computationallike

Computationallike is an adjective used in computer science and related fields to describe systems whose behavior or structure resembles computation without necessarily meeting the formal criteria for computation themselves. In discussions of natural computation, artificial life, and cognitive modeling, the term highlights that a system processes information, updates its state according to rules, and can be analyzed using computational models, even if it is not a conventional computer.

Key features often cited as computationallike include discrete states and state transitions, rule-based or algorithmic processing, input-output behavior, and the potential for formal description or simulation by a computer program. Some computationallike systems can emulate universal computation or approximate it, while others are restricted to simpler, finite-state dynamics.

The degree of computationallikeness can vary along a spectrum from abstract models such as cellular automata and finite-state machines to physical systems where information processing is approximate or metaphorical.

The term is mainly used to discuss philosophical and methodological questions: when does a system genuinely perform computation, and when is its behavior merely analogous to computation? It also helps distinguish simulation of computation from the presence of computation in the system itself.

See also: computation, algorithm, Turing machine, natural computation, cellular automata, finite-state machine.