Construction Theory, Self-Replication, and the Halting Problem

Nonlinear Sciences – Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

14 pages, 2 figures. Complexity, in press

Scientific paper

10.1002/cplx.20218

This essay aims to propose construction theory, a new domain of theoretical research on machine construction, and use it to shed light on a fundamental relationship between living and computational systems. Specifically, we argue that self-replication of von Neumann's universal constructors holds a close similarity to circular computational processes of universal computers that appear in Turing's original proof of the undecidability of the halting problem. The result indicates the possibility of reinterpreting a self-replicating biological organism as embodying an attempt to solve the halting problem for a {\em diagonal} input in the context of construction. This attempt will never be completed because of the indefinite cascade of self-computation/construction, which accounts for the undecidability of the halting problem and also agrees well with the fact that life has maintained its reproductive activity for an indefinitely long period of time.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Construction Theory, Self-Replication, and the Halting Problem does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Construction Theory, Self-Replication, and the Halting Problem, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Construction Theory, Self-Replication, and the Halting Problem will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-340179

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.