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by j7ake 857 days ago
Your answer does not address the time component.

Take an example: an electronic system is designed to give a solution to the traveling salesman problem on a list of a billion of destinations.

You turn the system “on” so it can start doing the calculation.

How long should you have to wait to get your desired answer? It may take longer than the lifetime of the universe.

Until the system spits out an answer, the electronic system is no different than a system that just sits there and does nothing.

1 comments

As you describe it, the system is worthless then and does nothing. How long to wait is up to you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_problem

[Edit]

Any observations can be an event, and a stopping point.

[Edit] I could put a resistor on the table and call it a system, and wait for it eternally, but I'm not sure that's useful. You need a desired outcome, and some limits to make rational decisions. Actually, mathematically, we can find certain limits.

[Edit]

You also can't prove a negative, as some future state may eventually disprove it. So you will have to assert something like "I expect such results at such time."