Comments on: What’s the point of universal language? http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/ public domain playground. friendly entities welcome. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:38:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Ian http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/comment-page-1/#comment-120257 Ian Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:12:06 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/#comment-120257 <blockquote>Can you give us a summary? </blockquote> <a href="http://www.reclusland.com/compass/2008/12/08/hidden-dimensions-of-string-theory-or-a-rabbit-hole/" rel="nofollow">Ask and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened.</a> Just give me some time to get it all the way opened; it's a damn heavy door...

Can you give us a summary?

Ask and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened.

Just give me some time to get it all the way opened; it’s a damn heavy door…

]]> By: speedbird http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/comment-page-1/#comment-119276 speedbird Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:21:52 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/#comment-119276 Ask a mathematician, if you can find one. There's a sense in which math[s] can be understood as a 'universal language', that it has a kind of existence independent of people. When the aliens come, they might not speak English, but they'll know that 2+2=4 and that 7 is a prime. Turing's work [as always!] is interesting here. He proved that you can show that any computer (understood as a stepwise, rule-based, symbol-manipulating machine) can always be emulated by any other. There's really only one computer language (though it might not seem like it these days). And it gets better: if the brain is a computer, then it can be emulated by a computer and artificial intelligence is a certainty. Perhaps surprisingly, that hasn't been proved yet. But if the brain ain't a computer, /no-one knows what it is/. Except maybe Roger Penrose and some of the quantum computation guys. Von Neumann also springs to mind: *'If you can say exactly what it is that a computer cannot do, I can always make a computer that can do exactly that!'* Ask a mathematician, if you can find one. There’s a sense in which math[s] can be understood as a ‘universal language’, that it has a kind of existence independent of people. When the aliens come, they might not speak English, but they’ll know that 2+2=4 and that 7 is a prime.

Turing’s work [as always!] is interesting here. He proved that you can show that any computer (understood as a stepwise, rule-based, symbol-manipulating machine) can always be emulated by any other. There’s really only one computer language (though it might not seem like it these days). And it gets better: if the brain is a computer, then it can be emulated by a computer and artificial intelligence is a certainty. Perhaps surprisingly, that hasn’t been proved yet. But if the brain ain’t a computer, /no-one knows what it is/. Except maybe Roger Penrose and some of the quantum computation guys.

Von Neumann also springs to mind: *’If you can say exactly what it is that a computer cannot do, I can always make a computer that can do exactly that!’*

]]> By: US Romantic http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/comment-page-1/#comment-118783 US Romantic Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:46:33 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/#comment-118783 Can you give us a summary? Can you give us a summary?

]]> By: ian http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/comment-page-1/#comment-118778 ian Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:12:18 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2008/12/05/whats-the-point-of-universal-language/#comment-118778 I'm working on something large that sort of answers both what would be communicated, as well as why a universal language is almost a given at this point in history... Hoping to have the bulk of it done by Sunday evening. I’m working on something large that sort of answers both what would be communicated, as well as why a universal language is almost a given at this point in history…

Hoping to have the bulk of it done by Sunday evening.

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