13
Part II: EGBChapter 13
BlooP and FlooP and GlooP
Computability. Primitive recursive vs General recursive functions.
What are the limits of computation? We introduce three hypothetical programming languages. BlooP (Bounded Loop) always finishes but is limited in power. FlooP (Free Loop) is all-powerful but might run forever (the Halting Problem). This parallels the difference between predictable systems and those capable of Strange Loops. It turns out, you need the danger of an infinite loop to have the power of true intelligence.
Computability: BlooP vs FlooP
ITERATION: 0
FOR i = 1 TO 20 DO
PRINT i
END
PRINT i
END