The brain is often called a computer and likened to a Turing machine, in part because the mind can manipulate discrete symbols such as numbers. But the brain is a dynamical system, more like a Watt governor than a Turing machine. Can a dynamical system be said to operate using "representations"? This paper argues that it can, although not in the way a digital computer does. Instead, it uses phenomena best described using mathematic concepts such as chaotic attractors to stand in for aspects of the world.

中文翻译：

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动力系统中的表示

大脑通常被称为计算机，类似于图灵机，部分原因是大脑可以操纵离散符号，例如数字。但是大脑是一个动力系统，更像是瓦特调速器，而不是图灵机。可以说动态系统使用“表示”来运行吗？本文认为，尽管不是数字计算机可以做到的，但它可以做到。相反，它使用通过数学概念（如混沌吸引子）最好地描述的现象来代表世界的各个方面。