N}$ that cannot be computed by any algorithm or computer program. For example, a famous one is the halting problem, defined by $latex f(n) = 0$ if the $latex n$th Turing machine halts and $latex f(n) = 1$ if the $latex n$th Turing machine does not... | |
| | | | | jeremykun.wordpress.com | |
| | | | | We assume the reader is familiar with the concepts of determinism and finite automata, or has read the corresponding primer on this blog. The Mother of All Computers Last time we saw some models for computation, and saw in turn how limited they were. Now, we open Pandrora's hard drive: Definition: A Turing machineis a... | |
| | | | | www.jeremykun.com | |
| | | | | Decidability Versus Efficiency In the early days of computing theory, the important questions were primarily about decidability. What sorts of problems are beyond the power of a Turing machine to solve? As we saw in our last primer on Turing machines, the halting problem is such an example: it can never be solved a finite amount of time by a Turing machine. However, more recently (in the past half-century) the focus of computing theory has shifted away from possibility in favor of determining feasibility. | |
| | | | | xorshammer.com | |
| | | We think of a proof as being non-constructive if it proves "There exists an $latex x$ such that $latex P(x)$ without ever actually exhibiting such an $latex x$. If you want to form a system of mathematics where all proofs are constructive, one thing you can do is remove the principle of proof by contradiction:... | ||