3,076 research outputs found
Computation Environments, An Interactive Semantics for Turing Machines (which P is not equal to NP considering it)
To scrutinize notions of computation and time complexity, we introduce and
formally define an interactive model for computation that we call it the
\emph{computation environment}. A computation environment consists of two main
parts: i) a universal processor and ii) a computist who uses the computability
power of the universal processor to perform effective procedures. The notion of
computation finds it meaning, for the computist, through his
\underline{interaction} with the universal processor.
We are interested in those computation environments which can be considered
as alternative for the real computation environment that the human being is its
computist. These computation environments must have two properties: 1- being
physically plausible, and 2- being enough powerful.
Based on Copeland' criteria for effective procedures, we define what a
\emph{physically plausible} computation environment is.
We construct two \emph{physically plausible} and \emph{enough powerful}
computation environments: 1- the Turing computation environment, denoted by
, and 2- a persistently evolutionary computation environment, denoted by
, which persistently evolve in the course of executing the computations.
We prove that the equality of complexity classes and
in the computation environment conflicts with the
\underline{free will} of the computist.
We provide an axiomatic system for Turing computability and
prove that ignoring just one of the axiom of , it would not be
possible to derive from the rest of axioms.
We prove that the computist who lives inside the environment , can never
be confident that whether he lives in a static environment or a persistently
evolutionary one.Comment: 33 pages, interactive computation, P vs N
Algorithmic Complexity for Short Binary Strings Applied to Psychology: A Primer
Since human randomness production has been studied and widely used to assess
executive functions (especially inhibition), many measures have been suggested
to assess the degree to which a sequence is random-like. However, each of them
focuses on one feature of randomness, leading authors to have to use multiple
measures. Here we describe and advocate for the use of the accepted universal
measure for randomness based on algorithmic complexity, by means of a novel
previously presented technique using the the definition of algorithmic
probability. A re-analysis of the classical Radio Zenith data in the light of
the proposed measure and methodology is provided as a study case of an
application.Comment: To appear in Behavior Research Method
Alternation-Trading Proofs, Linear Programming, and Lower Bounds
A fertile area of recent research has demonstrated concrete polynomial time
lower bounds for solving natural hard problems on restricted computational
models. Among these problems are Satisfiability, Vertex Cover, Hamilton Path,
Mod6-SAT, Majority-of-Majority-SAT, and Tautologies, to name a few. The proofs
of these lower bounds follow a certain proof-by-contradiction strategy that we
call alternation-trading. An important open problem is to determine how
powerful such proofs can possibly be.
We propose a methodology for studying these proofs that makes them amenable
to both formal analysis and automated theorem proving. We prove that the search
for better lower bounds can often be turned into a problem of solving a large
series of linear programming instances. Implementing a small-scale theorem
prover based on this result, we extract new human-readable time lower bounds
for several problems. This framework can also be used to prove concrete
limitations on the current techniques.Comment: To appear in STACS 2010, 12 page
Turing's Fallacies
This paper reveals two fallacies in Turing's undecidability proof of first-order logic (FOL), namely, (i) an 'extensional fallacy': from the fact that a sentence is an instance of a provable FOL formula, it is inferred that a meaningful sentence is proven, and (ii) a 'fallacy of substitution': from the fact that a sentence is an instance of a provable FOL formula, it is inferred that a true sentence is proven. The first fallacy erroneously suggests that Turing's proof of the non-existence of a circle-free machine that decides whether an arbitrary machine is circular proves a significant proposition. The second fallacy suggests that FOL is undecidable
Actor-network procedures: Modeling multi-factor authentication, device pairing, social interactions
As computation spreads from computers to networks of computers, and migrates
into cyberspace, it ceases to be globally programmable, but it remains
programmable indirectly: network computations cannot be controlled, but they
can be steered by local constraints on network nodes. The tasks of
"programming" global behaviors through local constraints belong to the area of
security. The "program particles" that assure that a system of local
interactions leads towards some desired global goals are called security
protocols. As computation spreads beyond cyberspace, into physical and social
spaces, new security tasks and problems arise. As networks are extended by
physical sensors and controllers, including the humans, and interlaced with
social networks, the engineering concepts and techniques of computer security
blend with the social processes of security. These new connectors for
computational and social software require a new "discipline of programming" of
global behaviors through local constraints. Since the new discipline seems to
be emerging from a combination of established models of security protocols with
older methods of procedural programming, we use the name procedures for these
new connectors, that generalize protocols. In the present paper we propose
actor-networks as a formal model of computation in heterogenous networks of
computers, humans and their devices; and we introduce Procedure Derivation
Logic (PDL) as a framework for reasoning about security in actor-networks. On
the way, we survey the guiding ideas of Protocol Derivation Logic (also PDL)
that evolved through our work in security in last 10 years. Both formalisms are
geared towards graphic reasoning and tool support. We illustrate their workings
by analysing a popular form of two-factor authentication, and a multi-channel
device pairing procedure, devised for this occasion.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables; journal submission; extended
references, added discussio
Formalizing Computability Theory via Partial Recursive Functions
We present an extension to the library of the Lean theorem
prover formalizing the foundations of computability theory. We use primitive
recursive functions and partial recursive functions as the main objects of
study, and we use a constructive encoding of partial functions such that they
are executable when the programs in question provably halt. Main theorems
include the construction of a universal partial recursive function and a proof
of the undecidability of the halting problem. Type class inference provides a
transparent way to supply G\"{o}del numberings where needed and encapsulate the
encoding details.Comment: 16 pages, accepted to ITP 201
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