To compute is to execute an algorithm. More precisely, to say that a d
evice or organ computes is to say that there exists a modelling relati
onship of a certain kind between it and a formal specification of an a
lgorithm and supporting architecture. The key issue is to delimit the
phrase 'of a certain kind'. I call this the problem of distinguishing
between standard and nonstandard models of computation. The successful
drawing of this distinction guards Turing's 1936 analysis of computat
ion against a difficulty that has persistently been raised against it,
and undercuts various objections that have been made to the computati
onal theory of mind.