Abstract
Abstract Analogicity in computer science is understood in two, not mutually exclusive ways: 1) with regard to the continuity feature (of data or computations), 2) with regard to the analogousness feature (i.e. similarity between certain natural processes and computations). Continuous computations are the subject of three methodological questions considered in the paper: 1a) to what extent do their theoretical models go beyond the model of the universal Turing machine (defining digital computations), 1b) is their computational power greater than that of the universal Turing machine, 1c) under what conditions are continuous computations realizable in practice? The analogue-analogical computations lead to two other issues: 2a) in what sense and to what extent their accuracy depends on the adequacy of certain theories of empirical sciences, 2b) are there analogue-analogical computations in nature that are also continuous? The above issues are an important element of the philosophical discussion on the limitations of contemporary computer science.
Highlights
Analogue techniques that are discussed in this paper are not part of the mainstream of contemporary computer science, they seem to deserve philosophers’ attention for two reasons
I will define two main meanings of analogicity: the first referring to the concept of continuity, the second to analogousness; I will move to analyse some examples of such techniques and, to formulate philosophically important questions about their factual performability
I suggest we look at the most popular colloquial meanings which reveal some crucial features of analogicity that are not necessarily related to computer science
Summary
There is no doubt that the issue of analogicity is especially applied in technical contexts, when referring to such artefacts as machines, devices, technologies, data storages or signals. For example: when a sound is transmitted via a traditional analogue communication system, it is not encoded with the use of some symbolic code (such as zero-one notation), but “taken directly from nature,” and according to the relevant laws of physics, it is consistently transformed into various types of waves propagated in respectively suitable mediums (such as air, a membrane or an electric wire). Another colloquial meaning, strongly related to the previous one, refers directly to the notion of analogy – it is linguistically visible in the name “analogue method.”. If we treat the above-mentioned examples as an introduction to further clarification, it must be noted that within the issue in question two distinct “points of reference” of analogicity come to the fore: 1) the notion of continuity, and 2) the notion of analogy (compared to physical reality)
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