# Analog Computation and Representation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.05965 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.05965/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 10 Dec 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Report on Candidate Computational Indicators for Conscious Valenced Experience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16696/) (2024)
- [How (and Why) to Think that the Brain is Literally a Computer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.12032/) (2022)
- [Modern analog computing for solving differential and matrix equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.13179/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Relative to digital computation, analog computation has been neglected in the philosophical literature. To the extent that attention has been paid to analog computation, it has been misunderstood. The received view -- that analog computation has to do essentially with continuity -- is simply wrong, as shown by careful attention to historical examples of discontinuous, discrete analog computers. Instead of the received view, I develop an account of analog computation in terms of a particular type of analog representation that allows for discontinuity. This account thus characterizes all types of analog computation, whether continuous or discrete. Furthermore, the structure of this account can be generalized to other types of computation: analog computation essentially involves analog representation, whereas digital computation essentially involves digital representation. Besides being a necessary component of a complete philosophical understanding of computation in general, understanding analog computation is important for computational explanation in contemporary neuroscience and cognitive science.