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Tue May 15 12:38:20 EDT 2007
2,3 Turing Machine Research Prize
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I decided to read the Wolfram newsletter that I normally get but
delete - and I am glad I did read it. In addition to celebrating
NKS' 5th birthday, Wolfram announced a $25,000 prize for proving
or disproving the universality of what could be the smallest
known Turing machine.
Check it!
I spent several hours lastnight looking at it, figuring out how
the machine worked, etc. I am no expert, but I know enough to
play around with it. Maybe this will be my summer project :).
There are many approaches to showing the universality of these
sorts of systems, but the most common is emulating a system that
has already been shown to be universal such as Conway's Game of
Life.
I read NKS a couple of years ago, and while I am no silly fanboy
I do have a lot of positive things to say about the book and the
role it played in introducing me to many concepts that I appreci-
ate now more than ever.
Here's to working on the problem! I doubt I'll solve it, but
simply trying will be very good experience.
Cheers.
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