
Contents
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What is a computation? What is a computation?
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What does it mean to manipulate information? What does it mean to manipulate information?
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How is information defined and measured in computer science? How is information defined and measured in computer science?
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Can great complexity be created by short (i.e., simple) programs? Can great complexity be created by short (i.e., simple) programs?
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Can physical structure be computed? Can physical structure be computed?
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Why have long programs? Why have long programs?
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Cite
Abstract
Computers are machines that manipulate information, and computer science is the formal discipline that studies limitations and opportunities afforded by this type of activity. This chapter explores the nature of computation and the relationships that exist between computation, physical process, and the formation of structure. It attempts to convince the reader that the notion of computation is more general than simply what happens in electronic computers and that it is not possible to cleanly separate many kinds of physical activity from computation. A convenient way to understand the notion of computation is to see every computation as a process in which a pattern interfaces with a device in such a way that a series of changes occurs within the device, culminating in output. The output may be useful in ways that the input is not. This raises several questions: What does it mean to manipulate information? Is information preserved during a computation? Where does new information come from? What are the minimum requirements for a computer to be able to “manipulate information”?
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