Quote:
Originally Posted by Kriminal99
The machine is the algorithm and vice versa. Touring machines can do what any algorithm can do, and they can be encoded in a way that any Touring machine or algorithm could operate on them.
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A Turing Machine is a tape and a finite state automaton. The algorithm is the encoding on that tape.
Do you understand that distinction?
A Universal Turing Machine is simply a Turing Machine whose Finite State Automaton can implement other Turing Machines. This is in fact how all von Neumann architecture machines--99.999999999999999999999% of all computers today--which do not differentiate between data that is potentially program code. This may be what you're trying to refer to, but this is most definitely not what the Halting Problem is refering to, nor is in necessary.
What is being asked of you is why an algorithm that took itself as input would operate differently than it would when provided other input.
There is no obvious reason why this would be true, but it is fundamental to your argument, but honestly, there's no reason we should take this as "most likely" just on your say so!
We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there thats needs to be done,
Buffy
