When does matter compute? Wave memory and a categorical closure criterion
neurovium · x · 2026-11-12
Nima Dehghani closes his thread series with a companion post to his arXiv paper "Autonomous Physical Computation: A Categorical Closure Criterion for Physical and Neuromorphic Reservoirs."
Key ideas:
- Proposes a category-theoretic "closure" criterion for autonomous computation: which physical systems can compute without external Turing-like primitives;
- Uses wave memory and state-space dynamics to characterize autonomous computation in reservoir computing and neuromorphic systems;
- Framing inspired by a floating can bobbing on Mission Bay (the "wave-walker" experiment), yielding a ladder of autonomous computation levels;
- Connects to mechanistic interpretability, spatiotemporal recurrent dynamics, and multiscale systems, completing the Physical Computing series.
Related event: Categorical Framework Defines When Physical Systems Compute(2 posts)→
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