Turing, symbol manipulation, and computation

One often finds computation described as having originated with Alan Turing and as symbol manipulation.  Yet, Turing imposed certain sorts of finiteness conditions on computations, such as that a program must be finite in length.  These finiteness conditions are not captured in the description of computation as symbol manipulation.  So, …

Substantival dualists believe …., neuroscientists believe …

In the philosophical literature, it is common enough to find phrases such as “Substantival dualists believe …” and “Neuroscientists believe …”  Yet, these can be dramatically different from an epistemological perspective.  The former will often state a definition or logical consequence of what it is to be a substantival dualist, …

Tips on Publishing in Graduate School

Yesterday I gave a little workshop about publishing to some graduate students (as part of Washington University’s Future Directions in Genetic Studies Graduate Training Workshop).  Here is a list of tips:1. Make a personal web page.  It’s the cheapest and easiest way to advertize yourself to the world.  Post your …

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