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- Computation [...] is observer-relative, and this is because computation is defined in terms of symbol manipulation, but the notion of a 'symbol' is not a notion of physics or chemistry. Something is a symbol only if it is used, treated or regarded as a symbol. The Chinese room argument showed that semantics is not intrinsic to syntax. But what this shows is that syntax is not intrinsic to physics. [...] Something is a symbol only relative to some observer, user or agent who assigns a symbolic interpretation to it [...] you can assign a computational interpretation to anything. But if the question asks, "Is consciousness intrinsically computational?" the answer is: nothing is intrinsically computational [italics added for emphasis]. Computation exists only relative to some agent or observer who imposes a computational interpretation on some phenomenon. This is an obvious point. I should have seen it ten years ago but I did not. (en)
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