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From: ddebry@toddler.es.com (David DeBry)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,sci.bio,sci.psychology,alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: The Bandwidth of the Brain
Message-ID: <1990Dec22.213121.12226@dsd.es.com>
Date: 22 Dec 90 21:31:21 GMT
References: <37034@cup.portal.com>
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Reply-To: ddebry%bambam@es.com
Organization: Evans & Sutherland, Computer Corp.
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In article <37034@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>There is a common myth that the brain is capable of enormous computational
>bandwidth -- for example that the retina sends gigabauds worth of data to
>the brain.  I believe the computational bandwidth of the brain is quite low,
>low enough that we could simulate a brain on today's computers if only we knew
>how to do it.

	Can we really figure it out?  Let's draw a small parallel here
for a minute...

	Given enough time, could a pocket calculator (any model)
figure out ON ITS OWN how it works enough to replicate itself?  No,
not by itself.

	However, we wouldn't work this was if we were doing it.  We'd
have a lot of people on the project.

	So then, given enough time, could finitely large number of
pocket calculators (any models) all networked together somehow ever
figure out how each of them work to the point that they could
fabricate one of themselves?  I think not.

	And the important thing to remember here is that you can
replace the words 'pocket calculator' with anything from 'abacus' to
'Cray II' and the answer is always the same.

	I'd like to suggest the answer even holds when you put 'human'
into the question.  We're too involved in the problem to figure it
out.  Just by asking the question, we've changed the situation and the
question is invalid.  Ask a new question, and the same thing happens.

-- 
"Food to rent, food to borrow. Deposit required."     - The Bobs
"Bear left."  "Right, Frog!"                          - The Muppet Movie
"Maybe it's a bit confusing for a game \
 But Rubik's Cubes were much the same."		      - Chess
// David DeBry - ddebry@dsd.es.com - (Multiple genres for a twisted person) //