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Resolution Machinery

Casares, Ramón (2014) Resolution Machinery. [Preprint]

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Abstract

The value of syntax is controversial: some see syntax as defining us as species, while for others it just facilitates communication. To assess syntax we investigate its relation to problem resolving. First we define a problem theory from first principles, and then we translate the theory concepts to mathematics, obtaining the requirements that every resolution machine has to implement. Such a resolution machine will be able to execute any possible resolution, that is, any possible way of taking a problem expression and computing the problem solutions. Two main requirements are found: 1) syntax is needed to express problems, that is, separate words are not enough, and 2) the resolution machine has to be as powerful as lambda calculus is, that is, it has to be Turing complete. Noting that every device that can generate any possible syntax, that is, any possible syntactically correct sentence of any possible, natural or artificial, language, has to be Turing complete, we conclude that syntax and problem resolving can use the same components, as, for example, sentences, functions, and conditionals. The implication to human evolution is that syntax and problem resolving should have co-evolved in humans towards Turing completeness.

Item Type:Preprint
Keywords:syntax evolution, problem resolving, Turing completeness
Subjects:Biology > Evolution
Computer Science > Language
Linguistics > Syntax
ID Code:9209
Deposited By: Casares, Dr Ramón
Deposited On:11 Mar 2014 11:55
Last Modified:02 May 2014 11:51

References in Article

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