Constant comments on Eight questions for computationalists - Less Wrong

16 Post author: dfranke 13 April 2011 12:46PM

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Comment author: [deleted] 13 April 2011 11:27:48PM 3 points [-]

According to Wikipedia to simulate something means to represent certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical system.

The key word here is "represent", which is not to be confused with "reproduce".

If we were going to simulate the chemical properties of gold, would we be able to use it as a vehicle for monetary exchange on the gold market? Surely not, some important characteristics seem to be missing. We do not assign the same value to a simulation of gold that we assign to gold itself.

What would it take to simulate the missing properties? A particle accelerator or nuclear reactor.

No, we don't need a nuclear reactor or particle accelerator to simulate, i.e. to represent the missing properties. We need them to reproduce the missing properties. But to simulate something is to represent characteristics of it, not reproduce them.

Now, there's an obvious opening here for someone to try to build an argument based on the fact that a simulation need not reproduce characteristics. It would then be necessary to argue that mere representation of certain characteristics is sufficient to reproduce others. But that would be a new argument, and I'm just addressing this one.

Comment author: jtk3 15 April 2011 04:00:02AM 1 point [-]

When I run an old 8 bit game on a Commodore-64 emulator it seems to me that the emulation functionally reproduces a Commodore-64. The experience of playing the game can clearly be faithfully reproduced.

Hasn't something been reproduced if one cannot tell the difference between the operation of the original system and that of the simulation?

Comment author: kurokikaze 18 April 2011 11:22:47AM 2 points [-]

In case of C64 emulator, the game is represented, your experience is reproduced. As for second, I think it's purely subjectional as it depends on what level of output you expect from simulation. For gamer the emulator game can be "reproduction", for engineer that seek some details on inner workings of Commodore it can be just an approximation of "real thing" and of no use for him.

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