Showing papers by "Peter Wegner published in 2006"

Interactive Computation: The New Paradigm

Abstract: The interaction paradigm is a new conceptualization of computational phenomena that emphasizes interaction over algorithms, reflecting the shift in technology from main-frame number-crunching to distributed intelligent networks with graphical user interfaces. The book is arranged in four sections: "Introduction", comprising three chapters that explore and summarize the fundamentals of interactive computation; "Theory" with six chapters, each discussing a specific aspect of interaction; "Applications," five chapters showing how this principle is applied in subdisciplines of computer science; and "New Directions," presenting four multidisciplinary applications. The book challenges traditional Turing machine-based answers to fundamental questions of problem solving and the scope of computation.

Principles of problem solving

Abstract: Changed paradigms of human thought are needed to adapt modes of computer problem solving and truth to evolving computational technology.

Principles of Interactive Computation

Abstract: This chapter explores the authors’ 10-year contributions to interactive computing, with special emphasis on the philosophical question of how truth has been used and misused in computing and other disciplines. We explore the role of rationalism and empiricism in formulating true principles of computer science, politics, and religion. We show that interaction is an empiricist rather than rationalist principle, and that rationalist proponents of computing have been the strongest opponents of our belief that interaction provides an empirical foundation for both computer problem solving and human behavior. The rationalist position was adopted by Pythagoras, Descartes, Kant, and many modern philosophers; our interactive approach to computing suggests that empiricism provides a better framework for understanding principles of computing.