LEGO Turing machine
Posted by Dan on Feb 3rd, 2009
2009
Feb 3
This is funny in ways that are hard to explain. The point of a Turing machine is that it is a universal computer. Any computation that can be done, can be done by a Turing machine. A mechanical Turing machine built out of Tinker Toys would be impressive, because it would be more than the sum of its parts. But this is a LEGO Mindstorms kit, and the block at the top is a general-purpose micro-computer, a universal computer. Building a universal computer out of components that already include a universal computer, is funny.