Is there something I can do to the Notation Converter so that when I convert the Universal Turing Machine to its Turing Machine Number, I'll get the same numbers that Roger Penrose had in his book?

Yes! There is!

However, doing so means making a change to the VBA code that's in the Notation Converter Excel file. You may not feel comfortable in making such a change unless you've already had some experience in Excel VBA programming. Nevertheless, the steps are listed below in case you'd like to try them.

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Step 1: Download the Notation Converter from the Home page of this website and open the Excel file you just downloaded.

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Step 2: Press Alt+F11 to activate the VBE (Visual Basic Editor).

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Step 3: In the Project Window, double-click on the Modules folder.

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Step 4: Double-click on the Converters Module.

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Step 5: Press Control-F and then search for the string uncomment

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Step 6: You should now be in the middle of a comment, below which are four lines of VBA code that are commented out. Uncomment those four lines by removing the single quote that is at the beginning of each of those lines.

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Step 7: Close the VBE by clicking on the X in the upper right corner of the VBE.

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Step 8: You should now be back in your Excel file. In the upper left corner, click file and then select Save As and then select Browse. Give your new file another name, such as Uncommented_Converter.xlsm, so that you don't confuse it with the Converter file you downloaded from this website. Then, click Save.

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Step 9: Close this Excel file by clicking on the X in the upper right corner.

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You now have an Excel file that you can use to convert the Universal Turing Machine to its Turing Machine Number, and you will get the same Binary Number that appears on pages 93-96, and the same Denary Number that is on page 74, of the book The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose.

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You should also be aware, however, that if you use your new Excel file to convert the Turing Machines XN+1 or XNx2 to their respective Turing Machine Numbers, then you will not get the same numbers that are given in the book The Emperor's New Mind. However, if you use the Converter Excel file that you downloaded from the Home page of this website before making any VBA changes, then you will get the same numbers as are in the book.

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You may make any modifications to this website's Excel files to suit your own purposes. I only ask that if you do so, and especially if you then make them available to others, that I get credit for the work I've done. Therefore, I ask that you leave my name in the comments so that everyone will know that I'm the original author, and then insert a comment with your own name and explanation of the purpose of your modification.

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