Rethinking computations

Unlike the classical view of computations that considers them as processes transforming information, we will consider computations as processes generating knowledge. We present arguments supporting this view of computations. These arguments are based on the past and present trends in the use of information technologies, where a steadily growing emphasis on knowledge generation and exploitation is clearly visible. The view of computations-as-knowledge- generators naturally extends to non-man-made systems such as living organisms, brains, social networks and the Universe, and to non-Turing computations. If accepted, this epistemological view will lead to an important shift in our understanding of computations.