Physical Perspectives on Computation, Computational Perspectives on Physics

Cambridge University Press, 5/17/2018
EAN 9781107171190, ISBN10: 1107171199

Hardcover, 324 pages, 23.5 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm
Language: English

Although computation and the science of physical systems would appear to be unrelated, there are a number of ways in which computational and physical concepts can be brought together in ways that illuminate both. This volume examines fundamental questions which connect scholars from both disciplines: is the universe a computer? Can a universal computing machine simulate every physical process? What is the source of the computational power of quantum computers? Are computational approaches to solving physical problems and paradoxes always fruitful? Contributors from multiple perspectives reflecting the diversity of thought regarding these interconnections address many of the most important developments and debates within this exciting area of research. Both a reference to the state of the art and a valuable and accessible entry to interdisciplinary work, the volume will interest researchers and students working in physics, computer science, and philosophy of science and mathematics.

List of figures
List of tables
Preface
Introduction Michael E. Cuffaro and Samuel C. Fletcher
Part I. The Computability of Physical Systems and Physical Systems as Computers
1. Ontic pancomputationalism Gualtiero Piccinini and Neal G. Anderson
2. Zuse's thesis, Gandy's thesis, and Penrose's thesis B. Jack Copeland, Oron Shagrir and Mark Sprevak
3. Church's thesis, Turing's limits, and Deutsch's principle Rossella Lupacchini
Part II. The Implementation of Computation in Physical Systems
4. How to make orthogonal positions parallel
revisiting the quantum parallelism thesis Armond Duwell
5. How is there a physics of information? On characterizing physical evolution as information processing Owen J. E. Maroney and Christopher G. Timpson
6. Abstraction/representation theory and the natural science of computation Dominic Horsman, Viv Kendon and Susan Stepney
Part III. Physical Perspectives on Computer Science
7. Physics-like models of computation Klaus Sutner
8. Feasible computation
methodological contributions from computational science Robert H. C. Moir
9. Relativistic computation Hajnal Andréka, Judit X. Madarász, István Németi, Péter Németi and Gergely Székely
Part IV. Computational Perspectives on Physical Theory
10. Intension in the physics of computation
lessons from the debate about Landauer's principle James Ladyman
11. Maxwell's demon does not compute John D. Norton
12. Quantum theory as a principle theory
insights from an information-theoretic reconstruction Adam Koberinski and Markus P. Müller
Bibliography
Index.