I would think the "man with two coins" thought experiment could be handled by a sequential system using a state-transition paradigm. The following sequence is only adequate to prove the existence of one coin:
Coin X state-change Hidden -> Visible Coin X state-change Visible -> Hidden Coin Y state-change Hidden -> Visible There is no way to know whether Coin Y is the same coin as Coin X, or another coin of identical appearance. However, the following sequence is sufficient to prove the coexistence of two coins: Coin X state-change Hidden -> Visible Coin Y state-change Hidden -> Visible A coin cannot transition from Hidden to Visible unless it is currently Hidden. Since Coin X is not Hidden when Coin Y transitions from Hidden to Visible, Coin Y must be a different coin. The independent presence of Coin Y is proven by the fact that Coin X was not re-hidden before it appeared. So, supposing the two coins are actually processes and we can only query one at a time: as long as each process will provide us with a complete history of its state-transitions when queried, we can demonstrate that they are both able to exist in the same state. Thoughts? ------------------------------------------ Artificial General Intelligence List: AGI Permalink: https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/Tc33b8ed7189d2a18-M9fe2b87e19d4998a65489697 Delivery options: https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/subscription
