> You can simulate a human brain on pen and paper too.

That's an assumption, though. A plausible assumption, but still an assumption.

We know you can execute an LLM on pen and paper, because people built them and they're understood well enough that we could list the calculations you'd need to do. We don't know enough about the human brain to create a similar list, so I don't think you can reasonably make a stronger statement than "you could probably simulate..." without getting ahead of yourself.

The simulation isn't an operating brain. It's a description of one. What it "means" is imposed by us, what it actually is, is a shitload of graphite marks on paper or relays flipping around or rocks on sand or (pick your medium).

An arbitrarily-perfect simulation of a burning candle will never, ever melt wax.

An LLM is always a description. An LLM operating on a computer is identical to a description of it operating on paper (if much faster).

It's an open problem whether you can or not.

So the brain is a mathematical artifact that operates independently from time? It just happens to be implemented using physics? Somehow I doubt it.

Parent said replicate, as in deterministically