Dr Khalil Iskarous Mini Course “Turing is Turing: Discrete and continuous computation in language | 16, 17, 19, 20 May 2016, 1-4pm
16 May 2016 - 20 May 2016
Time: 1:00 - 4:00pm
Venue: Arts One 1.28
Mini Course
“Turing is Turing: Discrete and continuous computation in language"
Alan Turing not only developed the idea of effective procedure, which lies at the heart of discrete computation, he also laid the foundation of the theory of morphogenesis, which combines reaction and diffusion into a pattern-forming calculus at the heart of continuous computation. This short course will begin by introducing both kinds of computation, and how they are related. The course will then proceed to show how Turing’s universal computation relates to basic ideas in syntax through Chomsky’s Hierarchy of computing machines and the recent work of Edward Stabler and others showing that many forms of deep computation in syntax, including minimalism, are equivalent to a mildly context-sensitive grammar, within the Turing/Chomsky/Post hierarchy. Smolensky and Hale’s work on the power of optimality theory in relation to the Chomsky Hierarchy will also be covered. The course will also show how reaction-diffusion continuous computation relates to the basics of Articulatory Phonology, through a basic tutorial to the theory. Ideas uniting Turing’s discrete and continuous computation that have been developed by Arbib, Wolfram, and others will then be explored to show that very different aspects of language may illustrate similar computational motifs.
The mini course will be held on the following days:
Monday 16th May 13:00-16:00
Tuesday 17th May 13:00-16:00
Thursday 19th May 13:00-16:00
Friday 20th May 13:00-16:00
Event location: Arts One 1.28