Comment by meroes
Hoping to watch the video soon. What's still a mystery to me is how Turing Machines (infinite, abstract, non-physical) are so useful for us finite beings. Similar could be said for mathematical infinity.
Hoping to watch the video soon. What's still a mystery to me is how Turing Machines (infinite, abstract, non-physical) are so useful for us finite beings. Similar could be said for mathematical infinity.
The fact that Turing machines are abstract and infinite is a simplification. Turing machines are an attempt to create the simplest possible model of "computation", without compromising on what "computation" means. It's a way to prove statements about the nature of computation, that's all. A model of computation that is finite, concrete, and/or physical is less useful because it contains unnecessary details that are secondary to the nature of computation. If you're not trying to prove fundamental things about computation, you probably never need to care about Turing machines.
Most cases where infinity is invoked are done to simplify things. Forget whether infinity exists in the real world or not: ask only whether it's useful. After all, does the number 17 really exist? All models are wrong; some models are useful.