[MINI] Turing Machines

Data Skeptic · Oct 27, 2017 · 13m

TMs are a model of computation at the heart of algorithmic analysis. A Turing Machine has two components. An infinitely long piece of tape (memory) with re-writable squares and a read/write head which is programmed to change it's state as it processes the input. This exceptionally simple mechanical computer can compute anything that is intuitively computable, thus says the Church-Turing Thesis.

Attempts to make a "better" Turing Machine by adding things like additional tapes can make the programs easier to describe, but it can't make the "better" machine more capable. It won't be able to…