It takes 8,400,000,000,000 years to use a Magic: The Gathering computer

TL;DR

Complex systems like Turing machines can be simulated in offline games such as Magic: The Gathering, showcasing the intricate interactions within.

Transcript

you are complicated and no I don't just mean that you like Dungeons & Dragons and 90-day fiance at the same time wow that's amazing no I mean that you as a system are very complex you are an incredible array of interactions between cells and proteins and atoms and molecules mathematically speaking you are very complicated and being a complicated be... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤕 Turing machines are theoretical models of computers with an infinitely extending tape, a head, and a program, initially proposed by Alan Turing in 1936.
• 👾 Magic: The Gathering, an offline card game, can simulate Turing machines, showing real-world computation within a game setting.
• 🙅 Simulating a Turing machine in Magic: The Gathering involves manual steps, requiring a vast number of tokens and dice, making it practically unplayable.
• 🎲 The scale of tokens and dice needed to simulate a Turing machine in Magic: The Gathering showcases the immense complexity of real-world computations within a game.
• 🎮 The practical challenges of playing a Magic: The Gathering game simulating a Turing machine highlight the vast resources and time required for such complex simulations.
• 👾 The unique ability of Magic: The Gathering to simulate Turing machines makes it a standout among offline games in terms of computational complexity.
• 👾 The concept of a game in Magic: The Gathering that can compute anything illustrates the intricate interactions and complexity possible within a game setting.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is a Turing machine and how did Alan Turing conceive it?

A Turing machine is a theoretical computer with an infinitely extending tape, a head that reads and writes symbols, and a program to follow. Alan Turing first conceived this simple computational model in 1936.

Q: How does Magic: The Gathering simulate a Turing machine, and what makes it unique in this regard?

Magic: The Gathering can simulate a Turing machine by using cards and their interactions, showcasing the game's ability to compute anything. It stands out as one of the few offline games capable of such complex simulations.

Q: What are the practical challenges of playing a game of Magic: The Gathering that simulates a Turing machine?

The sheer scale of tokens and dice required to play a Magic: The Gathering game that simulates a Turing machine makes it impractical. With trillions of dice and millions of tokens involved, it would take an unfeasible amount of time and resources.

Q: How long would it take to play a game of Magic: The Gathering simulating a Turing machine to compute something like 2+3?

Playing a game of Magic: The Gathering to compute 2+3 with a simulated Turing machine would take around 17 trillion turns, equating to an estimated 8.4 trillion years, showcasing the impracticality of such a complex simulation.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Turing machines are theoretical computers constructed by Alan Turing in 1936, consisting of an infinitely extending tape, a head that reads and writes symbols, and a program to follow.

• Magic: The Gathering, an offline card game, can simulate a Turing machine, showcasing the complexity of real-world computation within a game setting.

• Using Magic: The Gathering to simulate a Turing machine involves manual steps and vast quantities of tokens and dice, making it practically impossible to play in reality due to the immense scale.