Re: computer-go: minimax and go

["Vlad Dumitrescu" <vladdu@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

some more random thoughts...

> These   discussion  always degrade  to   considering   Go as having  a
> branching factor of  361 and a calculation of  how much power it takes
> to do a full width search to 1000 ply.  But that is not the model that
> makes any sense.
It makes sense if one is after the Perfect Play -- under the presumtion that
this quest makes any sense per se. :-)

Reading all these posts where the point lies on more philosophical and
esoteric aspects, I'm struck by the fact that many "disputes" are caused by
the imperfection of the language. What is "a very sophisticated  pruning
mechanism"? It means different things to each one of us... :-)

Selection helps keeping things manageable, but may keep programs from
discovering new ways of play... A tradeoff as usual! :-) Selection may not
only remove bad moves, but also moves that lead to a position impossible to
comprehend for a regular human (like a huge semeai on the whole board).

As for quantum computers, there isn't needed to have one unit (=quanta) for
each node in the full tree of the game. But even if it was, it would be a
huge step forward anyway, to have that amount of computing power
available...

Have a nice weekend!
/Vlad
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For God's sake, Smithers! It's not rocket science, it's just brain surgery!
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