Universality: One Machine to Run Them All
A single machine, given the description of any other, can imitate it exactly.
A single machine, given the description of any other, can imitate it exactly.
Is finding a solution as easy as checking one? For a vast class of problems we can verify an answer quickly but know no fast way to discover it.
The complexity of an object is the length of the shortest program that produces it.
The best theory is the one that, together with the data it explains, can be stated most briefly.
Faced with rival explanations that fit equally well, prefer the simpler.
How much does knowing one thing tell you about another? The question has a precise answer, a single number that captures dependence of any kind.
To tell cats from dogs, one can learn what separates them or learn what each is.
A model tuned to be right on average may be fragile to the unusual.