Re: computer-go: Most simple Go rules

[Heikki Levanto <heikki@xxxxxx>]

On Thu, Jun 21, 2001 at 03:38:45PM -0700, Dave Dyer wrote about ko:
> This is not more satisfactory in any absolute sense. It is similar
> in effect to the standard Ko rule: The player who has to avoid repetition
> will be forced to make an inferior move.

No, the player has to make move that threatens to do something - that is not
necessarily inferior. 

> Unfortunatly, given a sufficiently complex position, programs will still
> run forever for all practical purposes.  With 3, 4, 5, ... kos active,
> the number of different orders you can play the various Kos expands
> exponentially, and it becomes humanly impossible to keep track if
> a particular position has been reached before. 

The possibilityes may expand exponentially, but the number of positions
can only expand linearily. There can at most be one new position for every
move played! 

To me this sounds like a typical conculusion those "mathematical" people
reach from reading the rules and speculating on them - but horribly unlikely
to happen in real life games. Of course this can be taken as a criticism of
mathematical theory or of human play...



-- 
Heikki Levanto  LSD - Levanto Software Development   <heikki@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>