(4) The question of identical inputs and outputs is a tricky one. No two physically different systems produce unconditionally identical inputs and oputputs imder all circumsntances, since that would imply that there are no circumstances under which there physical differrence could be observed or measured. The "identity" of outputs required by functional equivlance means either
a) identity under an abstract definitions which subsumes a number of physical differences (eg. a "1" or "0" can be multiply realised), or
(b) absolute identity of a subset of outputs, witht the rest being deamed to be irrelevant., eg we can regard two systems as ebing compuationally equivalent although they produce different amounts of heat and noise when running.
that would imply that there are no circumstances under which there physical differrence could be observed or measured.
How, exactly? I am allowing any section of the system to become as if a black box, replaceable with a different black box. As the insides of the boxes are different, they are not identical. Open the boxes, and see the differences. All I'm arguing is that so long as the boxes are closed, they may do the same thing.
As an example, imagine a pair of motors that take in sunlight and oil and create heat and energy. One has inefficient sun and ...
This post is a followup to "We are not living in a simulation" and intended to help me (and you) better understand the claims of those who took a computationalist position in that thread. The questions below are aimed at you if you think the following statement both a) makes sense, and b) is true:
"Consciousness is really just computation"
I've made it no secret that I think this statement is hogwash, but I've done my best to make these questions as non-leading as possible: you should be able to answer them without having to dismantle them first. Of course, I could be wrong, and "the question is confused" is always a valid answer. So is "I don't know".
a) Something that an abstract machine does, as in "No oracle Turing machine can compute a decision to its own halting problem"?
b) Something that a concrete machine does, as in "My calculator computed 2+2"?
c) Or, is this distinction nonsensical or irrelevant?
ETA: By the way, I probably won't engage right away with individual commenters on this thread except to answer requests for clarification. In a few days I'll write another post analyzing the points that are brought up.