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> So, yes, we have proof that a big enough computer can compute the human brain, the global climate, and any other physical phenomenon. Not true. Quantum effects are (according to most current theories, at least) incalculable. Case in point: Assume that the system is a single unstable atom. Regardless of how exactly you've measured the system (even if you've somehow measured it exactly, violating the uncertainty principle), you cannot simulate it - you cannot state to arbitrary accuracy if the atom will decay within, say, 10 seconds. You cannot answer the question "Will the atom decay within 10 seconds" to arbitrary accuracy. You can state it probabilistically, but that is not the same thing. What is to say that the human brain is not the same way? I could easily accept that shot noise affects the human brain, and I we know that a single neuron can produce noticeable effects. Or, for that matter, take climate. We know that cosmic rays affect the atmosphere, and many collisions produce unstable particles. And the climate is chaotic. As such, I'm willing to accept that the climate is incalculable too, even given the entire state of the universe (somehow). |